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Thursday, January 19 RESULTS/STATS
| GLACIER 65 COLUMBIA FALLS |
| HELLGATE 71 FRENCHTOWN 54 |
| LAUREL 34 BILLINGS CENTRAL 32* |
| SIDNEY 54 GLASGOW 47 |
Knights dial in to top Broncs
Missoulian Staff 1 hr ago 0
FRENCHTOWN -- Both Missoula Hellgate and Frenchtown were locked on from 3-point range, but the Knights managed more buckets inside the arc on Thursday, leading to the 71-54 win for the Class AA squad.
Hellgate's Derrius Collins hit three 3-pointers, bolstering his team-high 17 points, that led a quartet of Knights in double figures. Bridger Deden was a perfect 6 for 6 from the free-throw line, and he added two more treys in his 16-point performance for Hellgate.
Frenchtown's Jacob Price also scored 16 points, and he hit three from behind the arc as well. Class A Frenchtown (5-5 overall) connected on 10 from long distance as a team, and Cade Baker connected on four more for the Broncs.
Hellgate, which improved to 7-3 overall, finished with seven total 3-pointers.
Missoula Hellgate 71, Frenchtown 54
Hellgate;15;21;11;24;–;71
Frenchtown;11;11;15;17;–;54
HELLGATE – Landon Youbles 6 2-3 14, Derrius Collins 7 0-0 17, Dylan Holst 1 0-0 2, Kade Lunday 3 1-2 7, Bridger Deden 4 6-6 16, Rollie Worster 4 4-6 14, Bridger Liston 0 1-2 1. Totals 25 14-19 71.
FRENCHTOWN – Ethan Pyron 2 1-2 7, Jacob Price 6 1-3 16, Brock Rugg 2 0-0 4, Cade Baker 4 0-0 12, Adam Botkin 3 0-2 7, Hank Rugg 0 4-5 4, Tradd Richardson 0 0-2 0, Austin Means 1 1-2 3, Zack Baker 0 1-2 1. Totals 18 8-18 54.
3-point goals – Hellgate 7 (Collins 3), Frenchtown 10 (Baker 4, Price 3). Total fouls – Hellgate 22, Frenchtown 19. Fouled out – none.
***
Kalispell Glacier 65, Columbia Falls 32
At Columbia Falls, the Wolfpack had a relentless first half, carrying them to a nonconference victory against the Wildcats.
Kalispell Glacier outscored Columbia Falls 40-12 in the first two quarters, and three Pack members reached double figures. Brec Rademacher led the trio with a game-high 15 points.
Class A Columbia Falls, which fell to 2-8 overall, was paced by Logan Stephens' team-high 11 points. Class AA Glacier improved to 9-1 overall.
Kalispell Glacier 65, Columbia Falls 32
Glacier;19;21;15;10;–;65
C. Falls;5;7;8;12;–;32
GLACIER – Jack Desmul 2, Pat O’Connell 4, Alex Whitman 6, Kody Jarvis 5, Torin Bowden 3, Collin Kazmier 6, Jaxen Hashley 10, Caden Harkins 12, Brec Rademacher 15, Bryce Grame 2.
COLUMBIA FALLS – Matthew Morrison 7, Austin Green 5, Billy Barrett 2, Dakota Bridwell 3, DJ Schrade 4, Logan Stephens 11
SIDNEY 54 GLASGOW 47
Sidney 12 7 12 23 – 54
Glasgow 10 18 9 10 – 47
Sidney – Alec Lovegren 13, Trace Jones 12, Jared Steenbeisser 14, Michael McGinnes 10, Brett Norby 1, John Beyer 2, Bridger Larson 2. Totals 18 13-20 54.
Glasgow – Trent Herbert 11, Bryce Legare 4, Luke Breigenzer 2, Cade Myrick 10, Brayden Ross 20. Totals 17 7-10 47.
3-point goals – Lovegren 2, Jones, Steenbeiser 2; Herbert 3, Ross 3. Total fouls – Sidney 12, Glasgow 17. Fouled out – Larson.
| SIDNEY 54 | |
| PLAYER | PTS |
| John Beyer12 | 2 |
| Trace Jones12 | 12 |
| Bridger Larson10 | 2 |
| Alec Lovegren11 | 13 |
| Michael McGinnis12 | 10 |
| Brett Norby12 | 2 |
| Jared Steinbeisser12 | 14 |
Christian Jones drills the buzzer-beater, Laurel takes down Billings Central 34-32
LAUREL - Four and a half seconds remained on the clock.
With the score tied 32-32, Laurel’s Christian Jones took the inbound pass from teammate Casey Cole and dribbled the length of the court down the right side.
The senior found his spot about three feet to the right of the elbow, and pulled up.
Swish.
Jones’ basket fell a split second before the buzzer sounded, giving the Laurel Locomotives the thrilling 34-32 victory over rival Billings Central on Thursday in the Locomotives’ gym.
Photos: Laurel vs. Central Boys Basketball
Did he know it was going in?
“Yeah, it felt good coming off of my hands,” Jones laughed as Laurel students rained “MVP” chants on him.
Jones’ jumper came after the Rams milked the final minute and a half of the fourth quarter by dribbling the ball around before Chrishon Dixon drove to the basket to attempt the final layup. Dixon missed the shot as he was challenged by a couple of Laurel defenders and Jones grabbed the rebound and got the timeout.
There wasn’t a lot of scoring in what was a tough, physical matchup between the two Eastern A schools. Dawson Cortese led the way in scoring for Laurel (6-2, 4-1) with 10 points while Cole scored eight and Jones had six.
Dixon led all scorers with 12 while Shay Dantic added seven for the Rams (6-3, 3-2).
“I thought our guys played hard and fought through it as much as they could,” Central coach Jim Stergar said. “I thought we did everything possible to win it. Right there at the end (Christian) hit a good shot. You have to give him credit for that.”
“He had to hit a shot and he did and that was really good. Proud of him for doing that because that’s tough to do in a big game like this.”
Jones’ shot was eerily similar to last season when he knocked down a game-winner against Billings West.
“It was kind of a flashback,” Laurel coach Pat Hansen said. “Not the exact same shot but it was in the same spot. He might not be the most explosive guy but he knows how to get a shot off.”
As the shot fell, Hansen said the first thing that came to his mind was, “Another Laurel, Central game. Thank God it’s not in overtime because I’m already sweating my butt off.”
Between the two, the favorite moment was a no-brainer for Jones.
“This one felt better,” Jones said. “Felt good to beat Central like that.”
Jones was questionable coming into this game after he tweaked his back jousting during a National Guard visit to the school.
His back was sore coming in, but he didn’t plan on missing the game.
And boy, are they happy he played.
When the shot was good, Jones reaction was a bit casual as he was swarmed by students and his teammates.
“Didn’t have a thought man,” he laughed again. “Crowd stormed us too quick.”
The teams will rematch at Central on Feb. 16.
LAUREL 34 BILLINGS CENTRAL 32*
| Billings Central | 8 | 5 | 13 | 6 | — | 32 |
| Laurel | 8 | 4 | 12 | 10 | — | 34 |
Billings Central: Chrishon Dixon 12, Andrew Nelson 2, Johnny Elliott 5, Jet Campbell 2, Shay Dantic 7, Noah Gaudreau 4.
Laurel: Casey Cole 8, Shay Osborne 4, Christian Jones 6, Layne Willis 2, Dawson Cortese 10, Chanc Lawrence 4.
