End of the road for Noxon, Hot Springs

The 14C District basketball tournament in Ronan last weekend was the end of the road for both Hot Springs and Noxon boys and girls teams. The Savage Heat boys and girls ended up third in each bracket, but only the top two teams advanced to divisional.

For the boys, Noxon opened the tournament against Two Eagle River Thursday afternoon. Noxon was the first team to score more than three minutes into the first quarter, but Two Eagle River answered and came back to lead 14-6 at the end of the first. In the second quarter, the Red Devil defense caused several turnovers, but couldn't convert those into points. Noxon did get a little boost when a Two Eagle River player scored in the Red Devils' basket. Two Eagle River kept their lead and were up 29-14 at halftime.

Noxon outscored Two Eagle River eight points to four in the third quarter, and were able to get within eight points in the final quarter. The Red Devils made a last run but fell to Two Eagle River 41-32.

Hot Springs met Alberton-Superior in their first round of 14C boys action. The Savage Heat came out swinging as they scored 17 points in the first quarter before Superior was able to make a basket. The buzzer sounded on the first quarter with Hot Springs up 21-2. The second quarter Superior was able to score more points, but not enough to catch the Savage Heat, as the teams went into the locker room 39-18. Hot Springs easily held onto the lead in the last two quarters, leading 49-31 at the start of the fourth and beating Alberton-Superior 59-47, advancing to the semifinal round Friday.

In the semifinals, Hot Springs met the Charlo Vikings. Hot Springs led 16-8 after the first quarter, but were outscored in the second and trailed by just one point going into halftime. The Vikings came out strong in the second half, securing the win 55-43. For Hot Springs, Garth Parker led with 20 points against Charlo, Nathan Lawhead scored eight, Kyle Lawson seven, Nick McAllister four, and Michael Marrinan and Quincy Styles-DePoe added two points each.

In the consolation bracket, the Hot Springs and Noxon boys faced off to see who would move on to play for third and fourth. Hot Springs kept Noxon scoreless as they racked up 12 points in the first quarter, then increased the lead to 31-6 at the half. Hot Springs held on to the lead throughout the second half, leading 51-18 after three quarters and advancing with the 62-34 win.

Hot Springs advanced to the consolation final, playing Two Eagle River to decide the third- and fourth-place teams in 14C. Hot Springs had the lead throughout the game, up 33-19 at the half before securing third place in the district with a 62-47 win.

Charlo went on to play St. Regis in the championship game. Had Charlo won, Hot SPrings could have challenged St. Regis for the second spot to advance to divisional. That game went down to the last second, with St. Regis winning by just one point, 51-50.

In the girls bracket, Hot Springs and Noxon faced off in the first round Thursday afternoon. The teams were nearly basket-for-basket in the first quarter as Noxon held on to a 6-4 lead after the first eight minutes. Hot Springs senior Katelyn Christensen was out for part of the first and second quarters with an injury. When she returned to the game, Noxon was up 14-6, but Christensen and the Savage Heat rallied and tied the game at 14. Lauryn Aldridge an edge with free throws to take the lead 16-14, and Hot Springs held on to lead 22-16 at halftime. Hot Springs came out stronger in the second half, increasing the lead 27-20 in the first two minutes of the third quarter. They held on, defeating the Red Devils 56-32.

The Noxon girls then moved to the consolation bracket, here they faced off against St. Regis. The Red Devils were beating the Tigers 28-15 at halftime, but St. Regis came back and won 53-33, ending the season for the Noxon girls.

The Lady Savage Heat moved to the semifinal round Friday against Charlo, with the Vikings outscoring Hot Springs in each quarter on their way to a 42-21 win. That moved Hot Springs to the consolation bracket as Charlo advanced to the championship matchup against Superior.

In the consolation bracket, Hot Springs got an early win Saturday morning over Two Eagle River, 49-27. Senior Katelyn Christensen led the rally against Two Eagle River with 16 points, Lauryn Aldridge added 10 and Josie Uski eight points. Hot Springs then moved to the consolation finals Saturday afternoon against St. Regis. Hot Springs took the lead in the first half, going into the locker room 28-20, and kept that lead throughout the second half as they beat the Tigers 56-48 and secured third place in the district. Christensen again led the Savage Heat with 23 points and Uski scored 13.

Superior went on to win the district championship for the girls and St. Regis won the boys bracket against Charlo. Had Charlo won either championship game, third-place Hot Springs could have challenged the Superior girls or St. Regis boys for second place and a trip to divisional. However, Charlo lost and placed second in both brackets, meaning the end of the season for the Savage Heat teams.