Noxon, Hot Springs face off in home court competitions

by Jennifer Curran and Annie Wooden

It started last Tuesday evening in Noxon, with Sam Christensen singing the "Star Spangled Banner" for the Red Devil and Savage Heat basketball teams to begin their double competition for the week.

Then the Noxon boys played comeback kids as they beat Hot Springs 54-47 and the Lady Red Devils won 52-33.

The boys played first, with Noxon's Justice Kayser hooping a three-pointer and Michael Marrinan of Hot Springs making a shot in the last seconds to end the first quarter, 13-6, Noxon in the lead.

By the second quarter the court was ignited with both teams fervently wanting victory. Brian Risch of Noxon started the quarter with the first points but the Savage Heat weren't about to let up with Quincy Styles-DePoe zipping the tie at 17-17. Hot Springs ended the half at 25-21.

In the third quarter Marrinan banked the first shot and Styles-DePoe the last, to carry the torch with a 37-31 point lead.

Noxon rocketed up and Ricky Williams tied the game to 41-41 with a lay-up. Williams and Kayser both made free-throws to end the game at 54-47 Noxon with the win.

The Noxon girls started the game off with the first two points shot by Emily Brown, holding tight to lead in the first quarter 13-2. It was much of the same in the second quarter with Noxon dominating ending the half up 24-9.

The Savage Heat came out like rockets in the third quarter, keeping Noxon from scoring and gaining steadily to make it a four-point game of 25-21. Noxon was having none of it and Brown zipped the quarter with a 33-21 lead.

In the fourth quarter, Brown took charge of the court, blazing up and down, making shot after shot to end the game 52-33 Noxon. Brown racked up 26 points for the game, Erwin 13 and Emma Swanson shot six points.

For the Hot Springs girls, Lily DeTienne led with 10 points, Lauryn Aldridge with nine and Christensen with five. The team boasted 65% from the free throw line. Top rebounding was Adridge for 10 and Brooke Jackson with eight and also grabbing four steals. Coach Richard Jackson said that they were sadly losing Jackson due to injuries but had five eighth graders getting trained up to play.

Basketball in Hot Springs last Friday night was a little like watching a NASCAR race - the most exciting parts of both the girls' and boys' games were the last two minutes.

On Friday, the Red Devils traveled to Hot Springs for another matchup with the Savage Heat. Both the Noxon boys and girls made the trip home with wins that came in the last minutes of the games.

The boys played first last Friday, with Hot Springs hitting the first basket nearly two minutes into the game. Noxon's Justice Kayser hit a three-pointer. The teams matched each other for the rest of the quarter and were tied at six apiece when the first buzzer sounded. The second quarter started as the first, with Hot Springs pulling away when the Red Devils found themselves in foul trouble. The Savage Heat went into the locker room at the half with a 23-12 lead.

Noxon was able to get within one point of Hot Springs in the third quarter with another three-point shot by Kayser before Hot Springs took off once again and built a 31-24 lead going into the fourth.

As the final quarter started, Noxon hustled to get within one point, trailing just 33-32 halfway into the final eight minutes. Aiden Currie hit a free throw to tie the game at 35.

There were less than two minutes left in play, and just like NASCAR, the crowd was on the edge of their seats. Hot Springs took the lead once more with a three from Weston Slonaker. Noxon wasn't giving up, though. They got the ball back and made two more points. Noxon stole the ball from Hot Springs and Ricky Williams went up for two and Noxon took the lead 39-38. The Red Devils sealed the win with Ian Brown hitting two free throws after drawing a foul from Hot Springs. With the clock winding down, Hot Springs attempted a three-point shot on the last play, but was unsuccessful.

The girls game last Friday was a similar showing. Though Noxon won 48-46, the entire game was a showing of two well-matched teams.

Hot Springs dominated early in the game, scoring seven points in the first before Noxon hit the bucket. Once they scored, Noxon went on a run to take the lead, which the teams would trade before Hot Springs capitalized on several fast breaks down the court finished by senior Lily DeTienne and took the lead 14-11 going into the second quarter.

The Savage Heat maintained the lead in the second quarter, and went into halftime with a strong 23-15 lead.

As the second half started, Noxon tied the game at 25 and the two defenses upped their enthusiasm as neither team scored for several minutes. With two minutes left in the third, the teams went into scoring mode and traded baskets. Noxon was down by just two points, 32-30, as the third quarter ended.

And just like in a NASCAR race, both teams were hustling in the final minutes to secure a win in the cross-county battle. Noxon's Richter scored on a basket and a free throw in the fourth quarter, giving the lead back to the Red Devils. Noxon stayed ahead of the Savage Heat until DeTienne scored a basket and made a free throw. Hot Springs took back the lead by just one point, 42-41, with two minutes left. Red Devil freshman Callie Cano sank a three-pointer, then the team stole the ball back and junior Maygan Swanson added two points. Hot Springs answered with a three-pointer from senior Josie Uski. Noxon was still up by one point. Richter sealed the win for the Red Devils, sinking a free throw and ending the game with Noxon 48, Hot Springs 46.

Jackson said that the team worked a new defense, a box and one, which had a beneficial effect on the game. "Hot Springs was a harder battle than the girls expected. They came out with a box and one against us, which left Emily fighting all night for the ball," said Coach Cortney Vohs.

Brown pulled off 22 points for Noxon and DeTienne scored a whopping 26 points for Hot Springs. DeTienne was highlighted last week as player of the week in the Missoulian for western Montana.