Hot Springs shows strength at Tip Off tourney

The long-awaited future appears to be here for Hot Springs basketball.

Both the Savage Heat and the Lady Heat teams finished 1-1 in the loaded Hamilton Tip-off tournament this past weekend, increasing optimism in the hallowed halls of Hot Springs hoops that there’s no time like the present. 

The boys opened their part of the round-robin tournament with a 73-47 win over a surprising, but outmanned Alberton team, then locked horns with one of the best teams in Class B, Arlee, and trailed throughout the game before falling 60-42 to the hot-shooting Warriors. 

The Lady Heat opened their Hamilton appearance with a 55-12 rout of rival Noxon, then dropped a close one to Darby, 45-41 on Saturday. 

The boys fought their way to a 15-6 first quarter lead over Alberton as 6-4 Savage Heat senior post Nick McAllister asserted control of the paint early with six first quarter points. However, in the second quarter, Alberton fought back behind six points from standout forward Shea Fredette, keeping the score in range, 30-21 at the half. 

But the second half belonged to Hot Springs as they outscored Alberton 21-13 to increase their lead to 51-34 heading into the fourth quarter.  Freshman Chase Depoe poured in a trio of three-pointers in the third quarter along with a two-point bucket for 11 points. 

Brazilian exchange student Pedro Vidotti, a thick, 6-3 forward erupted for eight points in the fourth quarter and sophomore forward Ben Aldridge threw in six points as Hot Springs wrapped up their season-opening win. 

Depoe led the Heat with 17 points, while McAllister added 13 and Vidotti finished with 10.  Fredette was the leading scorer for Alberton with 14 points. 

Saturday evening the Heat took on Class B power Arlee, which unleashed a torrid shooting barrage that staked them to a 34-17 halftime advantage. 

Despite the offensive firepower shown by the Warriors, Hot Springs kept battling and played even up with Arlee in the third quarter, which ended with the Warriors in front 49-33.  DePoe had five third quarter points, while Aldridge added four. 

But the first half lead would not go away as the Arlee sharpshooters offset every Hot Springs attempt at a rally on their way to the 60-42 win. 

Aldridge led the Savage Heat with 14 points. 

"I think that's (Arlee) one of the best teams we will play in the regular season and I certainly wasn't disappointed with our effort", said Heat head coach Mike Benson. "I think tough games like that give us a clear view of what we can work on to get better".

Hot Springs raced to a 13-2 first quarter lead in their girls match with Noxon, then increased the lead to 24-8 at the half. 

The Lady Heat clamped down on defense in the second half, outscoring Noxon 21-4 in the third quarter, then posting a 10-0 shutout in the fourth period to secure the 55-12 win. 

Junior standout guard Kara Christensen led the Lady Heat with eight points and nine rebounds, while junior Lilia Francoise contributed seven points and six boards for the winners. 

Saturday the Lady Heat took on Class B Darby and emerged from a back-and-forth first quarter battle with a 10-8 lead. In the second quarter, Hot Springs maintained a four-point lead for the first four minutes before Darby used a three-pointer to take a 15-14 lead, then added a two-pointer to assume a 17-14 advantage with 3:09 before the half. 

Both Christensen and senior forward Brooke Jackson picked up their third fouls during the second quarter in what was a closely officiated game. 

At the half, Darby was ahead 19-16. 

The Lady Tigers lost the lead temporarily in the third quarter, 23-22, on a three-pointer by Jackson, who also hit a two-pointer to give the lead back to Hot Springs after Darby scored two to grab a 24-23 lead.  The quarter ended with the Lady Tigers on top, 26-25. 

The fourth quarter saw increased offense from both teams, as both teams battled back and forth before it was tied at 41-41 with 40 seconds remaining. 

Darby scored four straight points on free throws over the remainder of the quarter as they held on for the 45-41 win.  Christensen paced the Lady Heat with 10 points. 

This Thursday the two Hot Springs teams travel to Superior for a pair of games against the Bobcats who also finished the Hamilton tourney with a 1-1  record.