Thursday Briefs: Prep soccer, college hoop news

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CMR girls blank Butte for 2nd straight win

BUTTE – Kelsey Hogan and Emily Funseth each had a goal and an assist as the C.M. Russell High girls’ soccer team shut out Butte 4-0 Thursday afternoon in an Eastern AA match.

It was the Rustlers’ fourth match in seven days and their second straight victory.

Kaelyn Frahm and Brynn Klinefelter also scored goals for CMR, 2-4-2 this fall.

“I was concerned about our energy and effort level,” said Rustlers’ coach Willie Pyette. “But the kids competed hard for 80 minutes. CeCe Grasseschi was dominant in goal and our defense limited Butte to eight shots.”

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Griz men start practice on Friday

MISSOULA – Led by senior guard Walter Wright and sophomore swingman Michael Oguine, the Montana men’s basketball team opens practice Friday under third-year head coach Travis DeCuire.

The Grizzlies were 21-12 last season. Montana played in the Big Sky Conference tournament championship game and subsequently was selected for the CBI Tournament. Star center Martin Breunig graduated after averaging 19 points and nine rebounds.

Wright, a Snow College transfer, averaged 13.2 points last season while Oguine averaged 11 points and four rebounds.

“I would expect people to think highly of them, they’ve earned it,” says Coach DeCuire. “Those guys had incredible seasons last year. I’m excited to see Walter as a senior and Mike, coming into his second year after probably one of the best freshman years in Montana history. What’s important is that they stay hungry and they work hard to live up those expectations.”

Oguine is the second-highest scoring true freshman in Montana history. The only other Grizzly to score more points as a freshman was former Colstrip prep star Kevin Criswell, who averaged 15.1 ppg in the 2002-03 season. For reference, Oguine scored a total of 363 points last year, more than Griz legends Larry Krystkowiak and Michael Ray Richardson scored in their freshman seasons combined.

DeCuire, a former UM star point guard, is 41-15 overall in two seasons. Key veterans returning include Brandon Gfeller, Jack Lopez, Fabijan Krslovic and Mario Dunn, a talented guard who missed half the 2015-16 season with a hand injury.

The Grizzlies’ annual Copper-Silver scrimmage is Oct. 25. The team opens the season with an exhibition game against Whitworth on Nov. 2. The regular-season opener is Nov. 11 at USC.

Hall, Bobcats open fall drills on Friday

BOZEMAN – Superstar sophomore Tyler Hall and several other starters return as the Montana State men’s basketball team starts its fall practice schedule Friday afternoon.

Third-year head coach Brian Fish is optimistic.

“I like where we’re going, but we’ve got a lot of work to do,” said Fish, 21-40 overall in two seasons. “We’ve got to work hard.”

The Bobcats were 14-17 last season and lost three-year starting point guard Marcus Colbert to graduation.

Hall, who drained 96 3-pointers and averaged 19 points and 5 rebounds while earning Big Sky Conference Freshman of the Year honors, returns to lead the Bobcats. Zach Green (9 ppg, 6 rebounds), Quinton Everett (7 ppg, 5 rebounds) and 6-10 Sarp Gobeloglu (8 ppg) also return.

The Bobcats have an exhibition game against Montana Western Nov. 4 in Bozeman. Their regular-season opener is Nov. 11 at Washington State.

State A golf meet gets underway Friday

HAMILTON - The Billings Central boys and Whitefish girls will be looking to defend their team titles Friday as the State A golf tournament kicks off at Hamilton Golf Club.

Liam Clancy returns to seek his second straight boys’ individual championship. Six others who finished in the top 10 also return.

The girls’ tournament will have a new individual champion, since Coral Schulz of Whitefish graduated. Among the contenders are Kinsey Irvin of Fergus High in Lewistown, a two-time Central A champion.

The 36-hole tournament concludes on Saturday.

Rustler girls sweep Blue Ponies

HAVRE – The C.M. Russell volleyball team rebounded from Tuesday’s crosstown loss to Great Falls High and downed the Havre Blue Ponies in three straight Thursday night at the Blue Pony gym.

Trisha Carlson recorded 15 kills and seven digs and Lindsey Anderson had 20 assists and four aces in the 25-22, 25-14, 25-20 win. Tristin Achenbach had a pair of blocks, and Mady Skawinski added four aces to the count.

“I thought we did a nice job controlling the pace of the match,” CMR head coach Theresa Besich said. “We’ve had such an emotional week with the five-set loss to Great Falls and Homecoming.”

Claire Worm and Ceyara Plante combined for nine kills for Havre.

The Rustlers improved to 4-9 overall with the nonleague win, and won’t play again until October 8 when they host Butte in an Eastern AA match.

CMR boys fall to Butte

The C.M. Russell boys’ soccer team had a tough day on the pitch Thursday, falling to Butte 4-1.

Senior captain Corbin Merchant tallied the Rustlers lone goal on an assist from Blake Sowers.

Zach Archibald tallied a pair of scores for the Bulldogs.

The Rustlers, who tied with Butte to start the season, fell to 2-4-2 on the season.

“The boys played hard but the ball just didn’t seem to go our way,” CMR head coach Kumal LaCasse said. “Butte is definitely something special this year and they had our number. We will dust ourselves off and get ready for the next one.”

CMR takes on Billings Skyview on Oct. 7 at 3 p.m. at Siebel Soccer Park.