The Polson basketball teams tipped off the Northwestern A divisional tournaments with a pair of victories Thursday night at Glacier High School.
Action continues Friday beginning at 3 p.m. with the Columbia Falls girls taking on Polson. Follow flatheadbeacon.com for live results from the divisional boys and girls tournaments.
Polson 55, Libby 38
Senior co-captains Cedrick Smith and Andrew Weltz powered Polson with 37 points combined and the Pirates dropped Libby in the opening round of the Northwestern A boys divisional basketball tournament on Thursday night at Glacier High School in Kalispell.
Weltz, a 6-foot-3 forward, scored a game-high 21 points and Smith, a 5-8 guard, added 16 for the Pirates (5-14), who advanced to Friday’s 6 p.m. game against No. 1 seed Columbia Falls (14-4).
Senior Jared Winslow caught fire in the second half, sinking three 3-pointers en route to 17 points for Libby (1-18), which drops to loser-out action on Saturday.
Whitefish (10-8) plays Frenchtown (12-6) at 7:30 p.m. Friday.
Polson 12 18 16 9 – 55
Libby 2 11 17 8 – 38POLSON – Cedrick Smith 7 2-2 16, Chris McDonald 2 0-0 4, Andrew Weltz 7 7-9 21, Andrew Curley 2 0-0 6, Tanner Wilson 2 1-1 5, Matthew Rensvold 1 0-0 2, Wyatt DuCharme 0 1-2 1. Totals 21 11-14 55.
LIBBY – Johnny Cielak 2 0-0 4, Collin Johnson 2 0-0 5, Isaak Jones 0 1-2 1, Jared Winslow 6 1-1 17, Michael Curtiss 1 2-2 4, Quinn Sullivan 3 0-3 6, Brandon Sadewasser 0 1-4 1. Totals 14 5-12 38.
3-point goals – Polson 2 (Curley 2), Libby 5 (Winslow 4, Johnson); Total fouls – Polson 13, Libby 17.
GIRLS
Polson 48, Whitefish 34
Freshman guard Lauren Lefthand paced Polson with 13 points, Jessica Bagnell scored five of her 10 points in the fourth quarter and the Lady Pirates held off a late charge from Whitefish to win Thursday’s opener of the Northwestern A divisional girls basketball tournament at Glacier High School in Kalispell.
Whitefish cut the deficit to 35-32 early in the fourth after sophomore Allie Schulz scored five straight points. But the Lady Bulldogs went cold after that, scoring only two points in the final five minutes.
Schulz finished with nine points and senior Simone Craft scored a team-high 13 points for the Lady Bulldogs (1-18).
Polson (4-15) advanced to Friday’s 3 p.m. game against No. 1 ranked Columbia Falls (17-1).
Whitefish plays at 9 a.m. Saturday against the loser of Libby and Frenchtown.
Polson 11 16 7 14 – 48
Whitefish 9 8 8 9 – 34POLSON – Skyla Krantz 4 2-4 10, Jaylin Kenney 1 2-2 4, Jessica Bagnell 3 4-6 10, Nichole Lake 2 3-4 7, Kaelen Wall 0 4-6 4, Lauren Lefthand 4 2-4 13. Totals 14 17-26 48.
WHITEFISH – Allie Schulz 2 4-4 9, Katie Fyall 0 2-8 2, Haley Nicholson 2 1-6 5, Mariah Drown 1 0-0 2, Simone Craft 4 3-6 13, Anna Peterson 0 1-2 1, Makenna Bendbrook 1 0-0 2. Totals 10 11-26 34.
3-point goals – Polson 3 (Lefthand 3), Whitefish 3 (Craft 2, Schulz); Fouls – Polson 15, Whitefish 15.
Northwestern A Divisional Basketball Tournaments
Glacier High School, Kalispell
BOYS
Seeding
#1 Columbia Falls Wildcats 14-4, 7-1
#2 Frenchtown Broncs 12-6, 6-2
#3 Whitefish Bulldogs 10-8, 5-3
#4 Polson Pirates 5-14, 2-6
#5 Libby Loggers 1-18, 0-8
Schedule
Thursday
Polson 55, Libby 38
Friday
Columbia Falls vs. Polson, 6 p.m.
Whitefish vs. Frenchtown, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday
Libby vs. Frenchtown-Whitefish loser, 10:30 a.m.
Consolation game, 4:30 p.m.
Championship, 7:30 p.m.
GIRLS
Seeding
#1 Columbia Falls Wildkats 17-1, 8-0
#2 Frenchtown Lady Broncs 13-5, 6-2
#3 Libby Lady Loggers 7-11, 4-4
#4 Polson Lady Pirates 4-15, 2-6
#5 Whitefish Lady Bulldogs 1-18, 0-8
Schedule
Thursday
Polson 48, Whitefish 34
Friday
Columbia Falls vs. Polson, 3 p.m.
Libby vs. Frenchtown, 4:30 p.m.
Saturday
Whitefish vs. Columbia Falls-Polson loser, 9 a.m.
Consolation game, 3 p.m.
Championship, 6 p.m.
RELATED: Guide to the Northwestern A Divisional Hoops Tournaments