State A basketball: Blue bloods advance to semifinals in Great Falls

GREAT FALLS — The Class A boys and girls basketball state tournaments are set to tip off at Four Seasons Arena this week, bringing eight teams in each bracket to Electric City to battle for state championships.

A total of eight games are on tap Thursday. Both defending champions, the Billings Central girls and Dillon boys, are in the field.

Champions will be crowned Saturday night as teams from across Montana look to finish their seasons on top and cut down the nets in Great Falls.

Stay with us throughout the tournament for updates, scores, highlights, quotes and observations from courtside. This post will be updated throughout each day, with the newest information appearing at the top.

MTN's Tom Wylie will be providing live updates and posting some photos, while Will Charlton will shoot video.

-Tom Wylie and Will Charlton

***UPDATED SCORES AND PAIRINGS***

9:30 p.m. | GOODNIGHT!

It’s been a long, but fun day. Thanks for following along on Day one of the State A tournament in Great Fals.

Tomorrow will bring semifinals, more hospitality room updates, and undoubtedly plenty of highlights.

Friday’s schedule:

BOYS

Ronan vs. Butte Central, loser out, 9 a.m.

Glendive vs. Miles City, loser out, 10:30 a.m.

Lockwood vs. Billings Central, semifinal, 3:30 p.m.

Frenchtown vs. Dillon, semifinal, 5 p.m.

GIRLS

Hardin vs. Bigfork, loser out, noon

Whitefish vs. Laurel loser, loser out, 1:30 p.m.

Frenchtown vs. Billings Central, semifinal, 6:30 p.m.

Havre vs. Dillon, semifinal, 8 p.m.

A reminder, we won’t be providing live updated during loser out games but will pick up tournament coverage and recap the morning slate during the first semi-final at 3:30 p.m.

Have a wonderful night!

WATCH: Havre, Dillon girls to meet in semifinals

Game 8: Dillon 48, Laurel 37

9:16 p.m. | DILLON HANGS ON

Dillon wins 48-37. Laurel's late rally was indeed too little, too late but credit to the Locomotives for turning what was trending toward a blowout into a competitive final game of the quarterfinals.

After trailing 42-13 in the third, Laurel closed the game on a 24-6 run to keep things interesting.

Tess Tash led Dillon in victory with 17 points, seven rebounds while Cassie Keller was second on the team in scoring with 13 points. Landri Hartman added a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.

Dillon turned the ball over 27 times which allowed Laurel, which recorded 18 steals, to stay in the game. Emerson Gunther led all scorers with 18 points for the Locomotives.

The Beavers advance to face Havre in Friday night's 8 p.m. semifinal, while the Locomotives moves to the 1:30 p.m. loser out game against Whitefish.

TOM WYLIE/MTN Sports

9:01 p.m. | UH... HOLD UP!

Laurel has found a spark in the fourth quarter. Since my last update, the Locomotives have gone on a 12-2 run to cut the Dillon lead to 44-29 with four minutes left.

It likely too little, too late but the Laurel bench is fired up.

8:50 p.m. | MORE OF THE SAME

The Beavers scored the first 11 points of the third quarter to take a 42-13 lead but the Locomotives answered with back to back buckets with two minutes left in the quarter to cut the lead to 42-17.

But its looking like a Dillon-Havre semifinal on Friday.

8:31 p.m. | ALL DILLON AT HALFTIME

The Beavers lead the Locomotives 31-13 at the break. Tess Tash has 13 points and seven rebounds to lead Dillon. Darby Boehler has five points for Laurel.

The Locomotives are 6-for-32 from the field and have gone 0-for-9 from beyond the arc.

8:10 p.m. | DILLON AND LAUREL GIRLS SQUARE OFF IN FINAL GAME OF THE DAY

(1W) Dillon and (4E) Laurel have tipped off in the night cap. The Beavers, State A runners up in 2025, are 19-2 entering the tournament and avenged a regular season loss to Frenchtown with a 15-point win in the Western A championship.

