Horsemen finish second at District, Trotters take fourth

Both the Horsemen and Trotters made a strong showing at the District 14C Tournament in Pablo over the weekend as the Plains boys finished second to top-ranked Arlee while the girls finished fourth.

The Joe McDonald Gym on the campus of Salish and Kootenai College was filled to capacity Saturday evening as the top-seeded Plains Horsemen met state top-ranked Arlee for the third time this season (the teams split their previous two meetings).

Arlee looked as if it would run away with a victory in the first half but the Horsemen were able to fight their way back into the game, cutting the Warrior lead to just four with six minutes to play. Arlee closed the game with a strong run, though, to hand the Horsemen a 66-45 loss.

Jay VonHeeder led the Horsemen with 11 points in the loss while Ryan Ovitt and Aaren VonHeeder added 10 points each. Tanner Ovitt scored six points and Kyle Weeks had two.

The Warriors were led by Tyler Tanner’s 24 points while Greg Whitesell added 15, Phillip Malatare scored 10, Alex Moran had nine points and Will Mesteth had eight.

The Horsemen, who finished the regular season with the same district record as Arlee, came into the tournament as the top seed on in the boys bracket and opened play with a 58-47 win over Charlo in the semifinal Saturday evening.

The teams fought a close battle in the opening quarter as the Horsemen were able to build a slim 8-5 lead after eight minutes of play. The Horsemen turned up the pressure in the second frame and used a 13-4 run to build a 21-9 halftime advantage.

Both teams found their offense in the third quarter as Charlo scored 18 and Plains added 21 to push the Horsemen lead to 42-27 heading into the fourth quarter.

The Vikings were able to cut into the Plains lead in the fourth quarter but were not able to erase the deficit as the Horsemen held on to pick up an 11-point victory.

Weeks led the Horsemen with 15 points in the win while Ryan Ovitt scored 12, Aaren VonHeeder had 11, Alec Cole scored 10, Jay VonHeeder had eight and Sam Rehbein added two points.

The Horsemen were scheduled to face Charlo in a challenge game Monday evening in Ronan. Game results were not available at press time.

The third-seeded Trotters opened the tournament with a 60-43 win over Hot Springs Thursday afternoon.

Plains grabbed a slim 12-8 lead after one quarter and led 24-18 at the half. The game remained close in the third quarter before the Trotters outscored Hot Springs 24-14 in the fourth quarter to pull away.

Lindsay Laws led Plains with 18 points while Kylee Altmiller was also in double figures with 17, as was Jessica Thompson with 14. Natalee Deschamps scored three points and Hayley Josephson, AnaLisa Loberg, Kara Altmiller and Audrey Brown each scored two.

Laws scored 18 and Thompson added 14 against St. Regis Friday, but the Lady Tigers used an 11-0 first-quarter run to pick up a 58-42 win over the Trotters.

Plains was back in action Saturday as the Trotters picked up a 64-49 win over Noxon to earn a trip to the consolation final.

A close game after one quarter of play, the Trotters used a 22-6 second-quarter run to pull away for the win.

Laws again led the Trotters in scoring in the win with 25 points while Thompson added 19.

The Trotters came up just short in the consolation final, falling to Charlo, 33-32.

Plains took a 24-23 lead into the fourth quarter only to see Charlo come away with the win.

Laws and Thompson each scored 15 in the loss while Josephson added two points.