Wolf Point boys win at buzzer in Montana Class B state basketball tournament; Malta cruises past Lame Deer

The Wolf Point boys’ basketball team collectively has ice in its veins.

Three days removed from a buzzer-beating shot that propelled the Wolves to the Class B state tournament, junior Cade Stafne secured another walk-off win with a 3-pointer to top Columbus 65-62 in a first-round contest Thursday morning at Four Seasons Arena.

With eight seconds to play tied at 62-all, senior guard Julian Benson cut through the press and drew the defense, kicking out to Stafne, who sunk the game-winner to send Wolf Point to the state semis Friday evening.

“They called timeout to set up a little pressure, and we needed to get the ball to the rim,” Wolves head coach Cole Hanks said. “Just push, push, and if they had a seam to just get to the rim and (see) if kickout was available. I thought they’d take Julian away and help down on him, and it happened just like we thought, the kickout was there and we were fortunate enough to hit it.”

Wolf Point led by as many as eight in the fourth quarter but surrendered the advantage with 1:11 to play as Michael Curl completed an and-one for Columbus.

A Benson bucket and Kraven Silk free throws put the Wolves back up three with 27 ticks left. A Columbus miss led to an offensive board and Cash Kramer buried the needed triple to tie, setting up the electric finish.

The last-second win was the second for Wolf Point (22-3) this week, as Kelby Bauer hit a 3 as time expired on Monday in a Northern B challenge game on Monday.

“We have four seniors and their leadership means a ton to the team,” Hanks said. “They keep everybody calm, they keep everybody collected and on the same page. I think that’s the difference, our seniors really know how to keep everybody involved and super positive.”

Benson led all scorers with 27 points on top of 11 rebounds, while Silk and Bauer added 10 and Stafne put in eight.

Columbus post Hayden Steffenson led his squad with 22 points, while Mason Meier threw in 17.

The Wolves will face off with Missoula Loyola in the state semis on Friday at 3:30 p.m. The Rams downed Lodge Grass 83-56 in their opening-round game Friday morning.

This story will be updated as the tournament progresses Thursday. 

Columbus 8 14 18 22 - 62

Wolf Point 8 12 21 24 - 65

Columbus - Mason Meier 17, Mike Courts 3, Cash Kramer 5, Mason Adams 2, Landon Olson 6, Michael Curl 7, Hayden Steffenson 22.

Wolf Point - Kelby Bauer 10, Julian Benson 27, Kraven Silk 10, Cade Stafne 8, Gaige Buchman 6, Peyton Summers 2, Lennox Lilley 2.

3-pointers - Meier, Courts, Kramer, Olson; Bauer 2, Benson, Stafne 2, Buchman.

Malta 68, Lame Deer 49

The Malta boys started fast and didn’t relent, moving past Lame Deer to advance to Friday’s semifinals.

Sophomore guard Stockton Oxarart led a balanced Mustang effort with 16 points on top of five rebounds, shooting 7 for 11 from the floor. Malta began to create separation in the opening frame, with senior Jared Eggebrecht putting his team up 20-11 with a layup and a completed three-point play to end the first.

The Mustangs extended the advantage to as many as 18 in the second, with Bohdi Brenden, Treyton Wilkie and Oxarart all draining shots from downtown while 6-foot-5 post Eli Hanson contributed an and-one.

The Morning Stars kicked off the third on a 6-0 run on baskets from Amelio Blackhorse and Aalyias Haugen, cutting the deficit to single digits at 46-38 late in the frame as Moses Sanders buried a triple.

However, Malta responded with an 11-0 run that carried over into the fourth as the lead ballooned to over 20 points.

Brenden added 12 points and six assists for the Mustangs, while Eggebrecht put up a near double-double with 11 points and nine rebounds. Wilke poured in 11 as well for Malta of head coach David Costin, while Hanson chipped in 10.

Malta held Lame Deer to just 32 percent shooting from the floor while hitting over 48 percent of its shots and creating 17 turnovers.

Kendall Russell paced the Morning Stars with 14 points and 10 rebounds, while Moses Sanders chipped in 13 markers and three assists.

The Mustangs take on Bigfork in the semis on Friday at 5 p.m., while Lame Deer falls to a loser-out game on Friday at 10:30 a.m.

Bigfork downed Red Lodge 55-48 in the final first-round boys’ game Thursday, with Nick Walker leading the Vikings with 14 points.

