Hot Springs and St. Regis split meeting

It was a mixed bag of basketball for the Hot Springs boys and girls basketball teams this past week.

The girls had a good week, getting back on track and winning three straight after a one-point win over Philipsburg, 48-47, this past Tuesday, then romping over Western 14C rival St. Regis 49-20 Thursday. Both were home victories for the Lady Savage Heat, who a few weeks ago had struggled through a brief mid-season losing streak.

The Hot Springs boys, meanwhile, downed Philipsburg 49-39 Tuesday, keeping the Prospectors winless despite Heat post Nick McAllister sitting out the contest with an injured foot.

Thursday night did not go near as well for Hot Springs when they hosted 14C leading St. Regis and were upended 81-35 by the Tigers in a conference game.

The Lady Heat got off to a good, if not heart-stopping beginning to their two-game schedule last week versus the Lady Prospectors, who are 4-0 in the 13C conference.

Philipsburg grabbed a 16-11 lead after the first quarter, in large part due to the offense generated by Montannah Piar, who had a team-high 20 points on the night.

But the Hot Springs offense was also heating up after some cold shooting games during their losing streak, paced by senior forward Lauryn Aldridge’s game best 21 points, mostly in the paint.

The Lady Prospectors extended their lead to 27-20 at the half, then outscored Hot Springs 12-10 in the third quarter to assume a 39-30 advantage heading into the final quarter of regulation play.

However, the Hot Springs squad turned up the heat and their defense limited Philipsburg to eight points in the fourth quarter while the offense generated 18 points to overcome the Prospector’s lead and eke out a down-to-the-wire victory.

Sophomore Kara Christensen contributed 17 points and forward Brooke Jackson added eight as the Heat squared their season record at 5-5.

Thursday night in Hot Springs the Lady Heat faced the Lady Tigers from St. Regis and dominated the first quarter 20-5. They upped that lead to 28-7 at the half behind the scoring of Christensen and the inside play of their front line.

Hot Springs continued to pour it on in the third quarter, outscoring the visitors 15-2 on their way to a seemingly insurmountable 43-9 lead heading into the final eight minutes of the game.

St. Regis fought back in the fourth quarter but the deficit was too much to overcome as the Lady Heat coasted to the 14C conference win.

Christensen led all scorers with 24 points, while Jackson tossed in 12 for the Heat. Eleven of Christensen’s points were in the first quarter.

St. Regis dropped to 3-4 on the year and 2-3 in 14C play with the loss.

The Hot Springs boys meanwhile, played the same teams on the same days and began the week Tuesday with a 10-point win over the Prospectors, who have yet to secure a win this year.

With McAllister watching from the sidelines due to a foot injury, the two teams battled to a near standstill in the first quarter, which ended with the host Savage Heat holding an 8-7 lead.

Hot Springs cranked it up in the second quarter, outscoring the visitors 15-7 on their way to a 23-14 halftime lead.

The Heat continued their aggressive play in the third quarter, adding 11 points to their halftime lead. They held a 41-19 advantage with one quarter to play.

Philipsburg staged an aggressive rally in the fourth quarter and outscored the Heat 20-8, but the original deficit was to great for them to overcome as Hot Springs weathered the charge and secured the win.

Hot Springs had three players score in double figures versus Philipsburg, paced by 12 points from sophomore Ben Aldridge. Daniel Slonaker added 11 points for the Heat and teammate Quincy Styles scored 10.

Thursday night the deep and talented St. Regis Tigers rolled into town, perhaps inspiring McAllister to lace 'em up and gut it out.

But it was to no avail as the run-and-gun Tigers bolted off to a 24-10 first quarter lead and never looked back.

With senior forward John Pruitt back in the lineup after missing one game for unspecified reasons, St. Regis kept the pedal to the metal in the second quarter, growing their lead to 45-22 at the half.

The Tigers outscored Hot Springs 36-13 in the second half to complete the lopsided win and improve their season mark to 10-3. The Tigers are 4-1 in 14C play, and hold a one-game lead over 4-2 Charlo for the league lead.

Pruitt led the Tigers with 19 points, while teammate Conner Lulis added 17 to the St. Regis total. Ayden Rael also scored in double figures for the Tigers, contributing 10 points to the win.

The loss dropped the Heat to 3-8 overall and 1-5 in District play.

Hot Springs travels to Pablo this Thursday (Feb 1) for a game versus Two Eagle River. They return to their home court Saturday evening where they will face Alberton in a boys only encounter. St. Regis hosts Alberton Thursday evening, then journeys to Charlo for a battle for the league lead Friday night.

    Tigers freshman guard Conner Lulis is surrounded by Hot Springs players as he looks for a passing lane during their game Thursday night in Hot Springs. (Chuck Bandel/VP-MI)
  

    Hot Springs senior Lauryn Aldridge (34, white jersey) is guarded by St. Regis guard Shannon Todd during their game Thursday evening in Hot Springs. (Chuck Bandel/VP-MI)
  

    Hot Springs guard Kara Christensen goes high to snare a rebound while St. Regis' Shylah Dalke (2, green), and teammates Lauryn Aldridge and Erica Cannon look on. (Chuck Bandel/VP-MI)