Local teams reach consolation finals
Two local teams (Mineral and Sanders counties) and one from nearby Lake County (Charlo) made it to the consolation finals of this past weekend’s B and C basketball finals in Hamilton and Butte respectively.
Unfortunately for local fans, all four tasted defeat and missed a chance to go to the state finals March 13-15.
But all three of the local teams played well over the course of the three-day tournaments, including Noxon’s boys, who fell in the boys Class C consolation final to Seeley-Swan, 56-48.
In other consolation finals games involving local teams, Class C Charlo (Lake County) lost to always tough Manhattan Christian, 67-30, and Class B T Falls girls fell to St. Ignatius, 56-34.
In the non-local Class B boys consolation final, Anaconda knocked off Florence-Carlton 52-39.
Noxon’s boys, who reached the consolation final with a victory over St. Regis during Saturday’s consolation round, scrapped their way to a 16-12 first quarter lead over Seeley’s Blackhawks. The Red Devils increased their lead by three in the second quarter, giving them a 27-21 halftime edge.
But Seeley outscored Noxon 22-13 in the third quarter, erasing the Red Devils’ halftime lead and sending the game into the fourth quarter with the Blackhawks in front, 42-40.
In a frantic fourth quarter, Seeley out-pointed Noxon 14-8 to clinch the consolation round title, 56-48. Three Red Devils scored in double figures, led by outstanding senior post Shane Murray’s 13 points. Noxon also got 12 from forward Cameron Blair and 10 from senior forward Ricky Williams. The loss left Noxon with a 19-7 overall record this season, while Seeley finished it’s year 17-9. Blake Irwin led the Blackhawks in scoring with 16 points.
In the girls' consolation final, Manhattan Christian pitched a shutout in the first quarter to take a 14-0 lead after eight minutes of play. They matched their first quarter with 14 points in the second period enroute to a 28-6 halftime lead.
Manhattan Christian outscored Charlo 39-24 in the second half to secure third place in the tournament. GG Hawk led the Vikings with 12 points, while Charlo teammate Seeley McDonald added 11.
Bella Treimstra led all scorers with 26 points for the Lady Eagles. The loss closed out Charlo’s season with an 18-6 overall record.
In Class B play, St. Ignatius’ girls took an early, 12-9 first quarter lead, then added three points to their advantage in the second quarter, sending the two teams into the halftime break with the Lady Eagles leading 25-19.
MC turned up the pressure on both ends of the court in the second half, outscoring T Falls 31-15 to cement the third-place win. Outstanding junior forward Gabi Hannum led T Falls with 14 points, while St. Ignatius was topped by Brooklyn McClure’s 16. The Bulldogs also got 15 points from Kiernan Incashola.
St. Ignatius closed out their 2024-25 campaign with a 19-5 record while T Falls concluded their year at 15-9.
In boys Class B consolation final, Anaconda jumped out to a 10-6 first quarter lead on their way to the 52-39 win over Florence-Carlton. Anaconda led 16-15 at the half, but outscored Florence 36-24 over the final two quarters to secure the win.