Play continued at the 2025 Hi-Line Invitational basketball tournament on Friday in Havre. The morning session started with Class ‘C’ girls and Class ‘B’ girls and it was ‘B’ winning, (84-65).
The ‘B’ girls outscored the ‘C’ girls, (42-17) in the second quarter. Madison O’Connor from Baker will be heading to Montana State next season, but she put up a monster outing of 26 points and 14 rebounds in this win. Kaytie Aanstad from Scobey led Class ‘C’ with 13 points, while DGSG’s BriElla Becker contributed 11. Big Sandy’s Eva Yeadon scored four points in the loss. Neva Jacobson had six points in the win and her Malta teammate Denvyr Tuss had four points and seven rebounds.
Next up was the same classes in the boys’ rankings and again it was ‘B’ over ‘C’, (86-80). Missoula Loyola’s Rey Johnston finished with 19 points in the victory. Malta’s Bohdi Brenden was next on the list with 12. His Mustangs teammate Dawson Hammond contributed two points. Christian Triemstra from Manhattan Christian went off for 34 points in the defeat.
Class ‘AA’ made its first appearance of the tournament as its girls took on Class ‘A’. After Thursday night’s victory over Class ‘C’, the ‘A’ girls rolled on, this time (84-76). Blue Pony Amaya Jarvis stuffed the stat sheet with eight points, 13 rebounds, and six assists. Another Havre player in Ela Harbor recorded four points in the win. Kenleigh Graham from Dillon led the way with 22 points, while Lockwood’s Dani Jordan had 16.
The boys’ game of that same classification took shape and it was ‘AA’ over ‘A’, (84-76). Being outscored by six points in the first quarter and eight in the fourth quarter contributed to the loss. Havre’s Tre Gary led the team in rebounds with 10 and also had four points. Pony Matt Huse hit three 3-pointers. Dillon’s Kyler Engellant again was the leading point-getter for ‘A’ as he put in 17.
The Class ‘A’ girls then took their first loss of the campaign, falling to Class ‘B’, (85-72). Ariana Gary put up a double-double of 15 points and 11 rebounds as she continued to represent Havre. Her Blue Pony teammate Amaya Jarvis again had a good showing of six points, eight rebounds, and five assists. Braden Gunlock from Bigfork scored a game-high 22 points for Class
‘A’. Gatorade Player of the Year Paige Lofing from Huntley Project led Class ‘B’ with 21 points, while Baker’s Madison O’Connor had 20 points and 20 rebounds.
Class ‘A’ boys went on to defeat Class ‘B’ boys, (105-87). Havre’s Tre Gary was tied in team-high rebounds with nine to go along with five points. Matt Huse put up four points in the win, also representing the Blue Ponies. Hank Smith from Frenchtown sizzled with 40 points. Brenden finished with 17 points to help lead Class ‘B’, tied with Missoula Loyola’s Rey Johnston for team-high honors.
The team activites took a break for an hour so individual talents could be recognized in the 3-point and slam dunk competitions. Zakai Owens from Billings Skyview won the dunk contest, while Brynecia Hugs of Plenty Coups and Carson Towe from Missoula Sentinel won their respective 3-point contests.
Games were back underway with Class ‘AA’ girls facing the ‘C’ girls and ‘AA’ came away with a (100-55) win. Yeadon scored four points in the Class ‘C’ loss. Becker contributed a ‘C’ team-high 15 points and was the only player in double-figures. The boys’ from the same classes closed out the night and ‘AA’ again dominated, (111-66).
Saturday is the final day of competition for the H.I.T and that will consist of consolation and championship games. Stay tuned for an official wrap on the tournament.
