Devils and Heat done
Despite winning three of their four games at districts, the Red Devils failed to advance to the Divisional tournament.
When Noxon played its consolation game with Two Eagle River on Saturday afternoon, the Red Devils knew, they still had a chance for a challenge game. They would need help, however, but if Charlo could top Arlee in the championship, Noxon would play one more game.
Unfortunately for the Red Devils, that scenario would not come into play as a 59-51 win by the Warriors ended Noxon’s season.
Noxon was the only team other than Arlee to win their final game of the District 14-C Tournament. Dating back to the regular season, the Red Devils won six of their final eight games.
In their quarterfinal showdown on Thursday, the Red Devils toppled the Savage Heat, 54-42 in overtime. It marked their third victory over Hot Springs this season.
In the extra session, Noxon scored 16 points to come away with the opening round win.
“In overtime, we couldn’t hit anything and they couldn’t miss anything,” Savage Heat head coach Ricky Depoe said.
Jordan Eichert led the Red Devils with 17 points. Travis Tammaro added nine points, Neal Jopling and Austin Tucker eight, Tyrell Wilkinson six, Jesse Linderman three, Banks Stocking two and Johny Carter one during the win.
Hot Springs was paced by Cody Hoff, who scored 18 points. Dave Cross chipped in 10 points, Trevor Bras eight and Zack Malinak and Conner Stobie three apiece in the loss.
The following day, Charlo bettered Noxon, 49-42 in the semifinal on their way to the championship game.
Despite outscoring the Vikings 15-11 in the fourth quarter, the Red Devils could never overcome an early deficit.
Chico Stipe led the way for Charlo with 11 points.
The Vikings, who padded a five-point halftime advantage with a 16-10 run in the third quarter, also received 10 points from Dillon Delaney.
Stocking led Noxon with 14 points in the loss. Tammaro added 13 more, Jopling five, Wilkinson and Eichert three each and Tucker and Piazzola two points apiece
The Red Devils weren’t through quite yet, as they coasted to a 38-point, 53-15, win over St. Regis in a loser out game on Saturday morning.
Tammaro collected 14 points and five rebounds to lead Noxon. Eichert contributed 12, Johny Carter nine, Jopling five, Stocking and Wilkinson three each, Brandon Piazzola Tucker and Oliver Grupenhoff two apiece and Brent Wilson one point.
Jon Langella had eight points and six rebounds for the winless Tigers (0-19).
In the other loser out game on Saturday morning, the Savage Heat fell to Two Eagle River 62-75 in the season-ending game. The Savage Heat finished the season with a 7-13 overall mark.
Colton Malatare collected game highs with 25 points and five assists to help the Eagles advanced to the consolation matchup with Noxon.
Dave Cross scored 24 for the Savage Heat. Hoff added 17 points, Wyatt Nagy seven, Connor Stobie three, and Mike Gray two in the loss.
Seniors Hoff, Malinak and Bras played in their final games for Hot Springs. Depoe said he will miss Hoff’s leadership, Malinak’s energy and Bras’ quiet example and work ethic moving forward.
“It was a pretty good tournament for the boys, but for how hard they’ve worked all year and some of the great games they’ve played in, I felt they could have gone a little farther,” Depoe said. “It was tough to see them lose that way.”
Noxon took the court against Two Eagle River on Saturday with high hopes, helping them soar to a 79-39 win over the Eagles.
The Red Devils red-hot shooting helped them run up a 36-17 halftime lead on their way to the victory. Noxon hit 72 percent from the field while earning a third place finish.
Both Eichert and Tammaro scored 20 points for Noxon. Stocking and Jopling added 15 each and Piazzola two points in the win.
Playing in their final games for the Red Devils, seniors Linderman and Wilkinson scored four and three points respectively.