BILLINGS — Columbus and Lodge Grass punched their tickets to Friday night's Southern B boys basketball divisional semifinals by picking up first-round victories inside First Interstate Arena on Thursday.
Columbus won a thriller over Manhattan, while Lodge Grass handled Shepherd to seal its spot.
Columbus 42, Manhattan 41
In a game that resembled more football than basketball at times, the Columbus boys led Manhattan wire-to-wire for a 42-41 victory in the opening round of the Southern B divisional tournament in Billings.
Ironically enough, the game was decided at the foul line with 8.5 seconds left, as with the game tied at 41-41 Columbus’ Ethan West split a pair of free throws to put the Cougars in front. Manhattan had a chance to win at the horn, but Tyson Pavlik’s heave fell short.
Columbus led 41-36 late in the fourth quarter, but Blake Bentle tied the game with 22.7 seconds left on a pull-up 3-pointer in transition.
The Cougars put the clamps down defensively throughout the game, as they forced 19 Manhattan turnovers.
Cain Hanson led the Cougars with 15 points while Colter Chamberlin added 13. Bentle led Manhattan with a game-high 18 points.
Columbus will play the Lodge Grass, while Manhattan falls into loser-out action.
WATCH HIGHLIGHTS OF BOTH FIRST-ROUND GAMES:
Lodge Grass 75, Shepherd 54
Shepherd threw the first punch, but Lodge Grass finished the fight in the first round of the Southern B divisional tournament in Billings.
The Indians used an 18-5 run in the first quarter to take a double-digit lead and sprint past Shepherd 75-54, sealing a spot in Friday’s semifinal round.
Lodge Grass led it by 13 at the break and the lead grew to as large as 26 in the fourth quarter, as the Indians held Shepherd to just 41.2% shooting and forced 16 turnovers. Lodge Grass shot nearly 53% from the floor and nearly 69% from 2-point range.
TJ Gros Ventre had a game-high 26 points for Lodge Grass. He surpassed the 1,000-point career plateau with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to close the first quarter.
The Indians will play Columbus in Friday night's semifinal round, while Shepherd falls to loser-out play.
