It’s been a great year so far for the Clark Fork boys and girls basketball teams, with the boys leading the Western 14-C conference with an unblemished record and the girls sitting in second place with just one loss.

As they prepare to embark on the second half of conference play, the Mountain Cats boys have established themselves as the team to beat the rest of the way.

They fortified their lofty standing Saturday night with a convincing 70-42 road win over the Noxon Red Devils, who have yet to get in the win column following a Covid-delayed start.

In Noxon, the Mountain Cats utilized their solid overall play as they clawed through the Noxon defense on their way to a 20-8 first quarter lead. On a night where four of their starters scored in double figures, this one was all Clark Fork from the opening tipoff.

With the rebounding duo of Caron Callison and Aaron Waddle scoring and controlling the backboards, the Cats upped their lead to 42-18 at halftime.

Noxon mounted a rally in the fourth quarter, out-pointing the Mountain Cats 17-11 but the effort was too little, too late.

Waddle, the Cats powerful inside presence, led all scorers with 18 points on the night. Forward Danner Haskins pumped in 17 points, while Callison contributed 16 to the Clark Fork cause. Senior guard and floor general Bryan Mask added 13 points for the Mountain Cats.

The win boosted the Cats season mark to 6-1, while their 14C record rose to 5-0, good for the top position in the conference.

Noxon, which got a team-high 15 points from Nato Cano, fell to 0-4 in the conference and 0-4 on the year.

Next up for the Mountain Cats is a home game this Thursday against second-place Hot Springs.

Noxon will try for their first win of the season when the host Charlo this Saturday night.

The Clark Fork girls also had a good night in Noxon Saturday, routing the Lady Red Devils 40-18 behind a balanced scoring attack and their trademark stingy defense.

The Lady Mountain Cats used coach Jeff Schultz’s aggressive, fast paced defense to overwhelm the hosts and take an 8-3 lead after one quarter of play.

Clark Fork, which got double figure scoring from Lanie Crabb and Isabella Pereira on the night, built a 23-10 lead by halftime. The defense held high-scoring Lady Red Devil sophomore forward Avery Burgess to just seven points on the night, the first time she has been held under double figures this year.

The Lady Cats continued their run-and-gun style of play the rest of the way, breaking out to a 35-11 lead with eight minutes left in the game, then battled the Lady Devils even during the fourth quarter to secure the victory.

Crabb led all scorers with 11 points, while Pereira tossed in 10.

Burgess’s seven points led Noxon.

The win pushed the Lady Mountain Cats to a 3-1 conference record, while their overall mark improved to 3-3.

Noxon, which won its first two games after a lengthy virus delay to start their season, lost for the first time this year. They stand at 2-1 in the conference and 2-1 overall for the season.

Next on the schedule for Clark Fork is a Saturday game against I-90 rival St. Regis, in a game to be played in St. Regis.

Noxon is also in action this Saturday, hosting league-leading Charlo that night.