MISSOULA – For the second time in three days, an upset-minded team from Helena took the top boys basketball team in the Western AA to the wire. But Missoula Sentinel keeps finding ways to win.
The Western AA’s No. 1 Spartans held off the sixth-place team in the conference, Helena High, 53-48 on Thursday night. Gage Deshazer broke a 46-46 tie in the final minutes with a clutch 3-pointer from the corner, and the Spartans hit enough free throws in the final minute to seal the victory.
Sentinel jumped out to a seven-point lead in the first quarter, but could never put away the scrappy Bengals. Helena hounded Spartans leading scorer Sam Beighle all night, but the star senior still scored 25 points. Alex Johnson led Helena with 12 points.
Sentinel beat fifth-place Helena Capital on Tuesday, 52-49 in overtime. The Spartans are now 9-1 in conference and need only one win in their final two games to clinch the Western AA regular-season title. Helena High falls to 2-7 in league.
