The Pirates came out with defense on their minds when the Philipsburg Prospectors came to Victor on Friday night. Within a few seconds of the opening tip off, Tyler Swanson had converted a steal to two points. And then he did it again. The relentless defense of Victor fueled their offense as the Pirates cruised to another 13C conference victory, stopping Philipsburg, 65-48.

Victor took control from the tip off when Tyler Swanson intercepted a pass and converted that into two points. By the midpoint of the first quarter, Victor had a 13-point lead.

"The one thing we emphasized to the boys tonight was to come out with some intensity," said coach Jay Jagelski of his Pirates. "We wanted to pressure and attack their guards, really cause some turnovers. They came out the first quarter and really took it to them (Philipsburg)."

It's a showdown between Victor's Eric Taylor and Phillipsburg's Bill Metesh during the basketball game between the Pirates and the Prospectors. Victor continued their winning streak, defeating Phillipsburg, 65-48.

One of the goals for Victor was to not only stop the Prospectors from scoring but to also stop their leading scorer, Charlie McDonald, from scoring. Victor's Eric Bissett stepped up and took control of that job. Although McDonald finished with 25 points, half of the points came in the fourth quarter after Bissett left the game and Victor's second string was playing.

"We're playing with a lot of confidence," said Jagelski. "But with that being said, we still have a lot of room for improvement. I think we are on pace to reach our peak at the right time."

Victor held the lead throughout the game. Philipsburg made a run at the Pirates a time or two but each run was always met with defense and then scoring by the Pirates. Mark Frye led the way for the Pirates with 20 points.

Victor's game against Arlee on Saturday night was cancelled due to the virus outbreak in Arlee. That game will be rescheduled.

Philipsburg - McDonald 25, Bill Metesh 9, Houge 2, Munis 9, Poser 3.

Victor - Gatlin Lamb 5, Tyler Swanson 10, Eric Taylor 17, Mark Frye 20, Saxton Coorough 3, Dalton Buker 3, Chris Mai 2, Clay Sacks 1, Josh Hixon 4.

Hamilton picked up a win over Frenchtown on Saturday night. The Broncs in crimson and silver took an early lead and never looked back, topping Frenchtown, 57-44. Kyle Crowley led the scoring for Hamilton, dropping in 15 points, including three 3-point shots. With the win, Hamilton moved to 3-3 in conference play and 57 overall.

Hamilton lost to Sentinel, 69-34 on Thursday. Jason Schallenberger had 13 points and 8 rebounds for the Broncs.

Stevensville, despite playing with a host of ill players, defeated Anaconda 59-44, in Anaconda. Nick Dahlquist led the Yellowjackets with 20 points and Ethan Pateman added another 17. Stevensville is now 5-1 in conference play and 7-4 overall.

The 'Jackets lost to Class AA Big Sky, 69-57, on Thursday. Dahlquist again led the scoring with 20 points for Stevi.

Florence hosted the Loyola Rams on Thursday. The outsized Falcons couldn't contain the Rams and fell, 60-50. Brandon Lorensen nailed 21 points for the Falcons. The Falcons lost to Deer Lodge, 62-51, on Saturday. Reid Baerlocher had 14 points for Florence.

Darby dropped a game to Plains, 69-49 on Saturday. Dillon Oliver scored 28 points in the game. Seeley Swan continued their sweep of District 7B when they defeated Darby, 80-43. Oliver had 25 points.

Corvallis lost a heated battle with Butte Central, 61- 44. Freshman Rodee Anderson had 14 points followed by Matt Smithís 12 points for the Blue Devils.

Corvallis topped Polson, 60-42, on Friday. The Blue Devils scored 24 points in the second quarter while holding the Pirates to only 10 points. Corvallis had three players in double figures with Smith and Anderson each scoring 16 points. Dalton Sybrant added 12 in the win.

It was a Lady Bronc scrum as players from the Hamilton Lady Broncs and the Frenchtown Lady Broncs battled for a loose ball. Cierra Smith (32) and Averyl LaSalle (30) battle Frenchtown's Jennifer Brown for the ball. Jean Schurman photo.

Lady Broncs tame Frenchtown

It was a battle of the Lady Broncs Saturday night in Hamilton when Frenchtown came to town. But the Hamilton Lady Broncs were prepared and controlled the game from the beginning tip off to the final buzzer, winning the Southwest A conference game, 42-27.

"They didn't play particularly well but I think we had something to do with that, too," said Mark Albert of his Lady Broncs.

Frenchtown was playing without their All-conference point guard, Noelle Lebsock and Hamilton's Misha Trotter took advantage of her replacement. Trotter forced several turnovers and turned several of those steals into baskets. Frenchtown's first basket was scored with only 90 seconds remaining in the first quarter when Brady Nordahl hit a short jumper and then sank a free throw.

The quarter ended with Ashley Albert shooting a long ball, which rattled in, and then back out but Hamilton still had a six-point lead.

"Some shots didn't go in tonight," said coach Mark Albert. "But we're getting what we want."

What they wanted was strong play underneath and confidence throughout the game. They had both. Dayna Moerkerke continued to play tough in the paint, limiting Frenchtownís Laura Geis to only two points for the game. This comes after Moerkerke's efforts against Dillon's Hayley Pettit that led to a first time victory over Dillon.

"That was a signature win for our program," said Albert. "Dayna's doing a great job on those big girls right now."

Frenchtown didn't quit and pulled back within four points at the end of the first half. A block by Moerkerke on Geis in the third quarter gave Hamilton the mental edge and the Lady Broncs took advantage of it, pushing out to a 10-point edge at the end of the third stanza.

