BILLINGS — East Helena and Billings Central bounced into the Eastern A boys divisional semifinals in opposite fashion Thursday morning at First Interstate Arena in Billings.
East Helena 55, Fergus 51
East Helena held off Fergus 55-51 in a game never separated by more than six points. Fergus led by one after the opening quarter before East Helena built a 31-27 halftime advantage. Fergus trailed by three into the fourth quarter and 54-51 with under 10 seconds left before missing a pair of three-point attempts to tie.
The Vigilantes put three players in scoring double figures led by DeonDray Ellis with 18, Bearek Shuman with 14 and Talen Thatcher with 10. Avery Hager was the top rebounder with 12.
Kayson Brown was the only Eagle to score in double figures with 20 points. They will face Havre in Friday morning's 9 a.m. loser-out game.
WATCH highlights of Thursday's wins for East Helena and Billings Central:
Billings Central 62, Havre 38
Billings Central opened a quick double-digit lead against Havre and never trailed on the way to a 62-38 opening-round win.
The Rams led by as many as 27 in the fourth quarter after holding a 35-18 lead at half. Central will meet East Helena in Friday's 3:30 p.m. semifinal.
Central had four player hit double figure scoring marks led by Darcy Merchant with 18. Howie Martin added 13 on 6-for-7 shooting, followed by Toby Stewart with 11 and Gunnar Larsen's 10.
Griffen Terry led Havre with 14 points on 4-for-5 shooting.
