Basketball Recap: Kellan Diekhans Leads a Balanced Attack to Beat North Star

It can be hard to translate regular season success to the playoffs, but Fort Benton had no problem doing just that on Saturday. They enjoyed a cozy 50-32 victory over the North Star Knights. Given the Longhorns' advantage in MaxPreps' Montana basketball rankings (they are ranked 19th, while the Knights are ranked 112th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Kellan Diekhans

Points

02/22/25 vs North Star	16
02/20/25 vs Chester-Joplin-Inverness	10
02/20/25 vs Big Sandy	8
02/14/25 @ Big Sandy	5
02/13/25 vs Hays-Lodge Pole	5
+ 15 more games

Fort Benton's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Kellan Diekhans, who almost dropped a double-double with 16 points and nine boards. Diekhans continues to improve, besting his previous point total in each of the last three games he's played. Truman Giese was another key player, going 5-for-9 to rack up 12 points and seven rebounds.

The win made it two in a row for Fort Benton and bumps their season record up to 14-6. Those victories came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 58.0 points over those games. As for North Star, they are on an eight-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 2-10.

Fort Benton has already played their next contest, a 51-31 victory against Turner on the 22nd. North Star does not have any more games scheduled as of now.