Laurel is the only team in the tournament with a losing record. The Locomotives (6-17) won just four games in the regular season but won twice at the Eastern A tournament to make it to state.

After the first quarter, Dillon leads 18-5.

Game 7: Havre 58, Whitefish 23

8:03 p.m. | QUOTES

Havre head coach Tommy Brown on the defensive performance. The Blue Ponies held Whitefish without a field goal for 16 minutes:

"We've been practicing since November on our defense. And we really take pride on that end. And these kids just absolutely get after it,"Brown said. "And when you got five kids that can guard the ball and help each other out, when my buddy gets beat, it's tough to score. And so kudos to our kids."

Ariana Gary on the finishing the highlight reel pass from Amaya Jarvis:

"I was ready, but man, was I scared to myself. She does it a few times in practice, and I always miss that one because I'm never expecting it. But I was ready for that one. I mean, she's Amaya Jarvis. So she does what she does."

7:39 p.m. | HAVRE WINS COMFORTABLY

The Havre girls are moving on to the State A semifinals after a 51-23 win over Whitefish in the first round on Thursday.

Ariana Gary led all scorers with 17 points, six rebounds and three steals. Her senior teammate Amaya Jarvis recorded a double-double with 14 points, 11 rebounds and four assists. Avery Orne paced Whitefish with seven points, all coming at the free throw line.

Havre held Whitefish to just 5-for-30 shooting (16.7%) from the field, with only two of those field goals coming from inside the arc.

The Blue Ponies have now won 13 straight games within the confines of the Four Seasons Arena.

TOM WYLIE/MTN Sports

7:32 p.m. | HAVRE CONTINUES TO PILE IT ON

Midway through the fourth quarter and the Blue Ponies are up 47-21 on Whitefish and have sat their starters.

They provided a little razzle dazzle before exiting the game. Amaya Jarvis delivered a behind the back pass to Ariana Gary in transition to put an exclamation mark on this game. Check it out!!

7:03 p.m. | BLUE PONIES IN CONTROL AT HALFTIME

Havre leads Whitefish 24-13 at the break. No surprise, experience is leading the way. Ariana Gary and Amaya Jarvis, both four-year starters, have eight and six points respectively. Katie Tilleman also has six points, with senior Ela Harbor pitching in four.

Reese Hudson leads Whitefish with six points. Havre has eight steals at half and has scored 12 points off of turnovers. The Blue Ponies are 12-for-27 (44%) from the field and have held the Bulldogs to just 3-for-17 (17.6%) shooting.

6:48 p.m. | HAVRE AND WHITEFISH GIRLS TIPS OFF

The Blue Ponies, who won five state titles in the last eight seasons, are trying to get back to the title game for the first time since 2023 behind some experienced senior leaders.

The Whitefish Bulldogs are making their first trip to the state tournament in five seasons.

Havre jumped out to a 12-4 lead in the first quarter, but Whitefish closed it to 14-9 entering the second.

WATCH: Frenchtown, Dillon set up Western A title rematch in semis

Game 6: Dillon 48, Miles City 42

6:09 p.m. | BEAVERS ESCAPE WITH FIRST ROUND WIN

Dillon led by eight with just under two minutes left, but a flurry of turnovers and Miles City buckets cut the lead to 44-42 with under a minute left. But clutch free throws iced it for Dillon who won 48-42 and will advance to the State A semifinals on Friday to face Frenchtown.

Aason Munday led the Beavers with 14 points and eight rebounds. Braxtyn Turney had nine points, while Will Hansen and Noah Feenstra each had seven.

Cooper Nansel and Bridger Muri led Miles City with 13 and 12 points respectively, while Rylin Gentry joined them in double figures with 10 points and six assistas.

No post game quote coming from this game. I have to break for a few minutes to anchor the late news for KRTV in Great Falls. Lots of sports on MTN stations tonight, I hope you tune in! See you back here for the final two girls games, Havre vs. Whitefish and Dillon vs. Laurel.

