Seasons renewed and seasons ended as the 14C district basketball tournament took place from Feb. 19 to Feb. 21 in Polson.

With a packed Linderman Gym, the Charlo girls and Two Eagle River boys moved on while the Two Eagle River girls and Charlo boys lost. Here’s a look at everyone’s path to an ending or another chance at victory.

Charlo Girls 44, Superior Girls 35

The team most poised to win out did so but not in dominant fashion. The Charlo girls finished their 14C championship run with a victory over Superior on Feb. 21.

It was a lighter but passionate crowd for the girls championship game last Saturday. The Lady Bobcats were coming off two victories and poised to make this one a fun match.

Charlo’s offense got going early with an 11-8 lead but Superior’s scrappy demeanor is enough to rattle even the strongest opponents. The Lady Bobcats had played the Lady Vikings close in their prior two games, making this rematch even more special for both teams and the raucous crowd.

Charlo pulled away a bit in the second quarter with a 23-16 lead but it was clear Superior never expected to lose this one. Even against the top team in the district, Superior played up with good plays on defense and quick turnovers that usually led to scoring opportunities.

The third quarter spelled the start of the end for the Lady Bobcats and Charlo rallied behind a late Brielle Zempel layup to go up 37-26. Superior dropped some easy chances to score while the Lady Vikings shined at grabbing rebounds.

With Superior depleted due to foul trouble, Charlo took full control with another game where they shut down their opponent’s best scoring chances. The Lady Vikings won 44-35 and earned the 14C title.

It wasn’t Zempel or teammate GG Hawk who led the team in scoring, but Maizey McDonald, who dropped a 15-point, 10-rebound double-double game to secure the win. Zempel had 14 points to just trail her teammate.

“I'm feeling so proud of my teammates and all the crowd and all my family for coming,” McDonald said. “This atmosphere was insane, and I'm so grateful that we put in a lot of grit and strength and we pulled through. It was a tough game, and I'm proud of everyone for playing their absolute hardest. It's one of the best feelings ever.”

They will be the one seed out of 14C when they compete in the Western C divisional tournament starting Feb. 26 in Butte.

Charlo Girls 43, St. Regis Girls 15

The Lady Vikings had to win one game to make the championship and they dominated on Feb. 20 to knock off the St. Regis Lady Tigers.

It looked like Charlo was going to struggle in this one early, falling behind 5-4 as the Lady Vikings turned the ball over frequently and struggled to score. The Lady Tigers hadn’t given Charlo any problems all year but this felt like something could be different.

Unfortunately for St. Regis, the Lady Vikings were the best team in girls 14C for a reason. Charlo only allowed three points in the second quarter and took a much more comfortable 16-7  lead with both Zempel and Hawk scoring seven points each heading into the halftime break.

After halftime, it was over before the final buzzer as Charlo ran away with the third quarter. They outscored the Lady Tigers 20-4 and showcased the talent that had initially gotten them to this point.

St. Regis matched their fourth quarter point total with four points before allowing another seven points to a Charlo team that suffered from some early tournament jitters. They locked up their trip to the chip with a 43-15 victory.

Zempel led the team in points 15 while Hawk followed up with nine points.

St. Regis Boys 74, Two Eagle River Boys 49

Another championship game featuring two powerhouses saw the five-time district champion St. Regis Tigers face off against the local Two Eagle River Eagles on Feb. 21.

It was a lopsided result early, with the Tigers showing why they've been the victor for so many years. The Eagles fell behind 18-7 in the first quarter as their shooting and playmaking wavered in the face of a strong St. Regis defense.

In the second quarter, the Eagles’ Arty Mahkuk was the difference maker with three straight threes in just under a minute and a half of play. Despite that, the rest of the team struggled to score, this time trailing by a smaller margin of 34-28.

Once the halftime break was over, it was St. Regis’s Conner Lulis who took over. He dropped 27 points up to the end of the third quarter, almost singlehandedly taking Two Eagle River out of this game before the final quarter of play. The Tigers led 62-38.

Lulus had done his damage and the Eagles couldn’t find a way back in. With just two players in double-digits, the Eagles offense never found a rhythm as they fell in the 14C title game 74-49.

“I feel great,” Two Eagle River boys basketball head coach DJ Piapot said. “I mean, I feel really good. These kinds of games get you ready for that next level. Obviously, divisionals and state are going to have the top caliber teams. So I love playing games like this because it teaches us what we need to do next time.”

Mahkuk and Talon Addison tied the Eagles in scoring with 12 points each. 

Both teams will head to the Western C divisional tournament in Butte this week, where Two Eagle River will be the 14C two seed.

Two Eagle River Boys 56, Superior Boys 48

The Eagles were in for a close one on Feb. 20 when they faced the other side of scrappy in the Superior boys.

It was another exciting game with the Bobcats being noted as the underdogs going into this game. They had a chance to close out the season with a marquee victory but the Eagles were not going to make it easy.

Two Eagle River started off slow but so did Superior as they closed the first quarter with a 13-10 score.

However, the Eagles started to do what they do best and hit some three pointers to widen the gap 28-20 in the second quarter. The Bobcats fought but ultimately needed the halftime break to settle before challenging one of the best in 14C.

Superior came out of halftime with a rejuvenated spirit, getting good opportunities to score around the rim. While Two Eagle continued to score well, the Bobcats more than doubled their scoring output. They tied it up 35-35 with a quarter to play.

The Eagles weren’t going to let a weak third quarter ruin their night as they cleaned up the mistakes from the prior quarters. They ended by scoring 21 points in the fourth and winning 56-48 against Superior.

