Hot Springs boys, girls take 3rd at 14C tourney

Close but not quite is the word with the Hot Springs boys and girls basketball teams following the Western 14C tournaments this past weekend in Ronan.

After winning their first game Thursday, a 59-47 win over Superior, the boys advanced to the semi-finals Friday where they fell to Charlo 55-43, sending them to Saturday’s consolation rounds.

They had success Saturday, where they eliminated Noxon 62-34, then fought off an improved Two Eagle River bunch 63-45 Saturday afternoon to secure third place in the tourney.

The Savage Heat were then left hoping for a Charlo win over St. Regis in the boys final to give them a challenge game shot at the number two seed coming out of 14C, but those hopes were dashed when St. Regis held off Charlo 51-50 to win the championship.

They began the tourney by holding off a late-charging Superior boys team after running out to a big 21-2 first quarter lead. At halftime the lead stood at 39-18.

Superior fought back and trimmed nine points off the lead but could not overcome the early hole they had dug.

Senior Jack McAllister paced the Heat with 19 points while junior forward Nathan Lawhead pitched in 16.

Senior forward Andrew Mueller topped Superior with 14 points and the Bobcats added 11 from Isaac Miller.

The win propelled Hot Springs into a semi-final match with number two seed Charlo Friday afternoon.

The Heat opened a 16-8 first quarter lead against the Vikings, only to see the lead evaporate into a 24-23 halftime lead in favor of Charlo. The Vikings then added to their lead in the third quarter behind the scoring of three players who wound up in double figures and forged a 39-32 lead heading into the final eight minutes of play.

The Vikings padded their lead by five in the final quarter and coasted to the win that sent them to the 14C final against St. Regis.

Garth Parker scored 20 for Hot Springs to lead all scorers as the Heat were dropped into Saturday consolation play. They then put together a pair of routs, 62-34 over Noxon and 63-45 over a stubborn Two Eagle River squad to close out their tournament action and end their season.

Against Noxon, Hot Springs took a 12-0 lead after eight minutes of play and never trailed again as they moved on to the consolation final to take on a run and gun Eagle team.

Once again Hot Springs held an early first quarter lead, which they expanded to 33-19 at the half. Two Eagle hung tough throughout the second half behind the deadly outside shooting of Thomas Spotted Eagle but they could not overcome the early deficit. Spotted Eagle led his team with 20 points.

Parker poured in 24 to lead all scorers. The Heat also got 13 points from senior Jack McAllister who was playing his final game for the Savage Heat.

The Lady Savage Heat met a similar fate in the tournament, placing third behind the scoring and rebounding of standout senior Katelyn Christensen, but they too need a Charlo win over Superior to have a chance to play a challenge game for the right to move on to Divisionals. That did not happen as Superior upset the favored Lady Vikings to end the Lady Savages’ dream of a playoff advancement.

Hot Springs opened the tournament Thursday with an easy 56-32 win over Noxon. That victory moved them into the semi-finals against top-seeded Charlo where Lady Viking standout Mila Hawk and crew were waiting.

After a hard fought first quarter ended with Charlo leading 9-4, the Lady Vikings increased the margin to 23-12 at the halftime break. They outscored the Savage Heat 19-9 the rest of the way and advanced to their showdown with number two seed Superior.

Hawk’s 17 points led all scorers, while Hot Springs was led by Christensen’s nine points.

The loss to Charlo dropped the Lady Heat into Saturday’s consolation round where they played a winless Two Eagle River girls team in the morning and came away with an easy 49-27 win.

Key to the game was a 16-0 Hot Springs advantage in the second quarter that all but sealed the victory and pushed the Lady Savage Heat into the consolation final against St. Regis.

Christensen scored a game-high 16 points against Two Eagle River.

That set up the Lady Heat’s match with St. Regis, a game in which Hot Springs took a 12-11 first quarter lead, then upped it to 28-20 at the half. They added four more points to the lead in the third quarter and entered the final eight minutes of play leading St. Regis 45-33.

The Lady Tigers fought back in the final quarter but could not surpass the Lady Heat, who got 24 points from Christensen in her final game for Hot Springs. Baylee Pruitt led St. Regis with 22 points in her final game for the Lady Tigers. Both players will graduate this spring and move on to college basketball via scholarships.