TOM WYLIE/MTN Sports

5:51 p.m. | DILLON GETS BIG BUCKETS TO OPEN FOURTH

Dillon led 36-33 entering the fourth quarter and opened the final frame with a Aason Munday dunk and a Will Hansen put back to make it 40-33. Beavers grabbing the momentum here in the waning minutes.

5:37 p.m. | HOSPITALITY ROOM UPDATE

PIZZA! Time to fuel up for the home stretch.

TOM WYLIE/MTN Sports

5:25 p.m | DILLON WITH THE EDGE AT HALFTIME

Dillon leads Miles City 25-23 at halftime. Aason Munday has eight points for the Beavers, while Noah Feenstra and Braxtyn Turney each have five.

Rylin Gentry and Brudger Muri each have eight points for the Cowboys. Gentry beat the buzzer on a three to cut the lead to two entering the break. Check out the video:

5:11 p.m. | MILES CITY LEADING AFTER ONE

The Cowboys are up 12-9 after the first eight minutes. We've seen a lot of games today that were competitive early before the favorite pulled away in the second half.

Can the Cowboys keep it up? Miles City, which hasn't won a state tournament game since 2003, is the darkest of dark horses.

4:58 p.m. | DEFENDING CHAMPION DILLON OPENS AGAINST MILES CITY

The (1W) Dillon boys are up next, facing (4E) Miles City. The Beavers are back to back state champions but started the season 1-4 before turning things around, finishing 15-6 and winning a Western A divisional title.

Meanwhile, Miles City went 12-10 but stunned Lockwood in the first round of the Eastern A Divisional before reaching the consolation final to clinch a spot at state. It's the Cowboys first appearance at the state tournament since 2014.

Sluggish start for both teams in the first quarter, Miles City leads 6-2 after the first four minutes.

Game 5: Frenchtown 62, Glendive 34

4:54 p.m. | QUOTE

Cooper Michaud on the second half surge:

"I thought we started off, the first half a little rough. Turning the ball over a lot. And then we came out in the second half knowing we got to clean it up and be more ball tough. And we really just had to attack them more to get to the line a little bit. And we just all kind of played less selfish in the second half. Just made everything flow easier in the second half."

Michaud on carrying over the championship mentality from the football field:

"It lit a fire for this basketball team. I think we're just really hungry after knowing what it feels like to win one. So we know what to expect and just have been battle tested all year long."

4:39 p.m. | FINAL

Frenchtown opens the State A tournament with a 62-34 win over Glendive. The Broncs turned it on after a low scoring first half, putting up 41 points in the second.

Henry Griffin led the way with 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Broncs, while Cooper Michaud also added a double-double with 17 points, 12 rebounds. Trevor Smith also reached double figures for Frenchtown with 11 points.

Ethan Rivas had 15 points for the Red Devils, but only four of them came in the second half.

Frenchtown now moves on to face the winner of (4E) Miles City and (1W) Dillon in the semifinals, Friday at 5 p.m. while the Glendive will face the loser of that game in the consolation bracket at 10:30 a.m.

4:30 p.m. | WHO'S GOT SPIRIT?

Witnessed something I've never seen before.

The Frenchtown student section tried to start a "We got spirit, how about you!?" chant with the Glendive student section and the Red Devils just refused to engage after about three prompts. Just over it. Long trip, team trailing, less numbers. I have to respect it.

Broncs lead 54-32 mid-way through the fourth quarter.

TOM WYLIE/MTN Sports

4:13 p.m. | FRENCHTOWN PULLING AWAY

The Broncs started the third quarter on a 14-2 run and now lead Glendive 35-19. Frenchtown athletes starting to show their pedigree. Check out this steal and dunk from Hank Smith!

3:55 p.m. | LOW SCORING, COMPETITIVE AFFAIR AT HALFTIME

Frenchtown leads Glendive 21-17 at halftime. Teams very evenly matched. Points at a premium. Henry Griffin leads the Broncs with seven points, while Ethan Rivas is pacing the Red Devils with 11 points and four steals.

Frenchtown is 8-for-21 (38.1%) from the floor, while Glendive is 8-for-25 (32%).

