Superior Bobcats begins season 0-2

Any way you slice it, the boys basketball teams from Granite County were not very hospitable to their counter parts from Superior in Mineral County.

Friday, the Trojans of Drummond ambushed the Superior Bobcats early and kept attacking as they rolled to a 62-25 win in the opening day of the annual Ronan Tip-off event.

The Ronan event each year invites and attracts some of the best Montana Class C boys and girls basketball teams from throughout the western part of the Treasure State.

Clearly, Drummond is appearing early on as if it may be a team to contend with as the 2021-22 season gets underway.

The Trojans blasted their way to an early and easy 17-2 first quarter lead over Superior, then never looked back as they kicked off their season with a big win.

Drummond got balanced scoring throughout their lineup, paced by Caleb Parke, who led all scorers with 23 points for the game. Parke’s scoring helped stake the Trojans to a 33-9 halftime lead as they outscored the Bobcats 16-7 in the second quarter.

It was more of the same after the intermission as Parke and company kept up the defensive pressure while out-pointing Superior 15-7 in quarter number three. Heading into the final quarter, Drummond held a 48-16 advantage.

The Trojans kept up their aggressive attack in the final eight minutes of play, winning the quarter 14-9 for the final total.

One bright spot for the Bobcats was the play of junior forward Orion Plaake, who led Superior in scoring with 16 points. The Bobcats also got eight points from junior guard Isaac Miller.

Things went from bad to worse Saturday when the Bobcats faced another Granite County squad, the Philipsburg Prospectors, who blasted their way to a resounding 74-36 win.

Both teams deployed aggressive defenses in the opening quarter, which ended knotted at 11 apiece. The next quarter was completely different as the Prospectors exploded on the offensive end of the floor.

Philipsburg out ran, shot, rebounded and hustled the Bobcats on their way to a 26-3 second quarter scoring bonanza. Andrew Tallon paced the Prospectors’ attack on his way to a game-high 27 points.

He was joined in double-figure scoring by teammates Hayden Mason, who had 18 points for the game, and Cavan Babbit who contributed 13.

With a 37-14 halftime lead in their favor, Philipsburg kept things rolling in quarter number three to build a 48-20 lead heading into the final quarter of the game.

The Propsectors then outscored Superior 26-16 in the fourth period to wrap up the convincing victory. Philipsburg finished the two-day tournament with a 2-0 record following a Friday win over Noxon.

Superior fell to 0-2 to start the year.

The Bobcats will be looking to rebound from their tournament losses with a pair of conference games this week. They host Darby this Thursday, December 9th on their home court in Superior, then travel to Seeley for a Friday night encounter with the Blackhawks December 10.