BILLINGS — Six Billings-area schools competed in the Holiday Classic on Saturday inside First Interstate Arena at MetraPark.
Three Class A schools — Laurel, Lockwood and Billings Central — squared off in a cross-class battle with three Class AA schools — Billings Senior, Billings Skyview and Billings West.
Senior's boys and girls both won, while Skyview and Lockwood split as did West and Central.
WATCH THE HIGHLIGHTS:
Billings Senior girls 52, Laurel 49
Senior nearly coughed up a 19-point fourth-quarter lead but held on late to defeat Laurel 52-49.
The Broncs led 46-27 entering the final frame, but Laurel scored the quarter’s first 16 points before two Eva Blatchford free throws put the Broncs on the board.
Laurel had one more chance, as Senior made two free throws to take a 52-49 lead with 4.9 seconds to play. The Locomotives, however, couldn’t get a shot off before time expired.
Billings Senior boys 55, Laurel 32
Senior's boys never trailed Laurel, as the Broncs made two technical-foul free throws before any time elapsed and ran away from the Locomotives for a 55-32 win.
Senior led 25-4 after the first quarter and 34-14 at the half. Laurel pulled within 15 in the third quarter before Senior promptly pushed the lead back above 20.
Billings Skyview girls 72, Lockwood 44
The Skyview girls pulled away from Lockwood late in the second half for an emphatic 72-44 victory.
The Falcons led 33-20 at the break, but Lockwood trimmed the deficit to nine points late in the third quarter. Skyview answered with a huge run that saw the game essentially put out of reach midway through the fourth quarter.
Lockwood 63 boys, Billings Skyview 51
Lockwood’s boys kept their unbeaten record intact with a 63-51 win over Skyview on Saturday afternoon.
The Lions opened the game with a 15-5 lead, but Skyview trimmed it to 18-15. Lockwood then answered with three consecutive 3-pointers to push the lead to double digits just two minutes into the second quarter.
The Lions led by as many as 16 in the first half and took a 35-24 lead into the locker room.
Skyview put together a strong third quarter, trimming the deficit to five, 44-39, by the end of the frame. The Falcons eventually got the Lockwood lead down to four, but the Lions were able to execute down the stretch and put the game away at the free throw line.
Billings West girls 57, Billings Central 56
The West girls made it a season sweep of crosstown foe Central.
The Golden Bears rallied from a 12-point first half deficit, 21-9, to top the Rams 57-56. Central opened up a 19-9 lead after the first quarter, aided by a pair of 3-point plays from Montana commit Kamryn Reinker.
That lead would shrink to three, 27-25, by halftime after West closed on an 8-0 run.
The Golden Bears would battle back to take a 39-36 lead after Maisie Heggem-Prinkki hit back-to-back 3-pointers. West would lead 45-42 entering the final period.
After falling behind 49-47 in the fourth quarter, Brynn Fitzgerald put West ahead for good with a 3-pointer late to keep the Bears’ unbeaten season alive, as they iced the game from the foul line.
Billings Central 74 boys, Billings West 72, OT
Darcy Merchant was the hero for the Central boys.
Merchant first forced overtime against Billings West with a pair of made free throws with 18 seconds left. Then in OT, Merchant buried the game-winning jumper with 1.4 seconds left to lift the Rams to a 74-72 win over the Golden Bears.
The Golden Bears led for the majority of the game, including a four-point lead with under a minute to play in regulation.
In the overtime period, West led 72-70 with less than a minute to play, but a turnover led to a layup for Cy Hansen to tie the game, then another West turnover allowed Central to get its game-winning opportunity.
