BILLINGS — Billings Senior trailed Billings Skyview by as many as 12 in the third quarter, but the Broncs rallied to force overtime then ran away from the Falcons for a 69-57 win at home on Thursday evening.
"I just can't say enough about these guys. It was nothing we could draw up, nothing we could tell them," Senior head coach Drew Haws said. "They just went out and competed and they wanted it. They just have this desire to win. You could see it at the end of the third quarter and through the fourth quarter, and the way they finished the game."
Trailing 33-21 early in the third, the Broncs eventually tied the game at 36 before a dunk by Lane Love gave the Falcons a 38-36 lead entering the final quarter.
Skyview also had its chances to put the game away in the final frame but couldn't do so. The Falcons held a 48-45 lead with less than a minute to play, but a corner 3-pointer by Cactus Runsabove tied the game and led to overtime. The Broncs dominated the extra session, out-scoring Skyview 21-9.
Payton Sanders led all scorers with 20 points and Rhyse Owens had 19 for Skyview, but Runsabove finished with 18 points off the bench to lead a balanced Senior attack.
"(Runsabove is) such a great kid. He doesn't care if he starts, doesn't care if he comes off the bench. He has started for us this year," Haws said. "He came off the bench our last game against West and he made it his own thing. That's what we need out of him. I just can't say enough about what he did for us, the shots that he made, the defense that he played and everything else he did for us (Thursday)."
Senior has now notched back-to-back Eastern AA wins and sits at 2-2 in conference play. With the loss, Skyview is also 2-2 in conference play.
"One of our goals is to be city champions. We took a big step forward, but we still have a lot of work to do," Haws said referencing Senior's wins over West and Skyview in the past 10 days. "Conference wins are always big, no matter who they are, so it's big to get that conference win and try to get to where we want to be towards the end of the season."
