BILLINGS — Lodge Grass and Three Forks will play for the Southern B boys basketball divisional title Saturday at 6 p.m. inside First Interstate Arena.
Lodge Grass mounted a massive comeback to advance, while Three Forks pulled away in the second half of its semifinal.
Lodge Grass 49, Columbus 46
Lodge Grass weathered a treacherous storm on Friday afternoon inside First Interstate Arena.
JJ Bends buried a pull-up jumper with 30 seconds to play to lift the Indians to a 49-46 win over Columbus in the semifinals of the Southern B divisional tournament.
Columbus built a 31-19 halftime advantage on the back of a 21-2 run spanning the first and second quarters. Lodge Grass didn’t score in the second quarter until the 2:40 mark when TJ Gros Ventre hit a 3-pointer to take the lid off the basket.
Lodge Grass came storming back in the third quarter, though, trimming the deficit to just four, 39-35, entering the final frame.
The Indians would take the lead on a three-point play by Colvin Wyles with 6:45 to play, but Columbus tied it at 45 with just over a minute to play before Bends called game.
The Cougars had a chance to tie at the horn but Colter Chamberlin’s heave caromed off the iron.
Bends led all scorers with 16 points. Gros Ventre added 10 for Lodge Grass, as did Wyles. Chamberlin led Columbus with 15 points.
The Indians will play Three Forks in Saturday's title game, while Columbus will play St. Labre at 9 a.m. Saturday for a berth at the Class B state tournament.
WATCH HIGHLIGHTS OF BOTH SEMIFINALS:
Three Forks 53, Joliet 33
Three Forks is back in the Southern B divisional title game.
The Wolves topped Joliet 53-33 in the semifinals on Friday evening inside First Interstate Arena to set up a date with Lodge Grass in Saturday night’s title game.
Three Forks led 23-21 at halftime but opened the second half on an 11-0 run to take a double-digit lead. The Wolves were able to hold off a Joliet charge down the stretch and lock up a berth at the Class B state tournament next week in Bozeman.
Kanon Reichman led Three Forks with 20 points and nine rebounds on 8-of-14 shooting. He also made 4 of 5 attempts at the free throw line.
The Wolves and Indians met once in the regular season — a 53-48 Lodge Grass win in Three Forks. Saturday night’s championship game is scheduled to tip at 6 p.m.
Joliet will play Shepherd Saturday morning for a berth at the Class B state tournament.
Friday loser-out scores:
Shepherd 59, Manhattan 52
St. Labre 64, Lame Deer 61
