GREAT FALLS — Great Falls High's boys struggled to find the bottom of the net early in their matchup Tuesday against Missoula Hellgate and it cost them in the long run.
The Knights got out to a hot start, building an early double-digit lead. Great Falls didn’t score their first field goal until the 2:42 mark of the first quarter when Wyatt DeVoss elevated from the left block and kissed one off the glass.
Hellgate outscored Great Falls 32-13 by half time and was able to maintain that lead. The Bison had a big fourth quarter run that saw them score 27 points but it was too late as Hellgate won 63-53. Ashton Platt lead all scorers with 19 points, and Hellgate was led by Chance McNulty who scored 17.
Great Falls CMR's boys were also in action as they played host to Missoula Big Sky. A close first half gave the Eagles a slight four-point edge over the Rustlers but the game was far from over.
Big Sky was able to use good ball movement and hot shooting to extend its lead to 44-37 by the end of the third quarter, but CMR had a lot more fight in them. Slowly chipping away at the lead, the Rustlers found themselves down by one with four seconds remaining and possession of the ball.
Gus Nunez, the inbounder, threw a lob pass over the top to a wide open Trigg Mapes who laid it in for the game winning basket. Mapes finished with a game high 24 points that helped the Rustlers defeat Big Sky 57-56.