3:28 p.m. | GLENDIVE AND FRENCHTOWN BOYS KICK OFF SECOND SESSION

Four games down, four to go here in Great Falls. West No. 3 Frenchtown is taking on East No. 2 Glendive. For more on Glendive's path back to the state tournament, read Scott Breen's excellent story here.

Meanwhile the Frenchtown boys feature a lot of the same players who helped the Broncs win a football title in the fall. I've been covering local sports for over a decade, and from a stakes and story lines standpoint it was the best game I've ever attended.

As for the game at hand, Frenchtown has jumped on top 11-6 with 2:30 left in the first quarter.

WATCH: Frenchtown, Billings Central girls advance to semifinals

Game 4: Billings Central 58, Bigfork 24

3:13 p.m. | QUOTE

Billings Central coach Jetton Ailes on making sure the team is locked in:

"Our goal is to stay as present as possible, and stay as clean as possible. I'm a coach that holds them accountable. Never happy. There's a lot of things we need to clean up," Ailes said. "We gotta value possessions more. We got to be better on the offensive glass. And can't be casual. So, that's a conversation we'll have at the hotel tonight."

The Rams have now won 45 straight games against Class A opponents.

TOM WYLIE/MTN Sports

3:00 p.m. | RAMS ROLL INTO THE SEMIS

Billings Central takes its first step toward a three-peat, rolling to a 58-24 victory over Bigfork in the first round. The Rams just have overwhelming talent.

Kamryn Reinker finished with a game high 18 points and 10 rebounds. Annika Stergar added 13 points and five steals, while Amaya Lorash contributed 13 points, seven rebounds and three blocks.

Paeten Gunlock scored 15 of the 24 points for the Valkyries.

The Rams will advance to face Frenchtown in the semifinals, whole Bigfork moves to the consolation bracket and will face Hardin in loser-out play.

2:31 p.m. | HOSPITALITY ROOM UPDATE

Good selection for media. Donuts and breakfast burritos this morning. I'm told pizza is on the menu tonight. Thanks to the Great Falls Sports Foundation for feeding the hungry coaches, officials and media members in attendance!

Billings Central leads 47-18 midway through the third quarter.

2:20 p.m. | HALFTIME UPDATE

It's all Rams in this one. Billings Central leads Bigfork 38-13 at halftime. Annika Stergar leads all scorers with 13 points, with Lady Griz adding 11 points. Paeten Gunlock has eight of the Valkyries 13 points.

Gunlock went down hard in the second quarter and had to be helped off the court, but re-entered the game after a few minutes.

The Rams have hit 15-of-32 shots (46.9%), have out-rebounded Bigfork 21-9 and have scored 16 points off turnovers.

2:03 p.m. | RAMS FLEXING MUSCLE

Billings Central leads 22-4 after the first quarter. The Valkyries went nearly six minutes between field goals, while the Rams poured it on - forcing turnovers and converting transition baskets.

1:50 p.m. | BILLINGS CENTRAL AND BIGFORK UP NEXT

Billings Central and Bigfork have just tipped off. The Rams are the two-time defending champs and are in strong position to pull off the three-peat with no losses to Class A opponents all season.

Meanwhile Bigfork is led by Carroll College commit Paeten Gunlock. She helped lead the Valkyries to the Class B title as a freshman in 2023 and a Class A runner up finish in 2024 while playing with her sister Braeden Gunlock, who now plays at BYU.

Billings Central has jumped out to a 10-2 lead in the first quarter behind stars Annika Stergar and Kamryn Reinker.

Game 3: Frenchtown 47, Hardin 46

1:43 p.m. | QUOTE

Mason Quinn on the physical nature of the game:

"Yeah I mean it's always physical. Here at the state tournament, everyone wants to win. So I understand," she said. "But we came out on top. When the clock hit zero, I was super relieved. I'm going to need some ice after that game, but, yeah, it's so great to move on."

1:25 p.m. | BUCKLE UP INDEED!!

Mason Quinn has been nails at the free throw line. Two more makes puts Frenchtown up 46-43, but then Kevee Rogers knocks down the three for Hadin to tie it up at 46.

