Rezball at a glance

By Marianne Addison

Kyle Felsman and teammate, Cubby Pierre, fly for the rebound during the game against Drummond during the 13-C District Tournament in Missoula last weekend. Arlee kept the game close in the first half, but weren't able to recover from a third quarter scoring outburst by Drummond. Drummond went on to be crowned the 13-C District Champions and Arlee advanced to the consolation game against Alberton and lost 78-49. (Marianne Addison photo)

Surprises took place at district tournaments and in regular season action this past weekend. Teams picked to be favorites were upset and some teams did better than anybody could have ever imagined.

With a lopsided victory over Charlo in the first round, Two Eagle River was set to face off against #1 seed, Noxon, for a chance to make it to the championship game. Coming into the 14-C District Tournament as the #4 seed, Two Eagle River School wasn't expected to make it past the semi-final round. However, at tournament time, anything can happen. With a hefty lead throughout the game, the Eagles saw the lead dwindle in the fourth quarter as Noxon made a huge run. However, the Eagles held on to win the game and advance to the championship game against Hot Springs. Meanwhile, Hot Springs needed crunch-time free-throws by Blake Herman to subdue Superior in the semi-finals to advance to the championship game versus the Eagles.

Jordan Pfau served up this killer block against Alberton in Arlee's thrilling first round victory in overtime on Wednesday. Arlee went on to advance to the consolation game of the 13-C District Tournament behind Pfau's 20 points, 10 blocks, and 10 steals in a 50-39 win over Victor. Arlee went on to take fourth place in the district after a close game against Phillipsburg in overtime. (Marianne Addison photo)

The 14-C District championship game was packed with loud and proud fans. The game started off with the Eagles jumping out to a 20-9 lead in the first quarter. Hot Springs' points came as a result of three three-pointers.

In the second quarter, Hot Springs began to chip away at the lead at the free-throw line and three-point line until the third quarter when both teams began trading baskets. Fans from both teams were on the edge of their seats.

Fouls called on the Eagles led to Hot Springs sealing up the victory at the free-throw line, but leaving Riley Winebrenner open on the three-point line proved to be distrastrous to Two Eagle as he finished with 31 points to lead Hot Springs to their first district championship since 1996. Due to Noxon's win in the consolation game and Two Eagle's previous win over Noxon, there was no challenge game and the Eagles and Hot Springs move on to play in the Western C Divisional Tournament. The Eagles will play Shields Valley at 5:30 on Thursday at the Maroon Activity Center in Butte while Hot Springs will take on Gardiner at 10:30 a.m.

Austin Moran, one of Arlee's guards, played a part in Arlee's fourth place finish in the 13-C District. He contributed 10 points in the first round loss against Drummond, poured in 13 points in a victory against Phillipsburg, and hit four three-pointers and scored 16 points in the consolation game against Alberton. (Marianne Addison photo)

Ronan was ranked 5th in the Class A poll. Their last game was at Bigfork, a team that hasn't won a conference game all season. Bigfork came away with an upset over Ronan on Saturday and Polson came up with big wins against conference leader Columbia Falls and Libby this past weekend. Ronan found themselves sitting third in the conference behind Columbia Falls and Polson.

On Thursday at 8 p.m. at the Glacier High School gym in Kalispell, Ronan meets up against Bigfork in the first round of the Northwestern A Divisional Tournament. Hopefully Ronan's losses to Columbia Falls, Polson, and Bigfork in the last few weeks of the season are put behind them as the team definitely has the talent to make it to the State A Tournament held in Billings.

Marlene Finely shoots the ball against St. Regis defenders in the first round of the 14-C District tournament held in Ronan. The Eagles went into overtime against St. Regis after going on a huge run in the second half. Despite Finley's 25 points and Jaylen Carpentier's 22 points, the Eagles succumbed to St. Regis. In loser-out action the next morning, the Eagles fell to Noxon. In Finley's last game as an Eagle, she hit four three-pointers and totaled 22 points. (Marianne Addison photo)

Meanwhile, Polson's string of victories has made them a contender and team that has been overlooked all season. Look for Polson to make some noise at the divisional tournament. Their second place finish has earned them a "bye" on Thursday. Polson will play the winner of the Whitefish/Libby game on Friday.

The Charlo girls' team defeated Hot Springs at the 14-C tournament by playing composed and with a lot of tournament experience on their backs. Charlo led 29-2 at halftime of the game and Hot Springs never recovered from the damaging start. With Hot Springs' victory over Noxon in the challenge game, Charlo and Hot Springs are on their way to the divisional tournament held in Butte starting on February 21. Charlo will face Sheridan at 1:30 and Hot Springs will take on Shields Valley at 8:30 p.m.

Kyle Stensgar had a huge weekend. After sitting out the first half in the Eagle's first round game against Charlo, Stensgar came out in the second half and helped the Eagles blow out the Vikings as he scored 17 points. The next afternoon, he hit six three-pointers en route to 27 points in the semi-final win against Noxon. Stensgar kept up his high-scoring ways against Hot Springs in the championship game as he went on to score 17 points to lead the Eagles. (Marianne Addison photo)

While the Mission Bulldogs didn't make it to the district tournament, the Lady Bulldogs did. With a heartbreaking first-round loss to Thompson Falls, the Lady Bulldogs came back to finish third in the 8-B tournament that was held in Polson by defeating Plains. They will have a two-week break to work on their game before the Western B Divisional Tournament takes place in Hamilton.

With only one conference victory, the Arlee girls' team kicked off the end of the season at the 13-C District Tournament held at the Sister Rita Mudd Center in Missoula and surprised Alberton with a first-round overtime victory.

Following the championship game, the coaches and team huddled one last time. With the second place finish, the Eagles will go on to the Western C Divisional Tournament in Butte beginning on February 20. The Eagles will play at 5:30 on February 21. (Marianne Addison photo)

Both Arlee teams' youth and inexperience showed, but the potential of the young players showed as well. After a first round defeat at the hands of the eventual 13-C champs, Drummond, the Arlee boys' team prevailed over Philipsburg on Friday to advance to the consolation game. Alberton beat Arlee in the consolation game, but the fourth place finish for the Warriors was better than anybody expected. The girls' team also made it to the consolation game where Philipsburg needed overtime to put Arlee away.

James Maestas, Nate Drennan, a hidden Eagle, Matt Hewankorn, John Emory Steele, Assistant Coach, Howard Walker, and Arley Grandchamp exit the court amidst applause from an enthusiastic crowd of Two Eagle River School fans. Obviously disappointed that they failed to prevail over Hot Springs in the championship game, the Eagles will have to put the loss behind them and get ready for the Western C Divisional Tournament. (Marianne Addison photo)

In other rezball news, the SKC mens' and womens' teams will be playing in the Kyi-Yo Tournament in Missoula starting on Friday night and ending on Sunday afternoon.