REGIONAL BRIEFS for Sunday, Jan. 16

Fairfield boys basketball jamboree slated

The 20th annual Fairfield Basketball Club Boys Jamboree is scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 5.

Sixth-grade teams and eighth-grade teams play from 9 a.m, to 3 p.m., and fifth-grade and seventh-grade teams play from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Each team is guaranteed three games in a six-hour period, then they can go home.

Cost is $190.00, first come first serve.

Text 406-590-2677 for information or send a check to Fairfield Basketball Club, 13 Seventh Street N., Fairfield, MT 59436

Argos comeback bid falls short against Carroll

The University of Providence men's basketball team fell to #6 Carroll College 83-75 Thursday night in the McLaughlin Center.

Down 11 at half, the Argos (9-8, 1-4) stormed back, cutting the lead down to five off of a Rashee Stocks three-pointer with 1:14 left. However Jovan Sljivancanin made a layup on the other end to make it 79-72, and the Argos missed a jumper to get it back to a two-possession game. The Argos were forced to play the foul game, eventually losing by seven.

"I saw some good things tonight," head coach Steve Keller said. "I still think we got a little bit tired. We're not in shape like we need to be yet. We have to shoot the ball better from three. They did a good job. Their two best players hurt us and we didn't do a very good job on them."

Newly-acquired big man Brendan Howard once again led the Argos in scoring, finishing with 25 points and 10 rebounds. Marcus Stephens also finished with 23 points, 14 of which came in the second half.

"We're going to get better," Keller said. "Marcus and Brendan had a great game. Now we just need some of the other guys to get double figures and make some open shots."

Sljivancanin led the Fighting Saints (17-2, 4-1) with 23 points and six rebounds, while Shamrock Campbell added 17. Ifeanyi Okeke added 13 points for the squad.

Lady Argos upset Lady Saints

The #22 University of Providence women's basketball team got their biggest win of the season on Thursday, defeating #6 Carroll College 62-59 in the McLaughlin Center. The win marks the eighth straight for the squad.

With the Argos (17-3, 4-1) up 30-24 at the break, the Fighting Saints (15-4, 3-2) came out firing, outscoring the Argos in the third quarter to take a 45-43 lead into the fourth. Up by one with 1:18 left, Kerstyn Pimperton swiped the ball from Danielle Wagner, leading to two Parker Esary free throws on the other end. The Argos forced another turnover on the very next possession, leading to a Reed Hazard layup to give them a 57-52 to essentially seal the game.

"The girls made plays," said assistant coach JC Isakson, who filled in for head coach Bill Himmelberg on the night. "All the credit goes to them. Carroll is well-coached, highly-talented but the girls made plays. We're facing a little adversity right now and they rallied around Coach Himmelberg. The girls made plays it was as simple as that."

The team stayed consistent despite the hype surrounding the matchup, especially when the crowd started getting bigger and louder towards the end of the game.

Four players scored in double-figures for the squad, led by 17 points from Emilee Maldonado. Hazard finished with 15 points and five boards on 7/12 shooting. Esary added 13 points and seven rebounds for the squad while Brooklyn Harn finished with 13 points and five boards.

"We know what we're going to get out of Emilee and Parker," Isakson said. "Carroll made it tough on them by doubling Parker and face-guarding Emilee. Those other girls have to step up and that's what they did tonight. That was the difference. When teams do that everyone else has to make them pay and they did that tonight."

Sienna Swannick led the Saints with 12 points on the night. Jamie Pickens and Danielle Wagner both added 11.

Gaston's late goal a winner for Argos over Cats

Erik Gaston scored the game-winning goal with 37 seconds left remaining to lead the No. 3 University of Providence hockey team over fourth-ranked Montana State 5-4 during Senior Night at the Great Falls Ice Plex on Saturday.

The Argos (8-4) entered the third period up 3-2 on the Bobcats (14-8). The squad thought they sealed the game when Levi Anderson found the back of the net with 3:39 left to secure a two-goal lead. The Bobcats however responded with two quick goals in succession to tie the game at four with 2:13 remaining.

Thirty seconds later, Bobcat defender Logan Dejong was called for interference, giving the Argos an opportunity to convert on a power play to finish the game. The squad did just that, with Gatson scoring with 37 seconds remaining to secure the 5-4 win.

"I felt pretty good when went up 4-2," head coach Jeff Heimelsaid. "They scored a couple of big ones but I was really happy with how the guys responded. We went out and made a big play. I was excited when we got on the power play mostly because you can tell when your guys got it and are dangerous with the puck. It was a fitting end to a really special night."

The team scored a total of four power-play goals on the evening. Reed Link, Cooper Page and Will Wright joined Anderson and Gatson as goal-scorers on the evening while Ty Alger, Leo Felt and Kyler Mack each paced the team with two assists. Jacob Fry got the start in the net, recording 42 saves.

The night also served as senior night for seven years on the team; Anderson, Felt, Fry, Gatson, Gabe Kwiatkowski, Link and Mack were all honored during a special ceremony. The group marks the first full recruiting class for the program, which was founded four years ago.

The two teams will have a rematch on Sunday at 7 p.m. in Bozeman.

Sanchez, Pryor highlight historic day for Argos track

BOZEMAN – The University of Providence track and field team had a historic performance at the Bobcat Challenge, the first indoor track and field meet the team has had in two seasons.

Rico Pryor won the men's weight throw and Jillian Sanchez won the women's weight, becoming the first two Argo athletes to ever win a weight throw competition at an indoor track and field meet. Pryor won the event with a throw of 15.96 meters and was less than a foot off from the B standard qualifier. Sanchez won the event with a throw of 16.63 meters, shattering her own previous school record and is also well over the A standard, officially qualifying for the NAIA National Indoor Championships. Her mark is currently the third-highest mark in the entire nation.

"It was a really good day," assistant coach Alan Cress said. "This is the first time ever that we've won a weight throw. Then we went out and won another one. For both of them to win the event at Montana State, that's huge. Never in my mind was I expecting that. I was expecting good performances - I knew that they were close to the top. For them to go out and perform that well this early in the year is phenomenal."

Allyson Connor also had a good showing as well, finishing fourth in the women's weight throw at 14.19 meters. Kathryn Evans had a solid performance in the shot put, finishing fourth with a mark of 11.48 meters. Sanchez finished sixth in the shot put at 11.08 meters.

Cress credits the hot start to the dedicated work that the athletes have put in. The team didn't have an indoor season last year due to Covid-19, and the team used that as motivation to work even harder during the extended time off.

"We knew they were hungry to compete," Cress said. "They had a realization that they can do better and go further than what they thought. Their hard work paid off. They worked their butts off all fall. They put in the time, battled the weather – whatever we had to do to go out and work. They went out to the meet and proved that the whole system is working to get them the best that they can be."

The team will continue that hard work at practice these next two weeks as they prepare for the Stacy Dragila Invitational in Pocatello, Idaho on Jan. 29.

This article originally appeared on Great Falls Tribune: REGIONAL BRIEFS for Sunday, Jan. 16