HAMILTON — Bigfork survived a slow first quarter to run away with the Western B divisional boys basketball championship on Friday, beating Florence 53-32 to take the West’s top seed into the state tournament.

The Vikings (23-0) trailed 5-2 after the first quarter, struggling with a methodical Florence offense that aimed to keep the score down. Bigfork broke free in the second, outscoring the Falcons 17-8 to take a six-point lead into halftime and never look back.

Jon Landon had 18 points and Christian Evans had 16 for the Vikings, who beat Florence for the third time this season, avenging a loss to the Falcons in last year’s divisional title game. Bigfork will open the state tournament against the fourth seed from the South.

Florence, who was led by eight points from both Brad Schaff and Jake Christopherson, will also be headed to the state tournament. The Falcons will play the South’s second seed in the first round in Bozeman.

Bigfork  2  17  17  17  –  53

Florence  5  8  12  7  –  32

BIGFORK — Adam Jordt 1 0-0 2, Cam Nissen 0 1-2 1, Christian Evans 6 3-6 16, Isaac Martel 4 2-2 11, Jon Landon 7 3-4 18, Josh Sandry 0 4-4 4, Ryder Trent 0 1-2 1. Totals: 18 14-20 53.

FLORENCE — Brad Schaff 3 2-4 8, Brandon Johnson 0 1-2 1, Jake Christopherson 3 2-4 8, Levi Clagett 2 0-0 5, Ryan Mangun 2 2-3 6, Travern Smith 1 0-0 2, Tynan Heck 1 0-0 2. Totals: 12 7-13 32.

3-point goals - Bigfork 3 (Evans, Martel, Landon), Florence 1 (Clagett). Total fouls - Bigfork 13, Florence 15. Fouled out - Florence, Brady Pickering.

Third Place

Eureka 62, 

Missoula Loyola 52

HAMILTON — Eureka got hot from deep, shooting the lights out in the consolation final to beat Missoula Loyola and finish third at divisional. 

Trey and Chase Bohne combined for five 3-pointers in the third quarter, and closed the fourth hitting 10 of 10 free throws to lead the Lions to victory. Chase finished with 17 points and Trey had 16. Dalton Smith added 11 and Austin Perez 10 for Eureka. 

JJ Anderson led Loyola with 15 points.

Eureka  9  12  21  20  –  62

Loyola  14  10  14  14  –  52

EUREKA – Austin Perez 3 4-8 10, RJ Glover 4 -02 8, Dalton Smith 5 1-1 11, Trey Bohne 4 4-4 16, Chase Bohne 4 6-6 17.

LOYOLA SACRED HEART – Tony Madsen 1 5-6 7, Zach Hollenback 1 0-0 2, Stephen Sellman 4 0-0 8, Matt McHugh 1 2-4 4, JJ Anderson 5 204 15, Danner Linhart 4 4-5 12, Forestt Cooper 1 2-4 4.

Loser out

Eureka 70, 

St. Ignatius 60

HAMILTON — Chase Bohne had 19 points, including three 3-pointers, as Eureka knocked out St. Ignatius to advance to the consolation final in loser out play Friday morning. 

Trey Bohne scored 14 points and Dalton Smith 10 for the Lions. Eureka outscored the Bulldogs 26-16 in the fourth quarter to spur the victory. 

Stuart Grant had 18 and Jarred Brown 17 for St. Ignatius.

Eureka  15  17  12  26  —  70

St. Ignatius  13  18  13  16  —  60

EUREKA — Austin Perez 1 3-4 5, Myles Griffin 3 1-3 7, Colton Henrie 1 0-0 3, RJ Glover 4 0-2 8, Dalton Smith 2 6-10 10, Trey Bohne 6 2-2 14, Chase Bohne 5 6-6 19, Braden Thier 2 0-0 4. Totals: 24 18-27 70.

ST. IGNATIUS — Jarred Brown 6 4-13 17, Stuart Grant 6 5-7 18, Patrick Eichert 2 2-2 6, Aaron Fisher Ahenakew 2 0-0 5, Gentry Brown 3 1-2 8, Will Powell 2 2-3 6. Totals: 21 14-27 60. 

3-point goals - Eureka 4 (C. Bohne 3), St. Ignatius 4 (J. Brown, Grant, Fisher-Ahenakew, G. Brown). Total fouls - Eureka 17, St. Ignatius 16. Fouled out - none.

Missoula Loyola 56, Deer Lodge 43

HAMILTON — Matt McHugh connected on five 3-pointers, finishing with 27 points, as Missoula Loyola ran past Deer Lodge to advance to the consolation final. 

Tristen Clark led Deer Lodge with 10 points. 

Msla. Loyola  13  16  13  14  —  56

Deer Lodge  5  14  8  16  —  43

LOYOLA SACRED HEART — Tony Madsen 1 1-1 3, Kevin Swanson 0 1-2 1, Zach Hollenbach 3 0-3 6, Strother Cooper 0 2-2 2, Stephen Sellman 2 2-4 6, Matt McHugh 9 4-6 27, JJ Anderson 2 0-0 5, Danner Linhart 1 1-3 3, Forestt Cooper 1 1-1 3. Totals: 19 12-22 56.  

DEER LODGE — Tristen Clark 4 1-2 10, Derek Walker 2 0-0 6, Cade Benjamin 0 1-2 1, Logan Doiron 3 0-2 6, Kahel Lowery 2 1-1 6, Ethan Johnston 2 0-0 5, Justin Marshall 1 0-0 2, Jake Simpson 2 3-7 7. Totals: 16 6-14 43.