Quinn is fouled with 1.7 seconds left. She goes 1-for-2 to make it 47-46, Hardin grabbed the rebound but with no timeouts the Bulldogs couldn't get a desperation heave off and the Broncs survive with a 47-46 win!

Quinn finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds, going 12-for-13 at the free throw line. Henley Harris added 11 points for the Broncs. Annika Big Man led the Bulldogs with 10 points, with Taylor Slater adding nine.

Frenchtown now moves on to face the winner of Billings Central and Bigfork in the Friday semifinal at 6:30 p.m.

1:00 p.m. | PUNCH, COUNTER PUNCH ENTERING FOURTH

Hardin opened the third quarter on a 7-0 run, but Frenchtown scored the next five. Journey Hugs just banked in a three point shot with 30 seconds left in the quarter to give Hardin a 36-31 point lead, but a pair of Quinn free throws makes it 36-33 entering the fourth.

Buckle up! Should be an exciting finish to what's been the most competitive game of the tournament so far.

12:42 p.m. | HALFTIME UPDATE

Frenchtown leads Hardin 26-24 at halftime. Very competitive through the first 16 minutes. Mason Quinn leads all scorers with 10 points. She's just 2-for-8 from the field but has hit all six of her free throw attempts.

Frenchtown is 9-for-10 from the charity stripe as a team, while the Bulldogs have only attempted one free throw.

Annika Big Man and Dakota Takes Enemy each have five points to lead the Bulldogs. Hardin is 4-for-13 from the three point line and has pulled in eight offensive rebounds which is how they've stayed in the game.

TOM WYLIE/MTN Sports

12:25 p.m. | FUN START

Hardin leads Frenchtown 12-10 after the first eight minutes. Broncs have a fan advantage with a full student section on hand.

12:11 p.m. | FRENCHTOWN AND HARDIN GIRLS UNDERWAY

The Broncs and Bulldogs face off in the first girls game of the day. Hardin was a staple of the State A tournament, advancing to the title game five times in seven seasons from 2017-2023. But this is their first trip back to state since falling to Havre in the 2023 State A championship.

Frenchtown is the No. 2 seed out of the West and feature one of the state's most talented players in Boise State commit Mason Quinn.

Slow start for both teams, we're tied at 4 after five minutes in the first quarter.

WATCH: Highlights from early boys games

Game 2: Billings Central 71, Butte Central 45

12:02 p.m. | QUOTE

Billings Central coach Jim Stergar on the Rams big third quarter:

"I think we just got eight guys that know how to play and were deep enough to keep the pressure up and keep running, and we're kind of just finding our fifth gear, sixth gear at that point in time," Stergar said. "And some teams and I'll only play 4 or 5 guys that are their strong kids. And I think it's tonight was a classic case of attrition."

The Rams pulled in 16 offensive rebounds and turned them into 12 second chance points. They out-rebounded the Maroons 36-19.

"Our kids are in good shape, they've put the time in to be in shape and it's fun to watch when they run up and down and rebounding," Stergar said. "And when you do that and they're one and done on one end and we can run, that's kind of demoralizing"

11:50 a.m. | FINAL

Billings Central used a big second half to down Butte Central 71-45. Darcy Merchant and Toby Stuart led the Rams with 20 points apiece, while Butte Central's Ryan Peoples led all scorers with 23 points but just six in the second half.

That sets up a colossal semi-final match-up for the Rams against Lockwood on Friday at 3:30 p.m.

The Lions and the Rams split the regular season series in two highly competitive games.

TOM WYLIE/MTN Sports

11:37 a.m. | BILLINGS CENTRAL CRUISING AFTER BIG THIRD QUARTER

The Rams outscored the Maroons 29-8 in the third quarter to take a 58-36 lead into the fourth. Darcy Merchant Jr. had 12 points in that quarter alone and has a team high 17 points.

11:21 a.m. | RAMS OPEN THIRD QUARTER HOT

Billings Central has opened the third quarter on a 15-2 run to take a 44-30 lead. Big buckets from Toby Stuart, Howie Martin, William Snell and Darcy Merchant Jr.

