SPORTS

Box Elder, DGS boys win in morning Northern C action

Mark D. Robertson

Box Elder's and Denton-Geyser-Stanford's boys' basketball teams dispatched foes in action Saturday morning at the Northern C divisional tournament at Four Seasons Arena to set up a 6:30 p.m. meeting in the consolation final.

That game will be preceded by the 5 p.m. girls' challenge game in which Chinook and Cascade will duke it out. The victor earns a spot in next week's state tournament in Missoula.

Familiar rivals Belt and Highwood will meet in the nightcap, scheduled for 8 p.m., to determine the Northern C champion. Highwood, by virtue of earlier tournament wins over Box Elder and DGS, is already guaranteed a spot in the state tournament two weeks ahead in Billings. The unbeaten Huskies will have to win Saturday night in order to prevent a Monday challenge game with the winner of the consolation final.

Box Elder 90, Hays-Lodge Pole 51 (lo)

The defending state champs shot the lights out Saturday morning in the Four Seasons, nailing 10 first-half triples en route to the blowout victory.

Jake Jones scored all 20 of his points in the first half for Box Elder, which also got 13 apiece from Tristan Bernard and Jerrod Four Colors.

Box Elder outscored the Thunderbirds 24-5 in the first quarter before hanging an incredible 38 in the second stanza.

Hays-Lodge Pole senior Sterling White Cow scored a team-high 10 points as the T-Birds' season came to a close.

Denton-Geyser-Stanford 70, Chinook 47 (lo)

The Bearcats jumped out to a 19-7 lead and never looked back, riding the 22-point, nine-rebound effort of 6-foot-7 center Kash Perry. The Montana State football commit was joined in double figures by Austin Morris (12 points), Conner Bokma and Kendall Carpenter (each with 10 points).

DGS was outstanding at the free throw line, making 17 of 18 attempts. Chinook shot a solid 76 percent from the stripe as well, but the Sugarbeeters were just 32 percent from the field in the loss.

Cody McCracken led the way for Chinook with 17 points, and Lane Seymour added 14 of his own.