BILLINGS — Lodge Grass and Baker are Southern B champions after emphatic divisional wins Saturday night inside First Interstate Arena.
Lodge Grass boys 66, Three Forks 43
Lodge Grass took advantage of extremely hot stretches between the second and third quarters on the way to a 66-43 win over Three Forks. The Indians not only ran the court, but also ran their record to 22-0.
TJ Gros Ventre led all scorers with 20 points followed by Lexin Bouyer with 16. JJ Bends had 10 points and seven rebounds as Lodge Grass shot 51%vfor the game and led by as many as 26. The Indians' defense was also on display forcing 17 turnovers, holding Three Forks to six points in the second quarter, 10 in the third and limiting the Wolves to just 30% shooting from the field.
Kanon Reichman led Three Forks with nine points and 11 rebounds. Jace Wiseman added eight points and 10 rebounds.
St. Labre and Shepherd also advance to state after earning loser-out wins Saturday morning. St. Labre held off the Mustangs 58-55 in the consolation game to claim third place.
WATCH: HIGHLIGHTS OF BOTH CHAMPIONSHIP GAMES
Baker girls 79, Ennis 38
Saturday's late game matched unbeaten Baker and Ennis. To no surprise, the Mustangs were exhausted after Friday night's dramatic semifinal win and trailed 29-0 before hitting a free throw. Baker's lead was 32-3 after the opening quarter.
The Spartans (22-0) won each divisional game convincingly while forcing a running clock in all three. Their largest lead Saturday was 45. Madison O'Connor led everybody with 31 points (23 at half) and 17 rebounds. Avery O'Connor finished with 20 points followed by Jocelyn Graham's 16.
Marisa Snider was Ennis' scoring leader with 18. Brooke Hoyer tallied six points and led the Mustangs with eight rebounds.
Big Timber and Huntley Project are also ticketed for the Class B girls state tournament next week in Bozeman after loser-out wins Saturday morning. The consolation game and third place trophy went to Big Timber in a 60-43 win.
