There were festivities happening all day on Friday at the Armory Gym in Havre as the 2024 Hi-Line Invitational Basketball Tournament continued with Round-robin play.
First up was a double-header between Class ‘B’ and Class ‘C’ and the girls’ game featured a (77-57) victory over Class ‘B’. Chinook product Hallie Neibauer scored 14 points in the win and was one of three players in double-figures. On the losing end, Big Sandy’s Eva Yeadon was held to two points, but did dish out two helpers.
The Class ‘B’ boys also won against Class ‘C’ moments later, (102-85). Columbus’ Hayden Steffenson showed his post game, recording 11 made field goals on 13 shots and leading everyone with 25 points. Missoula Loyola’s Rey Johnston, who also was named Montana’s Gatorade Player of the Year for boys basketball, went 8-of-11 and had 17 points in the victory. Manhattan Christian’s Christian Triemstra was the leading bucket getter for Class ‘C’ with 19 points.
Next up was Class ‘A’ versus Class ‘AA’ in a double-header with the girls taking the court first. In the first competitive game of the day, AA got the win, (78-73). Havre’s Ariana Gary led Class ‘A’ in points with 19 and stood toe-to-toe with the Montana girls Gatorade Player of the Year, Breanna Williams of Billings Skyview, who had a double-double of 12 points and 14 rebounds. Amaya Jarvis of Havre had 4 points and 7 rebounds. Billings West product Kourtney Grossman led everyone in scoring with 22 points
In the boys’ matchup of Class ‘A’ vs ‘AA’, it was Frenchtown’s Eli Quinn who hit a go-ahead three-pointer off balance in desperation that propelled ‘A’ to a (102-100) triumph. The Montana Tech commit had a game-high 26 points, including five field goals from downtown. Blue Pony Matt Huse hit two three-pointers, while Tre Gary went for five points and grabbed six boards. Carroll College basketball commit Kellen Harrison led five players in double-figures for ‘AA’ with 16 points.
Class ‘A’ would have to turn around and play Class ‘B’ in the next set of games. The girls’ again started things off and ‘A’ won, (109-99). Everyone but two players scored double-digit points for the victors, with the single digit scorers, including Jarvis, missing out by one point. Gary had 14 points and eight rebounds, while Lockwood’s Tailey Harris and Custer County’s Jillian Kanduch each had 15. Neibauer eclipsed double-figures with 10 points, but it was Baker’s Madison O’Connor who lit it up, scoring a high for the day with 39 points, including nine 3-pointers, while also pulling down 14 boards in the losing effort.
The Class ‘A’ boys would finish off Class ‘B’, (89-75). Gary had 10 points on 50 percent from the floor, while Huse finished with 7 points. Beaverhead County’s Kyler Engellant led ‘A’ with 23 points, while Steffenson had 18 in the loss for Class ‘B’.
The night would be capped off by the 3-point and slam dunk contests. In the 3-point shooting competition, Bozeman Gallatin’s Zad Rodarte hit 22 3-pointers in 50 seconds to take home the boys’ crown, while Kameryn Ketcham of Big Timber drained 17 triples to take home the girls’ championship. Lustre Christian stanadout Johnslee Pierre won the dunk contest, including a final-round 56 out of 60 with a between-the-legs slam.
In the final contests of the evening, Class ‘AA’ and Class ‘C’ matched up and it was Class ‘AA’ coming away with the sweep. The girls’ game finished (92-65) with Grossman and Williams leading the way, combining for 38 points and 16 rebounds. Yeadon chipped in 7 points for Class ‘C’ in the defeat and were led in double-figures by Montana State commit Teagan Erickson and Rocky Mountain College commit Isabelle Heggem, who had 12 and 14 points, respectively.
The Class ‘AA’ boys throttled the Class ‘C’ boys, (107-67). 16 points each were contributed by Harrison and his high school teammate Kash Embry, while Gallatin’s Grant Vigen recorded a double-double of 15 points and 14 rebounds. Triemstra again led his team in scoring with 17 points, while his Manhattan Christian teammate Mason Venema put in 13 and Pierre had 14, including four 3-pointers.
