In a rematch of last year’s Class B championship game, the Bigfork boys emerged victorious once again, defeating Columbus in the opening round of the state tournament on Thursday in Great Falls.
Josh Sandry scored 13 points, Isaac Martel had 11 and the Vikings edged Columbus 53-50.
Jonathan Landon added eight points for Bigfork and Tyler Piazzola and Adam Jordt each scored seven. The Vikes led 24-22 at halftime.
Bigfork (22-2) advanced to Friday’s semifinal round and will take on Choteau (25-0), which defeated St. Labre 80-42 in the opening round. The Vikes tip off at 3:30 p.m.
In other first-round action, Huntley Project defeated Rocky Boy 89-81 and Missoula Loyola edged Sweet Grass 58-54.
Class B Girls
Colstrip edged Bigfork 55-50 in the opening round of the girls Class B state basketball tournament on Thursday in Great Falls.
Playing in their first state tournament game since 2012, the Valkyries were led by Miranda Campbell, who scored 16, and Marissa Hiza, who added 12. Riley Coleman and Lana Berg each scored eight apiece.
The Vals (18-5) fell to the consolation bracket and play Manhattan at 1:30 p.m., Friday.
Choteau dropped Manhattan 46-40 in the first round. Forsyth cruised past Plains 60-39 and Malta defeated Columbus 54-39.
Carley Vonheeder led Plains with 11 points, Kayla Holmes scored eight and Leah Thompson and Kimberly Earhart both added five.
Class A Boys
Similar to the girls team a week prior, the Columbia Falls boys were upset by Butte Central in the first round of the Class A state tournament in Bozeman.
The Maroons took down the defending state champs 56-51 on Thursday. The Wildcats committed 16 turnovers and were outscored 36-25 in the second half.
Grant Wallace scored 16 points and Trevor Houston and Ty Morgan each scored 12 apiece for the Wildcats (17-4).
Marcus Ferriter and Dalton Sessions combined to score 33 points for Butte Central (14-8).
The Wildcats fell to the consolation bracket and play Belgrade at 12:30 p.m., Friday. Laurel edged Belgrade 48-46 in the opening round.
Dillon edged Polson 59-56 and Havre beat Billings Central 69-56.
Andrew Curley and Matthew Rensvold combined to score 30 points for Polson (10-12).
Class AA Girls
Billings West rallied back to defeat Glacier 53-47 in the opening round of the Class AA girls state tournament on Thursday in Butte.
The Wolfpack led nearly the entire game, entering halftime with a 29-21 lead and taking a three-point advantage into the fourth quarter. West (12-10) outscored Glacier 17-8 in the final eight minutes.
Tessa Krueger led the Wolfpack with 10 points, Katie Wiley added eight and Brielle Bumgarner had seven.
Glacier (17-5) plays Great Falls CMR (9-13) in the consolation round at 1:30 p.m., Friday.
In other first-round action, Missoula Sentinel defeated Billings Senior 50-44, Bozeman beat Missoula Big Sky 52-47 in overtime and Helena Capital cruised past Great Falls CMR 44-30.
Class AA Boys
Great Falls stunned Missoula Hellgate 76-54 in the opening round of the Class AA boys state tournament in Butte.
Brendan Howard scored a game-high 24 points, Matthew Wyman had 18 and Lukas Vining added 16 to lead the Bison (15-7) past the highly touted Knights (19-2) and Tres Tinkle, who scored 20.
Great Falls will play Billings West in the semifinals on Friday. West defeated Missoula Big Sky 52-45 in the opener.
Helena Capital beat Bozeman 65-59 and Billings Skyview held off Missoula Sentinel 47-39.