Belt 57, Great Falls Central 51
Aidan McDaniel scored 19 points to lead the District 8C champion Belt Huskies to a 57-51 win over Great Falls Central in the first round of the Northern C boys basketball divisional tournament in Great Falls.
The Huskies led 17-7 after the first quarter and 30-23 at half. A second-half run briefly gave the Mustangs a two-point lead in the third quarter, but Belt retook the lead quickly and held onto it the rest of the way.
Brendan Wing joined McDaniel in double figures with 12 points for Belt. Noah Ambuehl led GFCC with 13 points and eight rebounds. Wyatt Walters also added 13 points, and Ethan Vincent pitched in with 11.
Belt advances to face Chinook in Friday’s semifinal round at 5:30 p.m., while Central will enter loser-out play against Winnett-Grass Range, Friday at 8 a.m.
Chinook 63, Winnett-Grass Range 29
The undefeated District 9C champion Chinook Sugarbeeters took care of business in the first round, overpowering Winnett-Grass Range 63-29 to advance to the Northern C semifinals.
Isaac Bell led Chinook in scoring with 16 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the field. Cord Schneider added 13 points, five rebounds and four blocks, and Reese Elliot added 10 points and six rebounds.
As a team, the Beeters shot 52. -percent from the field, while holding the Rams to a 28.2-percent clip.
Jacob Jessen was the only Rams player to reach double-figure points with 10.
Chinook, which failed to advance out of divisionals in 2018, will face Belt in the Northern C semis. The Rams will face Great Falls Central in loser-out play.
