Red Devils topple Missoula's Valley Christian

After going 1-1 in the Hamilton Invitational one week ago, buoyed by 30 points from senior post Shane Murray, the Noxon Red Devils were looking to show their lopsided 69-39 win over Darby was no fluke.

Mission accomplished for the Red Devil boys’ basketball team, which traveled to Missoula to take on always tough Valley Christian and came away with an impressive 72-57 victory. 

The Lady Devils girls’ team, on the other hand, was also coming off an impressive win at Hamilton, 39-22 over Class B Arlee.  But the Noxon girls also took on the traditionally strong Valley Christian girls and fell 50-17 to the Lady Eagles in Missoula this past Saturday. 

The Noxon boys jumped out to a quick 24-12 lead in the opening quarter of their game against Valley Christian, then held off a determined VC rally to hold on for a 37-29 halftime lead. 

The two teams battled back and forth in the third quarter, which saw Noxon hold onto its eight-point lead, 50-42, heading into the fourth quarter. 

In the final eight minutes of regulation, Noxon methodically added to their lead, posting a 63-46 lead midway through the fourth quarter on their way to a 72-57 win. 

Murray, a solid, 6-4 inside force who also has a potent touch from outside the paint, led Noxon with 26 points.  He was joined in double figures scoring by teammates Justice Kayser (15 points) and senior forward Ricky Williams, who added 12 for the Red Devils. 

The win over VC improved Noxon to 2-1 on the young season.  

The Lady Devils ran into a force in the Lady Eagles, who dominated the first half, outscoring Noxon 11-1 in the first quarter, then outpointed the visitors 16-2 in the second quarter to take a commanding 27-3 lead into the halftime break. 

Noxon regrouped in the third quarter and matched 13 points put up by the VC girls, but the early lead was too much to overcome.  They trailed 40-16 entering the final quarter, where the two teams once again tied with nine points each. 

The loss came on the heels of the Lady Devils’ overwhelming win over Arlee a week earlier.  The loss left Noxon’s girls with a 1-1 season mark. 

Both Noxon teams have one game left before the Christmas break, a pair of home games this Saturday afternoon (Dec 21) against Victor.