BILLINGS — We’re back at First Interstate Arena in Billings for Day 2 of the State AA basketball tournament, and Friday's morning loser-out round is complete:
Girls
- Butte 59, Helena 40: Cadence Graham hits five 3-pointers and scores 32 points — a girls’ high, to this point in the tournament — to lead Butte.
- Missoula Hellgate 55, Billings Skyview 34: Paisley Johnson had 13 points, 8 rebounds, 5 steals and 4 assists in the Knights’ win.
Boys
- Billings Senior 56, Great Falls CMR 55: Senior’s Rylan Jennings made one free throw with six seconds left, and Ben Cunningham’s shot at the buzzer from the baseline bounced off the rim.
- Missoula Big Sky 69, Gallatin 55: After scoring 20 total points in their first three quarters on Thursday night, the Eagles have scored 90 points over their next five quarters.
Semifinals begin at 3:30 p.m., with winners advancing to Saturday’s championship games.
* * * Class AA pairings and results * * *
On-site today are Scott Breen, Alec Bofinger and Mike Scherting.
Can defending girls champion Gallatin keep its repeat hopes alive, as well as its 29-game winning streak?
11:11 p.m. Day 2 — Closing
With that madcap final game between the Billings West and Missoula Hellgate boys, Day 2 is in the books here at the Class AA State Basketball Tournament in Billings. We now know who will play for the boys’ and girls’ titles on Saturday, while four teams remain alive for the third-place trophy.
We’ll set up shop here again Saturday in time for the third-place games and be here through the championships.
Here is Saturday’s schedule:
GIRLS
• 9 a.m., loser out: Butte (14-8) vs. Missoula Big Sky (18-3), at Billings Skyview
• 9 a.m., loser out: Missoula Hellgate (14-8) vs. Billings Senior (14-8)
• 3:30 p.m., third place: Morning winners
•6:30 p.m., championship, Gallatin (21-0) vs. Billings West (19-2)
BOYS
• Noon, loser out: Billings Senior (14-8) vs. Missoula Hellgate (16-5)
• Noon, loser out: Missoula Big Sky (10-12) vs. Helena (12-10), at Billings Skyview
• 5 p.m., third place: Morning winners
• 8:30 p.m., championship: Missoula Sentinel (18-3) vs. Billings West (16-5)
11:10 p.m. | WATCH highlights of the boys' semifinal games
10:36 p.m. | West-Hellgate post-game reaction (expanded edition)
Kelly Darragh walked out of a joyous Billings West locker room, turned toward one of the team trainers and said, “I don’t know who all’s bleeding. Everybody’s bleeding.”
Triple overtime, with a state-tournament berth on the line, will force that kind of at-all-costs effort, from both teams.
Grayson Baumann’s seemingly out-of-control drive — he temporarily lost control of the basketball and had to finish with his off hand, his left hand — with five seconds left proved the difference in the Golden Bears’ 62-61 victory over Missoula Hellgate.
Even Baumann, who finished with 17 points, isn’t sure how he did it.
“I didn’t even know what happened,” Baumann said.
But he and the Bears know what’s next. After erasing a 13-point third-quarter deficit, that was 12 when the fourth quarter started, and eventually outlasting the Knights, they’ll get another shot at a state title they missed out on last year to Billings Skyview. This time they’ll take on Missoula Sentinel on Saturday.
West’s Cash Rice led all scorers with 20 points and Keegan Grossman, who was most likely bleeding from three wounds and had to walk off a cramp in the final moments of the third OT, had 10 points. Jaxen Walter took a huge charge with 21.6 seconds to go that gave West its final possession trailing 61-60.
“We just seem to have this fight, this resilience, that we’re not going to give in,” Darragh said. “They never stopped battling.”
Zane Gillhouse, who played most of the second half and the overtimes with cotton stuffed up one nostril to stop a bleed, led the Knights with 20 points. Liam Dick added 17 and Spencer Wayland, whose basket that rolled around the rim at the buzzer to force the second OT, had 11.
