Local Sports

Rangers beat Miles City, fall to Billings Central

Park girls basketball went 1-1 on the weekend road trip, beating Miles City 57-43 and falling to Billings Central 55-44. 
 
Friday’s matchup against Miles City saw the Rangers play two styles of basketball: fast-paced in the first half and slow in the second. The up-tempo game got them the lead and the slow pace helped them keep it. 
 

Bruins go 2-0 at Three Forks

After rolling through their first two opponents to open the season, the Gardiner Bruins got their first taste of close games Friday and Saturday and came out on top, beating Twin Bridges 66-60 and Thompson Falls 88-85 at the Three Forks Tour. 
 

Livingston local completes first day at Junior NFR in Las Vegas

Livingston local Paul Allyn O’Hair, 12, finished his first day of competition Thursday at the Junior National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas after finishing in the top 30 nation-wide. 
 
In the first round of the saddle bronc riding, Paul, along with the rest of the 30 finalists in the 9-11 age group, failed to record the eight second count necessary to post a score. Though Paul recently turned 12, he competed a majority of the season and qualified in the 11-year-old bracket.
 

Full-court pressure too much for Shields Valley in loss 65-37 loss to Tri-City

Despite only being down eight at the half, the Shields Valley Rebels suffered a lopsided loss to start the season, falling to the Tri-City Titans, 65-37, in their first game of the Class C Showcase in Lewistown. 
 
After shooting well in the first half and going into the locker room down 33-25, Tri-City came out in the second half with a full-court press that Shields couldn’t respond to. 
 

First-half deficit dooms Shields Valley

Shields Valley’s first-year head boys basketball coach J.R. Pierce said that this season was going to be a rebuilding year. Game one of the 2017-2018 season was proof of that, with the Rebels losing to Tri-City 52-37 in the Class C Showcase in Lewistown. 
 
Shields Valley came into the game wanting to slow the game down and play at its own pace, but Tri-City took control of the tempo for most of the first half and jumped to a 27-14 halftime lead. 
 

Gardiner girls go 1-1 in opening weekend

After a rough 62-26 loss to Tri-City on Friday, the Gardiner girls basketball team rebounded to beat White Sulphur Springs 49-41. 
 
Friday against Tri City, Brook Russell was the Bruins’ leading scorer with nine points to go along with seven rebounds. Tri City’s Chloe Davis and Madison Dupree were the game’s two leading scorers, with 12 and 10 points, respectively. 
 

Four place first, Park takes fourth in Belgrade

Park wrestling’s opening tournament was a successful outing, with five wrestlers placing in the top three (three first, two second) and the Rangers placing fourth out of 12 teams. Head coach Ben Hahn said he viewed this start to the season as valuable experience. 
 

Park girls drop close game to Townsend, 59-53

The Park High girls lost a tight one against Townsend Saturday, 59-53, but head coach Scott Coleman said he felt good about how his team played. 
 
“We came back from an 8-point deficit on two separate occasions and led by three,” Coleman said. “That’s a junior-and senior-laden team that’s experienced and is probably one of the top B squads in the state, so I’m pleased with how this young crowd pulled together and competed.”
 

Ricketts, Floyd lead Park over Townsend, 57-50

The Park High boys took a 57-50 win over Townsend on Saturday, thanks to the scoring of Park’s All-Conference back court of Jakim Ricketts and Rydell Floyd, who combined for 38 of the team’s 57 points. 
 
The game was tight throughout, with Park having to ward off Townsend to protect the lead. The Rangers went into halftime with a 25-22 lead, with Floyd and Ricketts’ 17 first-half points leading the way. 
 

Gardiner rolls through opening weekend

Gardiner boys head basketball coach Wendy Thomas knew she had plenty of talent on offense, but she had a wait-and-see approach with her defense to see if she had a complete team. Those questions may have been answered in the opening weekend with two lopsided wins, with the Bruins toping Tri City 95-42 and White Sulphur Springs 82-37. 
 
“We’ve got scorers, but we knew we had to (build) some defenders to complete the puzzle, the picture,” Thomas said.