Talon tallied 14 points, while his brother, Thomas Addison, earned 12 points to round out the top two scorers for that game.

Noxon Boys 64, Charlo Boys 40

The Charlo boys did not perform as well in their weekend as they started with a loss to Noxon on Feb. 19.

The positive of this game was the Vikings' leading scorer, Karson Cox, returned from an injury. With Cox back in the lineup, the Vikings had a chance to knock off a Noxon team that also struggled to close out their regular season.

They fell behind 15-14 to the Red Devils but not before Cox was able to score eight points in his first quarter of play since Jan. 24. Noxon’s Justice Kayser also had eight points after the first quarter.

However, the Viking offense fell off in the second quarter with just three points to Noxon’s 15. Three-point shooting was the difference as the Red Devils shot tremendously heading into halftime.

Charlo again couldn’t score in the double-digits, losing that battle 22-9 in the third quarter. The Red Devils' shooting stayed consistent as they headed into the fourth quarter.

Noxon held out and Charlo couldn’t muster the improbable comeback late in the game. The Red Devils won 64-40.

Cox led the team with 17 points as they headed to the consolation side of the bracket.

Superior Boys 52, Charlo Boys 50 

The first boys basketball season in Lake County ended on Feb. 20 when Charlo dropped their final game to Superior.

The Bobcats were coming off a gritty and well-fought loss to the two-seeded Two Eagle River. Superior was looking for their divisional invite and it went through a newly healthy Charlo team.

It was another hot start from Cox with nine points and an early lead for the Vikings. Superior struggled to score as they trailed 13-8 in the first quarter.

That lead diminished quickly but not enough to give the Bobcats the lead. Charlo held on to a 20-16 lead, with Superior doing a good job of stopping Charlo’s top scorer in the process.

The Bobcats found life in the third quarter by taking their first lead since the early stages of the first quarter with a 35-34 score. Charlo struggled to find good looks against the Bobcats but still managed 14 points heading into the fourth quarter.

As Superior started to pull away in the fourth, Charlo’s Kenyan Dumont hit back-to-back threes to keep Charlo within three with just seconds on the clock. As the Vikings tried to hold on, a bad pass led to the Bobcats holding on in a close 52-50 win.

Cox had 20 points to lead all Vikings scorers in his final game wearing the purple and white.

“I think it's just a really good learning moment, just to show that it can always end right then and there,” Cox said. “You can come back but you should always play like it's your last game. Play hard, train hard. So I think hard work is really what it comes down to because, I mean, you never know when it could be your last game.”

The boys finished this season 2-8 in the district and 4-14 overall.

St. Regis Girls 42, Two Eagle River Girls 33

The Two Eagle River girls also saw their season come to a close, starting with a loss on Feb. 19 to St. Regis.

This was a chippy game with both teams playing physical basketball throughout. That kind of play made for an interesting game between teams that split their regular-season series.

The Lady Eagles led 9-7 to start, showcasing their tough defense against the Lady Tigers.

However, they couldn’t keep up on offense as they fell behind St. Regis 20-17 in the second quarter. With plenty of scoring opportunities, the girls were not able to make them count.

The offense continued to be a problem for the Lady Eagles as they fell behind even more at 32-21. 

As the clock waned, the Lady Eagles struggled to close the gap to an even six points in the fourth quarter. The Lady Tigers held strong and won out 42-33.

Keke Tenas led the Lady Eagles with 15 points.

Hot Springs Girls 52, Two Eagle River Girls 31

The end of the season for the Two Eagle girls came on Feb. 21 when the Lady Eagles dropped their last game against Hot Springs.

Hot Springs led early 18-6 as the Lady Eagles' offensive woes continued from their prior game. The Lady Savage Heat were slighted by a close loss to the eventual runner-up Superior Lady Bobcats and they were not looking to suffer another loss just yet.

The Lady Eagles struggled to score again in the second quarter as Hot Springs took the 28-13 lead heading into halftime.

Nothing changed after the break as the Lady Eagles continued to struggle putting the ball in the hoop, while Hot Springs remained consistent with a 39-23 lead with just one quarter to go.

The Lady Eagles only managed eight points to the Lady Savage Heat’s 13 points, leaving Two Eagle River to look on as Hot Springs moved on in the consolation bracket. Two Eagle River ended their season with a 52-31 loss.

The Lady Eagles concluded their season with a 5-7 district record and a 9-11 overall record.

“They put in a lot of work,” Two Eagle River girls head coach Zachary Wagner said. “Last year, we won three games. This season, looking back at Two Eagles history, we were the most successful girls basketball team in our program's history, and they're super proud of that.”

    Charlo sophomore Ronson Hout takes a layup over Noxon sophomore Guthrie Kayser on Feb. 21 in Polson. (Max Dupras/Leader)
  

    Two Eagle River senior Ryiley Gates backs down St. Regis junior Conner Lulis on Feb. 21 in Polson. (Max Dupras/Leader)
  

    Two Eagle River senior Jodessa Dickson takes a jumpshot over St. Regis senior Mae Grosenbaugh on Feb. 21 in Polson. (Max Dupras/Leader)
  

    The Charlo girls basketball team holds the 14C District Tournament first-place plaque after winning against Superior on Feb. 21 in Polson. (Max Dupras/Leader)
  

    The Two Eagle River boys basketball team holds the 14C District Tournament second-place plaque after losing to St. Regis on Feb. 21 in Polson. (Max Dupras/Leader)