A left handed lay up by Ashley Albert followed by another block by Moerkerke and the Lady Broncs were on a roll. With coach Albert saying quietly "play smart now" and then saying it again a little louder, Hamilton rolled on to another conference victory. They are now 5-1 in conference play and 9-3 overall.

"We broke our season up into quarters," said Albert. Hamilton was undefeated in the first six games and split the next six into three wins and three losses.

"We played a lot tougher teams," according to Albert. "With teams like Anaconda, Frenchtown, Florence and Dillon, they are tougher."

But Albert is pleased with where his team is at right now. With 11 games remaining, the Lady Broncs are working on maintaining their momentum and playing a tough physical game, just like the one against Frenchtown. Frenchtown played a tough 2-3 zone and for the first time this season, Hamilton broke through the zone with good success.

Hamilton was led by Misha Trotter's 14 points.

Frenchtown - Hedrick 2, Nordahl 4, Geis 2, Amundsen 4, Brown 4, Russ 11.

Hamilton - Misha Trotter 14, Ashley Albert 12, Averyl LaSalle 4, Cierra Smith 6, Annie Schultz 5, Dayna Moerkerke 1.

Hamilton fell to a tough Sentinel team on Thursday, 45-30. Sophomore Annie Schultz had 10 points in the non-conference loss.

Florence's Lady Falcons had a tough weekend. They went up against the Loyola Breakers on Thursday and then had to make the trip to Deer Lodge on Saturday for another game. Both games were close but the Lady Falcons were unable to get a win.

Loyola came out and quickly scored six points but two buckets by Jordan Rick and one by Katie Niemeir and the game was tied midway through the first quarter. By the end of the first quarter, Florence had a five point lead.

But Loyola made some adjustments and came right back at the Lady Falcons. The two battled back and forth but shots by Loyolaís Chelsea Janssen and Brittney Anderson gave Loyola the lead.

"We have to have more patience," said Florence's Bryan Neuman of his team. "We have to develop our half court game better than it is right now."

He went on to say that if the players are matched up, player to player against Loyola, there isn't a difference. "They're not better than us," he said. "But they execute better right now."

Florence had many opportunities but couldn't complete the play with points. The Lady Falcons hit 14 of 25 free throws and that was the difference in the 45-38 loss. Jordan Rick led all scores with 17 points.

It was a two-point ball game in Deer Lodge on Saturday. Deer Lodge hit two free throws with under five seconds remaining to take the 50-48 victory. Deer Lodge held Florence to only four points in the second stanza but the Lady Falcons came back to tie the game prior to the free throws at the end of the game. Brooke Zeiler had 17 points for Florence.

Corvallis lost to Polson, 37-26, on Friday. Whitney Henderson led the Blue Devil scoring with 10 points. Butte Central topped the Blue Devils on Saturday, 36-23. Sunni Bleibtrey led the Corvallis scoring with nine points.

Darby lost to Seeley Swan, 48-21. Rachel Wetzsteon had seven points for Darby. On Saturday, Darby lost to Plains, 60-40. Mariah Cress had 10 points.

Victor lost to Philipsburg, 57-25. Taylor Ruark had six points for the Lady Pirates.

Darby's Keith Hamblin positions himself to make a pin on Corvallis' Morris Jessop during the Darby Invitational Tournament on Saturday. Hamblin made the pin and won the championship at 152. Jean Schurman photo.

Darby wins own tournament

Darby came from behind in the championship round to win their own wrestling tournament on Saturday. The Tigers were trailing Florence heading into the final round but five individual championships powered Darby to the championship.

Team scores - Darby 131.5, Florence 127.5, Drummond 64, Big Sky JV 63.5, Corvallis JV 59, Salmon, Idaho, 49.5.

112 - 1. Corbin Newbary pinned Ulvestad, Sal.

119 - 1. Christian Hammersmit, Dar, pin Aaron Johnston.

125 - 1. Dalton Roundy, Dar, 3. Cody Lund, Flo, 4. Cole Daniels, Flo.

130 - 3. Tanner Evers, Dar, 4. Kyle Thomas, Cor.

135 - 2. Brennan Lund, Flo, 3. Michael Majors, Dar.

140 - 1. Kolter Beneitone, Flo; 4. Matt Watters, Dar.

145 - 2. Mark Connelly, Cor. 3. Nathan Venema, Cor, 4. Terry Kautzman, Flo.

152 - 1. Keith Hamblem. 2. Morris Jessop, Cor. 3. Taylor Summers, Cor.

160 - 1. Kyle Maki, Dar, 2. Devonn Jessop, Cor.

171 - 1. Justin Richardson, Dar, 2. Josh Marquardt, Flo. 3. Cody Whalen, Flo, Matt Raymond, Cor.

189 - Craig Ashworth, Flo

215 - KC Sutton, Flo.

Corvallis wrestlers place second

The Corvallis and Hamilton wrestling teams were at the State A Duals in Belgrade over the weekend. The event is a showcase where Class A schools from across the state have one final chance to see who the competition will be at the Metra in three weeks at the state championship.

Corvallis topped Browning, 72-9 in their first match of the duals. They then defeated Laurel, 67-17. On Saturday, the Blue Devils defeated Hardin, 64-20. They then took on another western Montana tough team, Ronan. The match was close with Corvallis coming out on top, 28-26. Next up was Glendive and the Blue Devils rolled over the Red Devils 72-10.

The run for the Blue Devils ended in the championship dual when they came up against the Blue Ponies of Havre. Havre won, 60-15. Landon DellaSilva won at 135 with a 5-1 decision over Kent Pattison. Dennis Jessop pinned Paul Jensen in the 215 match.

Hamilton won twice on Saturday, topping Miles City and Browning. The Broncs lost a tie breaker to Lewistown but did defeat Livingston. The Broncs lost to Glendive and beat Billings Central on Friday.

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