FRENCHTOWN — St. Regis and Manhattan Christian will meet in the semifinal round of the Western C boys basketball divisional tournament after both secured first-round wins Thursday at Frenchtown High School. St. Regis pulled away from Valley Christian for a 69-52 win, while Manhattan Christian stormed pass Drummond 62-35.
Harrison topped Two Eagle River 55-45 and West Yellowstone defeated Lincoln 37-30 to also advance to the semifinal round.
St. Regis 69, Valley Christian 52
After winning the District 14C championship last week, St. Regis started the Western C divisional tournament off with a 69-52 win over Valley Christian on Thursday.
The Tigers looked strong from the opening tip, building an early lead in the first quarter behind the play of John Pruitt. The senior guard poured in a game-high 23 points, doing his damage both on the interior and behind the 3-point line. Beyond Pruitt, St. Regis had a balanced offensive attack with Kaden Sanders (12 points), Ayden Rael (10) and Conner Lulis (10) also finishing in double figures.
Valley Christian, the second seed from District 13C, was led by Zeke Glidewell with 15 points.
With the win, St. Regis advances to Friday's semifinal round, where it will play Manhattan Christian at 6:30 p.m. Valley Christian, meanwhile, falls to loser-out action and will play Drummond at 12:30 p.m. Friday.
Manhattan Christian 62, Drummond 35
Reigning Class C state champion Manhattan Christian got one step closer to another state tournament berth with a 62-35 win over Drummond in the first round of the Western C divisional tournament Thursday.
The Eagles quickly built a double-digit lead behind Carter VanDyken, who knocked down three first-half 3-pointers as Manhattan Christian built a 33-16 lead at the break. VanDyken finished with a game-high 19 points, and Mason Venema — who scored 15 points, including six on three dunks — and Christian Triemstra, 10 points, also had strong games for the Eagles.
Brody Rasor scored 13 points to lead the Trojans.
Manhattan Christian, the District 12C champion, will play St. Regis in the semifinal round at 6:30 p.m. Friday. Drummond, which placed third at the District 13C tournament and then defeated Hot Springs in a Western C play-in game Monday, will play Valley Christian in a loser-out game at 12:30 p.m. Friday.
Harrison 55, Two Eagle River 45
Aaron DeFrance scored a game-high 28 points to lift Harrison over Two Eagle River 55-45 and move the Wildcats into the semifinals.
Harrison made just 17 of 30 foul shots for the game, but the Wildcats went 12 of 14 in the second half to hold off Two Eagle River. Harrison led 27-14 at the half, but the Eagles closed within six by the end of the third quarter before Harrison closed out the win.
Gavin Hokanson added 10 points for Harrison.
Jabez Madplume scored 20 points to lead Two Eagle River.
In Friday’s semifinals, Harrison will play West Yellowstone at 8 p.m. Two Eagle River plays a 2 p.m. loser-out game Friday against Lincoln.
West Yellowstone 37, Lincoln 30
Ben Hales scored 15 points to help West Yellowstone grind out a 37-30 win over Lincoln in the final first-game of the Western C divisional tournament Thursday.
The teams played to a low-scoring 4-4 first quarter, but Hales and the Wolverines scored 16 points in the second quarter to gain separation. Cody Gould added seven points for West Yellowstone, and Alma Clark and Hayden Turner each chipped in five. The Wolverines will play Harrison in a semifinal game at 8 p.m. Friday.
Lincoln was led by Andrew Brown's 10 points. The Lynx will meet Two Eagle River in a loser-out game at 2 p.m. Friday.
