Western A boys: Dillon overtakes C-Falls, Polson falls

HAMILTON — It was a great start for Columbia Falls, but Dillon had the finish

Led by Braxtyn Turney, the Dillon Beavers used a late 7-0 run to overtake Columbia Falls for a 40-38 win at the Western A Divisional boys basketball tournament Thursday. 

Turney scored all of his five points in the surge, helping Dillon (13-6) move into Friday’s 3 p.m. semifinal against Frenchtown. Behind 27 points from Hank Smith, the Broncs (15-4) downed Polson 60-29 in another first-round game. 

The Wildcats (14-5) and Pirates (10-11) will battle in a 9 a.m. loser-out Friday. 

Dillon 40, Columbia Falls 38

Down 23-9 early and 37-33 late, Dillon drew even on a basket from Will Hansen at the 2:25 mark and Turney’s shot in the lane with 1:06 left. Turney then hit a 15-foot jumper at the 1:06 mark to put the Beavers up 39-37, 

After the Wildcats turned the ball over, Turney hit a free throw with 27 seconds left. Jett Pitts hit a free throw for Columbia Falls with 7.5 seconds left, and the Cats had a chance after Hansen missed two free throws at 6.5 seconds remaining — Easton Brooks’ desperation three caught rim but fell away. 

Bjorn Pedersen had a game-high 17 points for the Wildcats, hitting three 3-pointers. Hansen and Aason Munday had 10 points each for Dillon. 

Columbia Falls won both its regular-season matchups with Polson. 

Dillon    9    9    8    14    -    40 

C-Falls    17    8    6    7    -    38

DILLON — Canin Christiansen 1 0-0 2, Braxtyn Turner 2 1-2 5, Cohen Hartman 4 1-1 9, Will Hansen 4 0-2 10, Aason Munday 5 0-1 10, Gage Curnow 1 0-0 2, Noah Feenstra 1 0-0 2, Paxton Puyear 0 0-0 0. totals 18 2-6 40. 

COLUMBIA FALLS — Easton Brooks 2 0-0 4, Jett Pitts 2 1-2 5, Jory Hill 2 0-0 5, Bjorn Pedersen 7 0-0 17, Rhett Lindskoog 0 0-0 0, Nico Young 1 0-0 3, Caleb Mee 1 0-0 2, Joe West 1 0-0 2. Totals 16 1-2 38.  

3-point goals — Dillon 2 (Hansen 2), C-Falls 5 (Pedersen 3, Hill, Young). Fouls — Dillon 11, C-Falls 13.  

Frenchtown 60, Polson 29

Smith scored 17 points in the first half to help the Broncs to a 33-17 lead. He hit his second and third 3-pointers of the game in the second half. 

Maddox Hill scored nine points to lead the Pirates. 

Frenchtown lost at home to Dillon 53-50 on Jan. 29; the Broncs then won 49-26 in Dillong on Feb. 20. 

Polson7    10    7    5    -    29 

Frenchtown    13    20    17    10    -    60

POLSON — Kyson Michel 1 0-0 2, Holden Emerson 0 0-0 0, Maddox Bird 3 1-4 9, Max Milton 2 0-0 6, Malakai Curley 2 0-0 4, Cody Haggard 0 0-0 0, Ama Old Shoes 2 0-0 4, Roman Sawyer 2 0-0 4, Eli Evenson 0 0-0 0. Totals 12 1-4 29.  

FRENCHTOWN — Trevor Smith 2 3-4 7, Cooper Michaud 1 1-1 3, Hank Smith 11 2-5 27, Henry Griffin 2 2-2 6, Konnor Klimpel 0 0-0 0, Brooks Day 3 2-3 9, Jaxon Haynes 2 1-1 6, Brayden Ricci 0 0-0 0, Hendrix Waln 0 0-0 0. Totals 22 11-16 60. 

3-point goals — Polson 4 (Milton 2, Bird 2), Frenchtown 5 (Smith 3, Haynes, Day). Fouls — Polson 15, Frenchtown 7.