Malakai Curley scored the winning bucket with 2.5 seconds left in the game, lifting Polson past its Northwestern A Conference rival Ronan 62-60 on Saturday, Feb. 1. Curley finished the Lake County throwdown with 28 points off nine field goals and added five rebounds, three assists and two steals to his stat line.

Both Polson and Ronan now have identical 4-2 conference records.

The Pirates built a 29-25 halftime lead, but the Chiefs outscored their opponent by seven in the third quarter for a 50-47 lead.

Polson trailed by five points with under three minutes remaining in the game. Curley hit two free throws to pull the Pirates within three, 57-54, and then Cason Graham hit a shot to pull Polson within two points. Curley hit two more free throws to put Polson up by one.

Ronan’s Jhett McDonald hit a three-pointer to put the Chiefs up 60-58 with 1:18 remaining. On the other end, Pirate Cody Haggard snagged an offensive rebound and a putback to tie it again at 60-60.

After Curley put Polson ahead, the Chiefs launched a long-range three-point heave that fell short as time expired.

Graham finished with 11 points and three rebounds for the Pirates, while Haggard had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Kolby Finley’s 16 points led Ronan, while Lawrence Lozeau added 12, and Jhett McDonald and Chad Higgins each had nine points.

The loss dropped Ronan to 8-4 on the season, while Polson improved to 7-5 on the year.

At Ronan

POLSON 62, RONAN 60

Polson - 13 - 16 - 18 - 15 - 62

Ronan - 11 - 14 - 25 - 10 - 60

POLSON SCORING: Malakai Curley 28, Cason Graham 11, Cody Haggard 10, Kyson Michel 9, Holden Emerson 2, Maddox Bird 2

RONAN SCORING: Kolby Finley 16, Lawrence Lozeau 12, Jhett McDonald 9, Chad Higgins 9, Siouxpixm Qualtier 7, Tayen Edmo 5, Sean Small 1, Trey Samsel 1

Wildcats defeat Pirates

Columbia Falls started off strong and finished in a 75-46 victory over Polson in Northwestern A Conference play on Friday, Jan. 31. The Wildcats continued their strong start to the year, improving to 9-2 overall and 4-1 in conference play.

Columbia Falls started the game on a 15-6 run and led 34-16 at halftime. It extended its lead by five points in the third quarter.

Cooper Ross led the Wildcats with 20 points.

Malakai Curley’s 14 points led Polson, while Cason Graham had 10 and Holden Emerson scored nine.

At Polson

COLUMBIA FALLS 75, POLSON 46

C-Falls - 15 - 19 - 22 - 19 - 75

Polson - 6 - 10 - 17 - 13 - 46

POLSON SCORING: Malakai Curley 14, Cason Graham 10, Holden Emerson 9, Shaedon Perry 5, Kyson Michel 3, Jesse Vail 3, Maddox Bird 1, Cody Haggard 1

Ronan comes back against Bigfork

Ronan outscored Bigfork by eight points in the fourth quarter, picking up a 57-52 Northwestern A Conference victory on Tuesday, Jan. 28. Laurance Lozeau hit six shots and scored 18 points to lead the Chiefs past the Vikings.

Trailing 26-22 at halftime, Ronan pulled to within three points in the third quarter. Their win drops Bigfork to 1-4 in conference action.

Tayen Edmo scored 12 points for the Chiefs, while Siouxpism Qualtier had 11, and Kolby Finley chipped in 10 points. Edmo also dished out eight assists in the game.

Austin Savik led Bigfork with 22 points.

At Ronan

RONAN 57, BIGFORK 52

Bigfork - 14 - 12 - 11 - 15 - 52

Ronan - 9 - 13 - 12 - 23 - 57

RONAN SCORING: Laurance Lozeau 18, Tayen Edmo 12, Siouxpixm Qualtier 11, Kolby Finley 10, Sean Small 4, Chad Higgins 2

Anaconda sneaks past Mission 

Anaconda snuck past Mission in non-league Class 7B boys basketball action on Friday, Jan. 25. Lex LaFrombois scored 30 points for the Bulldogs, who were tied with the Copperheads 21-21 at halftime.

Anaconda pulled ahead by two points in the third quarter and held on in the fourth.

