The varsity and JV boys’ basketball teams from Butte have entered quarantine this week, bringing the number of postponed games in the Western AA to four.

Missoula Big Sky got hit first, and canceled its Tuesday game at Glacier and its Thursday home game against Flathead. The Eagle girls’ games were not affected.

Butte was set to play the Helena schools Thursday (Capital, home) and Saturday (at Helena High). Butte High activities director Chuck Merrifield also told 406mtsports.com that the postponement is due to a close-contact traced back to last week’s game against Missoula Sentinel, adding: “There’s three or four other teams quarantined because of it.”

On Wednesday Glacier AD Mark Dennehy said his school’s boys’ basketball home game at Sentinel was still on.

The Spartans have Class AA’s leading scorer, Montana State signee Alex Germer (24.6 points per game). Tip off is at 7:15 p.m.

Streak snapped

The Missoula Big Sky girls fell hard to Glacier Tuesday night, 67-37, but the Eagles did snap their 43-game losing streak by beating Butte 34-23 on Jan. 28.

It was their first win since Dec. 8, 2018, a 56-40 victory against Billings Skyview.

“As soon as the clock hit zeroes, I took two steps back and watched the girls,” Big Sky coach Jordan Featherman told 406mtsports.com. “They were in a huge mosh pit, jumping up and down. I just wanted to watch them celebrate.”

Featherman is a 2007 Big Sky grad who inherited a program that hadn’t had much to celebrate.

The Eagles were back-to-back State AA champs under coach Marti Leibenguth from 2008-09, but that was then. They went 0-20 in 2020 under Jordan Hansen, and previous coach Michaela Anderson went 6-54 from 2017-19.

Big Sky returned one starter (senior Corbyn Sandau) and seven of the 13 players from last season. Junior starter Avari Batt, who missed last year with an injury, is averaging 8.7 points and 6.9 rebounds.

Battle of unbeatens

It was on Jan. 26 that Polson headed to Dillon for a boys’ basketball battle between unbeaten teams, and it lived up to the hype before the host Beavers prevailed, 54-46.

Polson led 9-0 early, trailed 38-28 going into the final quarter, and then closed to 38-37 with 5:53 left in the game. Then Dillon (7-0), despite missing 10 of 17 free throws in the final period, pulled away.

Cole Truman – the son of Jason Truman, who some may remember as a standout quarterback at Eureka and Montana-Western – scored four of his 13 points in the final six minutes.

Jarrett Wilson scored six of his game-high 14 points in the fourth quarter for Polson (7-1), which remains No. 2 in the 406mtsports.com power poll.

Rocking the Metra

Lodge Grass, ranked No. 1 in Class B, took a 93-90 overtime win over Class A Hardin at First Interstate Arena at MetraPark Saturday, in front of 2,000 or so fans. Lodge Grass’ Malachi Little Nest and Ty Moccasin each scored 26 points, while 6-foot-5 junior Damon Gros Ventre - who put in 57 in a game earlier this season - sat out with an ankle sprain. He was still out Tuesday when Lodge Grass lost to league foe (and second-ranked) Huntley Project, 64.52.

This and that

Speaking of Hardin, last year’s State A boys’ co-champs have had to cancel or postpone four games because of COVID-19. … Neighbors Drummond and Philipsburg have had to cancel their Granit County basketball showdowns this week because of COVID. … Glacier High had a signing presentation for three athletes Wednesday, including wrestler Lance Fretwell, who is headed to Concordia (Minn.). JT Allen is going to Rocky Mountain College and Rocco Beccari to Montana-Western for football. … Speaking of Truman, he’s headed to Carroll College for football along with Bigfork’s Cormac Benn. Benn, the state’s leading rusher last fall, is listed as a receiver by the Saints. … Bigfork’s boy’s team has jumped into the 406mtsports.com rankings, at No. 10, as has 7B foe Thompson Falls at No. 9.