MISSOULA — The Missoula Sentinel Spartans made history in a movie-like scenario this past Saturday with an overtime win over Billings West in the Class AA state championship at First Interstate Arena in Billings.
It marked the program's first state basketball title in 40 years, and it came down to a shot from Lincoln Rogers in the final seconds and one last defensive stop to get it done.
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"What more could you ask for, your senior year ending on a game-winning shot and just the emotions and just everything," Rogers, a senior, said. "I don't think it gets much better than this. And I'm just trying to take it all in and seeing these guys happy is the best part of all of it."
After West chipped away and forced the overtime period, the game formed into a cinematic classic, and Sentinel's strategy at the end was simple.
"For the last minute, it was give the ball to Lincoln Rogers," senior Zeke Glidewell said. "He could win the game for us. For the final shot, I remember just sitting in the other corner, watching it fall and the joy on everybody's faces, it erupted. It felt like a slow-motion video of it falling. So it was fantastic to watch."
"I mean, first he threw it in the air and I just had to double check," added sophomore Beau O'Reilly. "I look up at the score and I see we're up one with just a few seconds. And then I don't know, I think I was just jumping up, but I don't remember. I just remember hearing the buzzer go off and everyone running and I just realized we actually did it."
Sentinel closed the season 19-3 overall, capping it with the state run that featured victories over Billings Senior, Helena High and West.
It didn't come without late adversity, as the Spartans reeled off 15 straight wins but were handed losses in their final two regular season games to Butte and Missoula Hellgate, providing a needed reset as they headed to state as the Western AA's top seed.
"I think the practice after our loss to Hellgate after senior night was one of the hardest practices I've ever been a part of," Glidewell said. "He had us running, playing defense against six guys. If we made a mistake, we'd have to run. I mean, we were locked in from the get-go and it never really stopped. Kept pushing it until the week of state."
Expectations were high for the Spartans all season, and from start to finish they matched the moment and lived up to the hype.
And when winning time rolled around, Sentinel was ready as a four-decade drought was put to rest.
"It was just super special and I'm just very grateful to be a part of it," O'Reilly said. "You know, I love every one of my teammates. Everyone played a role. And just being able to do it with my brother and these seniors that I've been playing with for a while now, it was just special and just awesome to get it done."
"I think it's just a reflection of how good we were as a team," Rogers added. "And we're all so close and we all love each other. And it's just awesome that this moment happened and they all wanted it as bad as I wanted it. So it's just awesome to see that it paid off. And just seeing them happy just makes me happy. So it's the best thing I could ask for."