Jason Leishman had nine points for Mission, which fell to 3-11 on the season with the loss, while Anaconda improved to 6-7.

At St. Ignatius

ANACONDA 53, MISSION 52

Anaconda - 16 - 5 - 18 - 14 - 53

Mission - 10 - 11 - 16 - 15 - 52

MISSION SCORING: Lex LaFrombois 30, Jason Leishman 9, Vinny Shepard 7, Harlon Leishman 4, Jacob Piedalue 2

Bluehawks remain undefeated with win over Bulldogs 

Thompson Falls remained undefeated in Western 7B play, defeating Mission 71-41 on Tuesday, Jan. 28. In the first half, the Bluehawks held the Bulldogs to single digits in each quarter and led 32-16.

The Bluehawks scored 31 points in the third quarter to ice the game.

Mission’s Lex LaFrombois landed 27 points, while Kaiden Robins was the top scorer for Thompson Falls with 19 points.

Vinny Shepard added seven points for Mission.

Thompson Falls improved to 11-3 on the season.

At Thompson Falls

THOMPSON FALLS 71, MISSION 41

Mission - 7 - 9 - 17 - 9 - 42

T-Falls - 19 - 13 - 31 - 8 - 71

MISSION SCORING: Lex LaFrombois 27, Vinny Shepard 7, Jason Leishman 4, Harlon Leishman 4

Warriors beat Vikings In Lake County battle

Arlee went on a big run in the second quarter en route to a 74-55 non-league victory over Lake County rival Charlo on Saturday, Feb. 1.

Karsen Cox led Charlo with 31 points, but Arlee built a 43-20 halftime lead, scoring 28 points in the second quarter. The Vikings did cut into the lead by five points in the third quarter, but the Warriors' initial advantage was too much to overcome.

Josh Horn scored 19 for Arlee, while Kaiden Ostby had 13. Darius Tewawina notched 12 points and Aiden Swab was the fourth Warrior in double digits with 10 points.

Charlo fell to 3-11 on the season with the loss and Arlee improved to 11-3 as the Warriors also notched a 44-37 victory over Deer Lodge on Friday, Jan. 31.

At Arlee

ARLEE 74, CHARLO 55

Charlo - 7 - 13 - 18 - 17 - 55

Lincoln downs Charlo

Karsen Cox scored 16 points, crossing the 500-point mark for his career. Still, Charlo fell 78-25 to Lincoln on Friday, Jan. 31.

The Lynx improved to 8-0 in Western 13C action, while the Vikings fell to 1-7.

Lincoln led 28-11 after one quarter and 46-17 at halftime.

At Charlo

LINCOLN 78, CHARLO 25

Lincoln - 28 - 18 - 20 - 12 - 78

Charlo - 11 - 6 - 6 - 2 - 25

CHARLO SCORING: Karsen Cox 16, AJ Kobilansky 4, Keyan DuMont 3, Tasker Brown 2

Two Eagle defeats Heart Butte

Two Eagle went on a 16-6 run in the third quarter to capture a 58-50 non-league victory over Heart Butte on Friday, Jan. 31. Thomas Addison led the Eagles with 16 points, and Jayvian Burke added 15.

Heart Butte held a 27-19 lead at halftime before Two Eagle took the lead in the third quarter and then outscored the Warriors by six points in the fourth. Two Eagle improved to 7-7 overall, while Heart Butte fell to 2-9.

LaSean BigDay scored 11 points for Two Eagle while Aden Wayne led Heart Butte with 16 points.

At Heart Butte

TWO EAGLE 58, HEART BUTTE 50

TERS - 11 - 8 - 16 - 23 - 58

HButte - 14 - 13 - 6 - 17 - 50

TWO EAGLE SCORING: Thomas Addison 16, Jayvian Burke 15, LaSean BigDay 11, Wyatt Thomas 7, Talon Addison 4, Jamian Adams 2, Rhiley Gates 2, Lathan PrettyWeasel 1

    Ronan's Kolby Finley and Polson's Malakai Curley keep an eye on the ball during last week's game between the two schools. (Christa Umphrey photo)
  

    Mission's Jake Helser is poised to pass during last week's game against Anaconda. (Christa Umphrey photo)