HAMILTON — The first round of the Western B boys basketball divisional tournament got underway at Hamilton High School on Thursday. Thompson Falls, Florence, Missoula Loyola and Arlee all advanced to the semifinal round with victories in the opening round.
Arlee 66, Troy 54
In the final game on the opening day of the Western B Divisional, the Arlee Warriors punched the final ticket to the semifinal round with a 66-54 victory over Troy.
Josh Horn scored 16 points for the Warriors and Aiden Swab added 14. Arlee led 18-11 at the end of the first quarter and ballooned it to 30-18 at halftime, and the Warriors kept the Trojans at bay down the stretch to lock up a spot in Friday's semifinal round.
The Warriors also got nine points each from Darius Tewawina and Dainian Marceau. Arlee will take on Missoula Loyola at 8:15 p.m. in Friday's semifinal.
Carson Orr led Troy with 19 points in the game and Kempton Sloan added 16. The Trojans will battle St. Ignatius in a loser-out game at 1:15 p.m. on Friday.
Missoula Loyola 88, St. Ignatius 25
The two-time Class B reigning champion Missoula Loyola Rams wasted little time getting to the semifinal round of the Western B Divisional as Loyola blew past St. Ignatius 88-25.
Rey Johnston went for 33 points in the win while Ethan Stack and Braden McGuirl each tallied 12 as Loyola led 56-15 at halftime and made quick work of Thursday's quarterfinal.
Loyola advances to the semifinal round against Arlee with the win.
Lex LaFrombois led St. Ignatius with 14 points. The Bulldogs will play Troy in a loser-out game on Friday.
Florence 70, Eureka 36
A close game at first turned into a rout as the Florence Falcons beat the Eureka Lions 70-36 in the second quarterfinal at the Western B.
Brody Duchien scored 20 points and Mason Arlington added 13 for Florence, which will take on Thompson Falls in the semifinals on Friday at 6:30 p.m.
The Falcons led the Lions 16-13 at the end of the first quarter as the teams went back and forth, and Florence extended that to a 38-25 advantage by halftime as it took control.
Mose Smith added 10 points for Florence, while Kyler Kossman led Eureka with 16 points. The Lions will take on Anaconda in a loser-out game on Friday at 11:30 a.m.
Thompson Falls 54, Anaconda 36
Owen Doyle scored 16 points and Thompson Falls advanced to the semifinal round of the Western B in the first boys game of the day with a 54-36 win over Anaconda.
The Blue Hawks jumped out to a 13-0 lead and led 18-2 after the first quarter and 32-16 at halftime. Kaiden Robins added 12 points and Ethan Burgess chipped in 10.
Shane Schalk led the Copperheads with 11.
The Blue Hawks will play in the semifinals on Friday while the Copperheads will play in a loser-out game.