Timeout Butte Central.

11:12 a.m. | SHOUTOUT TO THE BANDS

Random note, just because I can. Butte Central's band is always impressive. They brought a lead singer and basically just play contemporary alternative rock hits. They rock hard. As do all the bands! Mad respect.

11:07 a.m. | TIGHT BATTLE AT HALFTIME

William Snell hit a layup shortly before time expired to give Billings Central a 29-28 lead over Butte Central at halftime. But the Maroons are hanging with the Eastern Division champs every step of the way. Ryan Peoples leads all scorers with 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting.

Toby Stewart has nine points to lead the Rams. Something to keep an eye on, three Billings Central players have two fouls at halftime.

10:54 a.m. | MAROONS AND RAMS TIED AFTER ONE QUARTER

Billings Central and Butte Central are tied at 16 after the first quarter. Ryan Peoples, brother of Butte Central legend Dougie Peoples, scored 11 of the 16 points for the Maroons including this layup near the end of the quarter to tie the game.

10:42 a.m. | BILLINGS CENTRAL AND BUTTE CENTRAL TIP OFF GAME TWO

A match-up of the two pre-eminent Catholic schools in Class A. Butte Central was assessed a technical foul for dunking in warmups, so Billings Central is up 2-0 before the opening tip off. The Rams are the No. 1 seed in the East, while the Maroons are the West's No. 4 seed.

These teams used to face off every year in football in a game called the "Bishop Bowl", but the rivalry got too heated and ended in 2014.

Game 1: Lockwood 65, Ronan 53

10:37 a.m. | QUOTE

Lockwood coach Bobby Anderson on getting a win in the opening round after losing to Miles City in the first round at the Eastern A divisionals.

"Sometimes your downfalls are your blessings, right? Maybe a wake up call, maybe brought the guys back to Earth, realize it's just basketball. It's not the end of the world," Anderson said. "Like, your identity is so much better. More than the scoreboard. And that was been the message all week. Like, relieve the pressure. Just trust each other, and let's just go play basketball and see what happens."

TOM WYLIE/MTN Sports

10:21 a.m. | FINAL SCORE

Ronan never went away, but Lockwood got it done 65-53. The Lions move to the semifinals to face the winner of Billings Central and Butte Central. Ronan will move to the consolation and face the loser of that game on Friday morning at 9 a.m.

Zicciah-Callison Blake scored what his coach Bobby Anderson called a "quiet" 26 points. Kobe Blake added 16, and Gabe Ronquillo scored 13 points.

Ronan's Kolby Finley led all scorers with 29 points on 13-of-21 shooting. Matiya Nenemay added 14 for the Chiefs.

10:01 a.m. | RONAN KEEPING THINGS INTERESTING

It's 47-37 after three quarters. At times it appeared that Lockwood would start to pull away, but the Chiefs keep finding timely buckets to keep this one within striking distance. Kolby Finley can hoop.

9:33 a.m. | LOCKWOOD BUILDS HALFTIME LEAD

Lockwood is up 36-24 at halftime behind 17 points from Callison-Blake and 10 from Kobe Blake. Kolby Finley leads Ronan with 12 points. Callison-Blake can jump very high! Check out the elevation on this breakaway dunk.

9:14 a.m. | FRENETIC PACE

Lead has changed several times and Lockwood leads 20-18 after the first quarter. Lions with a clear athleticism advantage with the likes of Zicciah Callison-Blake and Kobe Blake But Ronan converting from beyond the arc is keeping the Chiefs close.

9:02 a.m. | WE'RE UNDERWAY

The Lockwood and Ronan boys have tipped off in the first matchup of the day. The Lions only lost once in the regular season and were one of the favorites to win the state tournament entering the postseason, but a stunning first round loss to Miles City at the Eastern A divisional tournament gave Lockwood the No. 3 seed and a first round matchup with West No. 2 Chiefs.

Three minutes in and we're tied at eight points apiece.