GREAT FALLS — The Northern C tournament continued Thursday with the remainder of the quarterfinal matchups. And though the field is missing perennial powers like Roy-Winifred, D-G-S-G, Winnett-Grass Range and Fort Benton, who are all playing in different divisions, the Northern C is still a dogfight.
Box Elder 68, Heart Butte 40
Box Elder showed why it remains the team to beat in the Northern C on Wednesday morning, pulling away from Heart Butte for a 68-40 first-round win.
WATCH: Box Elder boys top Heart Butte
The two-time defending state champions used a balanced attack and defensive pressure to take control early and never let go. Box Elder led 19-15 after one quarter and stretched the advantage to 33-20 by halftime. The Bears outscored the Warriors 35-20 in the second half to secure the 28-point victory.
Sophomore Kenny Helgeson led the way with 18 points, shooting 6 of 16 from the field and adding four rebounds and a team-high seven steals. Noah McDonald, an eighth grader, provided 13 points on 6-of-10 shooting, while Timmy Rossette Jr. finished with eight points and Jaiden Nault added four.
The Bears forced 27 Heart Butte turnovers.
Heart Butte was led by Noah Aimsback and Charles Shortman, who each scored eight points. Shortman also grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds, including nine on the defensive end. Stone LaRoque added six points and 10 rebounds for the Warriors.
Box Elder finished with a 40-31 rebounding advantage and built a lead that grew as large as 31 points. With the win, the Bears advance to the semifinals against Belt.
Cascade 71, Big Sandy 59
In what was shaping up to potentially be the game of the tournament thus far, filled with back-and-forth runs and 10 lead changes, District 8C No. 2 Cascade pulled away in the fourth from 9C No. 2 Big Sandy, 71-59.
This game was tied at 30 after the first couple quarters, with the Pioneers responding following a 28-20 deficit in the second.
WATCH: Highlights from wins by Cascade and C-J-I
Big Sandy would even have a narrow advantage in the third after outscoring the Badgers 24-23 in the frame, but the fourth was a completely different story.
Cascade would outscore Big Sandy 18-5, led behind Trent Lane's 21 points and Kaden Jorgenson's 17.
The Badgers advance to the semifinals on Friday at 5:30 p.m., where they will face...
Chester-Joplin-Inverness 72, North Star 40
District 10C's No. 1 team are the Hawks of C-J-I.
Similar to the game above, this was incredibly back and forth in the first two quarters. The lead changed 10 times as well, but the Hawks would only hold the 9C No. 3 Knights to 11 points in the second half and win 72-40.
At first, it seemed a major upset could be in the works, as North Star jumped out to 16-14 lead after one led by Kaden King, who finished with 13 points.
It was only a two-point game at the break in favor of 10C's top team, but then the Hawks would show their firepower. Four players from C-J-I finished in double figures, with Kody Standiford leading the way at 19 points on 8-of-12 shooting.