3-point goals - Loyola 6 (McHugh 5), Deer Lodge 5 (Walker 2). Total fouls - Loyola 12, Deer Lodge 19. Fouled out - Deer Lodge, Clark, Doiron. 

GIRLS 

Semifinals

Missoula Loyola 55, 

Bigfork 42

HAMILTON — The Bigfork girls fought to within two points of Loyola in the second half, but couldn’t maintain momentum, falling to the loser-out rounds. 

The Valkyries overcame a nine-point halftime deficit to draw the contest within a bucket, but couldn’t close it out. Lana Berg had 12 points to lead Bigfork, which will play Florence in the consolation semifinals this morning. 

Loyola  14  14  13  14  —  55

Bigfork  8  11  14  9  —  42

LOYOLA SACRED HEART — Olivia Round 0 2-4 2, Mikayla Schneider 2 3-4 7, Makaya Resner 2 3-7 7, Brook Kolar 0 3-4 3, Kesley Twite 2 2-2 7, Skylar Hollenback 5 2-5 13, Sami Worster 6 1-3 16. Totals: 17 16-29 55.

BIGFORK—– Marissa Hiza 3 1-1 8, Riley Coleman 2 0-0 4, Mattison McAnally 1 0-2 2, Lana Berg 4 4-6 12, Josie Spoklie 0 2-3 2, Tessa Robertson 2 2-2 6, Miranda Campbell 3 2-2 8. Totals: 15 11-16 42.

3-point goals - Loyola 5 (Worster 3), Bigfork 1 (Hiza). Total fouls - Loyola 13, Bigfork 20. Fouled out - Bigfork, Hiza.

Deer Lodge 43, Plains 32

HAMILTON — Deer Lodge scored 38 points in the second half after being held to five in the first, advancing to the divisional championship with a win over Plains. 

Bailee Senecal had 17 points for the fourth-ranked Wardens, who have dropped just one game this season. 

Kimberly Earhart had 13 points for Plains.

Plains  8  6  4  14  —  32

Deer Lodge  3  2  14  24  —  43

PLAINS — Kimberly Earhart 4 4-6 13, Hailey Phillips 1 4-4 6, Carley VonHeeder 1 1-2 4, Kayla Holmes 2 1-2 5, Leah Thompson 2 0-0 4. Totals: 10 10-14 32.

DEER LODGE — Jaicee Senecal 2 1-1 6, Michele Christnacht 2 3-4 9, Bailee Senecal 6 5-8 17, Shayla Therriault 1 3-4 5, Dani Walker 3 0-0 6. Totals: 14 12-19 43.

3-point goals - Plains 2 (Earhart, VonHeeder), Deer Lodge 3 (Chrisnacht 2). Total fouls - Plains 18, Deer Lodge 16. Fouled out - none.

Loser out

Florence 59, Eureka 40

HAMILTON — Florence jumped out to a 15-4 lead on Eureka in the first quarter and ran away with a win in loser-out action. 

Nicole Anderson had 12 points to lead the Lions. Nikki Schurg had 21 for Florence to lead the Falcons to the consolation semifinals.

Florence15  16  14  14  —  59

Eureka  4  12  13  11  —  40

FLORENCE — Megan Byrne 4, 901 8, Kourtney Kohlman 2 0-1 4, Autumn Round 0 2-4 2, Steph Drozdz 1 1-2 3, Nikki Schurg 8 4-4 21, Carli O’Brien 1 2-2 5, Megan Kowalski 3 1-5 9, Jade Zeiler 0 0-2 0, Chloe Arthur 0 1-2 1, Margaret Finlay 1 4-4 6. Totals: 21 15-27 59. 

EUREKA — Whitney Williams 2 2-3 7, Nicole Anderson 5 0-1 12, Evynn Anderson 1 0-0 2, Amanda Peterson 4 4-4 12, Elliott Peterson 0 1-2 1, Ashlen Pacella 2 2-3 6. Totals: 14 9-14 40.

3-point goals - Florence 2 (Schurg, O’Brien), Eureka 3 (N. Anderson 2). Total fouls - Florence 19, Eureka 20. Fouled out - none.

Ronan 56, 

Thompson Falls 45

HAMILTON — Ronan scored big in the first half, taking a 31-20 lead into the break to coast to the consolation final. 

Raymi Clairmont had 11 points to lead nine Maidens that scored in the game. Shey Hannum had 15 to lead Thompson Falls.

Ronan  19  12  12  13  —  56

Th. Falls  11  9  10  15  —  45

RONAN — Jordyn Clairmont 0 1-2 1, Angela North Piegan 2 3-7 7, Raymi Clairmont 4 3-3 11, Aspen Jore 3 2-2 8, Alaina Madsen 1 3-4 5, Courtney Taylor 1 0-0 2, Hailey O’Hern 3 0-0 6, Kendra Starkel 3 3-6 9, Lee Camel 3 0-0 7. Totals: 20 15-24 56.

THOMPSON FALLS — Madi Wheeler 1 0-1 2, Shey Hannum 6 2-5 15, Sam Johnson 0 0-2 0, Erica Sorlie 1 2-2 4, Madi Fitchett 1 0-0 3, Angela Padden 2 0-0 5, Autrey Hannum 4 2-6 10, Logan Beckman 2 2-5 6. Totals: 17 8-21 45.

3-point goals - Ronan 1 (Camel), TFalls 3 (S. Hannum, Fitchett, Padden). Total fouls - Ronan 18, TFalls 18. Fouled out - Ronan, O’Hern. TFalls, Beckman.