Wolves open 5B play with wins over Boulder, Ennis

It's been a strong start to conference play for the Three Forks High School Boys' Basketball team.

The Wolves opened 5B District play on December 9 with an impressive 59-51 road win in Boulder over Jefferson High School. Two days later, the Wolves opened home conference play with a 70-51 win over Ennis High School.

Trailing 14-13 at the end of the first quarter in Boulder, Three Forks (3-3, 2-0 5B) would outscore the Panthers 24-9 in the second quarter to take a 37-23 lead into the break. The Wolves continued the strong play in the third quarter, taking a 22-point lead into the final quarter.

"It felt great to get a win on the road. They (Boulder) are a solid team and beat Columbus earlier this year. It's always a tough place to win because they get a great crowd, and the atmosphere is always fun in Boulder," said Hauser. "We played the best we have all year in the second and third quarters defensively and offensively. We got stops and got out in transition, and our half-court offense was solid, too.

Three Forks was led in scoring by Sam Tesoro, who had a game-high 18 points. Dylan Swenson was also in double figures with 16, Shane Williams finished with eight, Kanon Reichman had six, Colten Hayder and Caleb Van Vleet finished with four, Hunter Feddes had two, and Tallyn McCauley finished with one point.

Hauser was also pleased with his team's performance at home against Ennis.

"We played really well on Saturday as well. We are really starting to have great chemistry, and the kids are starting to have fun," Hauser said.

Swenson led the team in scoring with 20, and Van Vleet was also in double figures with 16. Reichman finished with eight, Williams and Feddes had six, McCauley finished with four, Dryden Frisinger had three, Devon Long, Tesoro, and Hayder finished with two, and Brady Olson added one point.

After a road game on December 19 at Townsend, Three Forks will not play until January 4 at Twin Bridges.