GREAT FALLS — The Box Elder Bears made a strong statement in their first game at the Northern C boys tournament on Thurday, both on offense and defense.
The Bears forced 33 Cascade turnovers and beat the Badgers 84-45. Tracen Jilot led the Bears with 21 points, while James Lewis, Gavin Giulham, and Brent Ethridge all had 11 for Cascade. Box Elder moves on to face Belt while Cascade awaits Great Falls Central in consolation play.
The Roy-Winifred Outlaws used a big third quarter to pull away from Chester-Joplin-Inverness in a 67-39 win. The Outlaws got out to a 11 point half time lead behind a 18 point first half from Ethan Carlstrom. But he was not the only high scorer through the first two frames.
CJI’s Blake Harmon put 14 points of his own as he did all he could to keep them in the game. Roy-Winifred used a 20-6 third quarter to ride their way into the semis. Carlstrom finished with a game high 28 points.
In the last quarterfinals matchup Big Sandy handed Heart Butte its first loss on the season, taking the Warriors down 71-59. The Pioneers advance to the semis and will face Roy-Winifred.