Lame Deer 11 11 16 11 – 49

Malta 20 20 11 17 -- 6– 68

Lame Deer – Aalyias Haugen 6, Amelio Blackhorse 4, Moses Sanders 13, Markell Littlecoyote 6, Kendall Russell 14, Kymani Fraser 3, Jerell Hiwalker 3.

Malta – Stockton Oxarart 16, Dawson Hammond 6, Bohdi Brenden 12, Jared Eggebrecht 11, Treyton Wilkie 11, Mason Simanton 2, Eli Hanson 10.

3-pointers – Sanders 2, Hiwalker; Oxarart 2, Brenden 2, Wilkie 3.

Girls

Thursday

Malta 45, Columbus 38

Addy Anderson dropped a game-high 21 points as the M-Ettes held on for an opening-round victory Thursday.

Anderson’s fourth make from beyond the arc put Malta up seven with just over a minute to go, and the M-Ettes held the Cougars to just one basket for the remainder to pull out the win.

Malta faces off with the winner of Big Timber and Missoula Loyola on Friday night at 8 for a shot at the state title game.

Neva Jacobson, Allison Kunze and Madison Williamson all contributed big buckets in the fourth quarter as the M-Ettes kept the Cougars at arm’s length, while Kunze and Denvyr Tuss combined to hit three free throws in the final minute to keep the distance.

Malta led by as many as nine in the third quarter as Anderson earned the hoop and harm to complete a three-point play, but Columbus cut it to a two-possession game on a Katelyn Hamilton 3-ball late in the stanza.

The teams largely battled on even terms in the first half, tied at 8-all after one quarter and Malta took a four-point advantage into the locker room after a pair of scores inside from Kunze.

Malta survived and advanced despite 19 turnovers in the contest, holding Columbus to just 32 percent shooting while racking up 11 steals.

Anderson finished 8 for 10 from the floor while hitting 4 of 6 3-pointers. Kunze followed Anderson with nine points for the M-Ettes while pulling down a team-best nine rebounds, while Tuss chipped in five points on top of eight boards.

Izzy Gurie led the Cougars with 12 points and nine rebounds, while Maylee Lowell added nine markers and Hamilton poured in six points and five assists.

Columbus faces a loser-out contest at 1:30 p.m. Friday.

Columbus 8 6 14 10 – 38

Malta 8 10 15 12 – 45

Columbus – Paige Lethert 4, Natalie Gairrett 6, Katelyn Hamilton 9, Aubrey Winter 7, Izzy Gurie 12.

Malta – Brylee French 3, Neva Jacobson 3, Addy Anderson 21, Madison Williamson 4, Allison Kunze 9, Denvyr Tuss 5.

3-pointers – Gairrett, Hamilton 3; Anderson 4.

Huntley Project 70, Wolf Point 28

Paige Lofing led all scorers with 25 points as the Red Devils blazed past the Wolves in first-round action. Huntley Project ran out to a 36-14 lead at the break, with Lofing pouring in 18 after just 16 minutes.

The sophomore finished 11 for 14 from the field on top of eight rebounds, another game-best mark. The Red Devils, coached by former Billings West and University of Montana superstar Mandy Morales, advance to Friday’s semifinals at 6:30 p.m. against unbeaten Bigfork. The Valkyries downed Baker 52-38 in their first-round matchup Thursday afternoon.

Lily Zimmer added 13 for the Red Devils, while Maddison Akins chipped in six points and six boards.

Huntley Project held the Wolves to just 20 percent from the field while racking up 10 steals.

Sierra Hamilton led Wolf Point with 16 points, while J’elle Garfield, Katelyn MacDonald and Keeley Henderson-Blount each added four. The Wolves fall to a loser-out contest against Baker on Friday at noon.

Huntley Project 14 22 19 15 – 70

Wolf Point 6 8 8 6 – 28

Huntley Project – Ivy Grimsrud 5, Paige Lofing 25, Teagan LaRoche 3, Rebecca Middleton 2, Nevaeh Morales 2, Shyanna Harman 3, Keely Ban 4, Lily Zimmer 13, Maddison Akins 6, Hadley Kautz 5, Kyann Dean 2.

Wolf Point – J’elle Garfield 4, Katelyn MacDonald 4, Sierra Hamilton 16, Keeley Henderson-Blount 4.

3-pointers – Grimsrud, Lofing, Ban, Harman, Kautz.

Grady Higgins covers prep sports for the Tribune and can be reached at ghiggins@greatfallstribune.com. Photos were provided courtesy of Matt Ehnes of Jared's Detours.

This article originally appeared on Great Falls Tribune: Wolf Point boys beat Columbus in Montana state basketball tourney