Hot Springs teams split with St. Regis, Charlo

Hot Springs completed the first half of District 14C play with a split of its conference games last week.

The Savage Heat slowly built a lead and posted a 43-35 win over homestanding St. Regis last Thursday.

Hot Springs started strong against Charlo, the No. 2 team in the district, on Saturday, but the Vikings used a trio of double-figure scorers to breeze to a 55-39 victory.

Savage Heat head coach Cameron Barber pointed to low shooting percentages for both teams in the St. Regis contest.

“That had to contribute to the defense,” he said. “We played man (defense) and mostly 2-3 zone.”

With Tyler Knudsen, Tyler Carr and Luke Waterbury all in foul trouble and giving up minutes on the court, junior Brandon Knudsen paced the Hot Springs offense with 21 points — 13 in the final quarter.

“Brandon really took control when he had to,” Barber said, playing with four freshman on the court the last minute-and-a-half — after Tyler Knudsen, Carr and Waterbury fouled out.

Caleb Ball led the Tigers with 14 points, and Andrew Sanford added nine.

From the foul line, Hot Springs was 12-for-23 and St. Regis 9-for-19.

A QUICK start allowed the Heat to lead Charlo 14-8 after one quarter, but the Vikings rallied to lead 23-22 at intermission. Charlo opened it up in the fourth, outscoring Hot Springs 17-5 — after leading 38-34 with a period to play.

Barber said his team had a total of 15 steals against Charlo.

“The kid were getting their hands up and getting steals and some easy buckets,” he said.

Landers Smith, Nate Delaney and Connor Koenig scored all of Charlo’s points through the first three quarters. Smith finished with 22 points, Delaney had 14 and Koenig 13.

Brandon Knudsen led Hot Springs with 12 points. Carr had nine, and Tyler Knudsen seven.

While Hot Springs was 10-for-15 from the free throw line, Charlo was 9-for-12.

Hot Springs takes a 2-4 District 14C record and 2-8 overall mark into Thursday’s conference game against Two Eagle River in Pablo. The Heat’s home games against Arlee scheduled for this Tuesday (Jan. 15) have been moved to next Tuesday, Jan. 22.

HOT SPRINGS GIRLS’ BASKETBALL

Using an aggressive style of play has been the formula for success for the Hot Springs girls’ hoop team so far this season, and that was a factor in a split of the Lady Savage Heat games last week.

Hot Springs picked up a District 14C victory last Thursday, rallying past St. Regis 38-34 on the road.

The Lady Heat fell behind early Saturday at home against Charlo, one of the top two teams in the district, and the Lady Vikes rolled to a 51-22 win.

Hot Springs trailed St. Regis 12-6 after one quarter and 29-23 with a period to play. Hot Springs outscored the Lady Tigers 15-5 in the fourth quarter.

“We never had a lead until the first minutes of the fourth quarter,” Lady Heat head coach Richard Jackson said. “We maintained it from there.

“It took us awhile to get started. We a press on and got some good steals. It was a good win for the girls … They learned that hustling paid off.”

Five-foot-11 junior McKennzie Cannon turned in a stellar double-double with 14 points, 14 rebounds and a trio of steals. Sage Jackson and Katelyn Christensen had seven points each. Sydney Jackson had six points, five steals and two assists.

Hot Springs struggled at the foul line, converting 11 of 27 free throws while St. Regis was 7-for-10.

Madison Kelly led St. Regis is 16 points.

CHARLO RACED to a 19-6 first-quarter lead over Hot Springs, and the spread was 33-8 at halftime.

“We went up and saw them play Arlee (on Friday) and came up with a game plan,” coach Jackson said. “We knew it was going to be a challenge.

“It was a terrible performance. My girls didn’t show up to play,” he added. “They’re (Charlo) well-coached … We still have half a season to fix things. We can only learn from this loss.”

The Lady Heat were just 6-for-19 from the foul line and Charlo went 6-for-10.

Christensen paced Hot Springs with nine points three assists and three steals. Lizzy Fisher had seven points and Sydney Jackson five. Cannon had four blocked shots, and Brianna Gray added two steals.

Katilin Cox topped Charlo with 14 points. Teaira Truman added 11, and Liev Smith nine.

Hot Springs has just one game date this week; that’s against District 14C foe Two Eagle River on Thursday in Pablo. Varsity girls’ game time is 5:30 p.m. Hot Springs’ home games against Arlee slated for this Tuesday (Jan. 15) have been moved to next Tuesday, Jan. 22.