10:12 p.m. | FINAL: Billings West 62, Missoula Hellgate 61
Grayson Baumann somehow got a left-handed layup to go with 5 seconds left, and the Bears survived a Hellgate desperation shot at the end to get the victory. More to come.
9:57 p.m. | Triple OT!
You better believe it. Tied 55-55. Players are looking dog-tired, but a lot of fight left in both teams.
9:45 p.m. | Double OT!
Spencer Wayland's fadeaway shot for Hellgate at the buzzer rolled around the rim so much the light on the backboard had gone off before the ball fell through the hoop. We're tied at 51-51. Four more minutes. (Maybe.)
9:36 p.m. | Overtime!
Cash Rice's driving layup with 23 seconds left ties the score 47-47 and we're headed to OT after Spencer Wayland's last-second shot for Hellgate came up empty. Hang on, that fourth quarter was a wild ride.
9:28 p.m. | Tied up
West has pulled even on a short jump shot by Grayson Baumann just as the shot clock was expiring. It's 45-45 with 1:41 to play. Hellgate has the ball.
9:12 p.m. | Time running out for West
If the Golden Bears want to get back to the title game, they'll have to start knocking down their shots in the final eight minutes. The Knights are steadily pulling away and will take a 12-point lead — 40-28 — into the fourth quarter. Zane Gillhouse, who had two 3-pointers in the early going of the game, drove the baseline for a dunk for the Knights, who held the Golden Bears to just one field goal in the final 4:00 of the quarter.
8:44 | HALFTIME: Missoula Hellgate 26, Billings West 19
The margin stays the same as the first quarter in what has been a fairly quick-moving game. The teams shot no free throws in the first quarter and had shot just five in the second quarter until the final 5.4 seconds of the half, when each team was sent to the foul line.
After his team's win in the first semifinal, Sentinel coach Sam Beighle noted the scores in this tournament have been low.
"I think it's just the level of physicality out there that we're seeing," Beighle said.
This game is no different.
8:27 | Ready to score
Hellgate's Zane Gillhouse came ready to play in this semifinal. The 6-foot-5 senior hit two 3-pointers and another basket in the first 3 1/2 minutes of the game to get the Knights out to a 10-2 lead. West has recovered a bit, but still trails 14-7 after the first quarter.
8:21 p.m. | Quotes
Missoula Sentinel coach Sam Beighle insisted his team's 50-35 win over Helena, won in which the Spartans led by double digits most of the way, wasn't as easy as it might have looked. The Bengals physical on defense, even if they couldn't match the physicality of the Sentinel defense on the other end.
"We were just trying to make sure we stayed collected," he said. "We got a little gassed out there, probably in the third, early fourth (quarter), and so it was just trying to make sure we stayed composed and stayed tough. Because that game took a lot of grit to win. Even though it looked like we led the whole time, it took a lot of toughness to stay and keep that lead."
The Spartans reached the title game in 2024 but lost to Gallatin under Beighle in his first season as head coach. Last year the Spartans went 1-2 at state, far below their own expectations.
"Last year we kind of got ahead of ourselves," said Lincoln Rogers, who finished with 16 points, nine rebounds and five blocks. "When we got to state, we were focused on games, like, in weeks passed. This year we've been focusing on every single game, one at a time. Now that we're in the state championship, what we've been looking forward to the entire year, I think we'll be prepared for it."
8:08 p.m. | Missoula Hellgate boys (16-4) vs. Billings West boys (15-5)
Time to determine our final championship berth. Hellgate, the 2023 champion, is coming off a physical game with Gallatin. West, last year’s runner-up, had to shake off some bye-week rust to finally hold off Missoula Big Sky in the quarterfinals. Tip off in just under 10 minutes.
7:57 p.m. | FINAL: Missoula Sentinel 50, Helena 35
It turned out to be a pretty comfortable win for the Spartans. They led from start to finish, and once they took a 24-13 lead in the second quarter as part of an 11-0 run into the third quarter, the never led by fewer than double digits. More to come from this game.
7:39 p.m. | Sentinel dominates another quarter
The Spartans had no let-up in them in the third quarter. They held Helena to just points, and hold a 39-20 leading going into the fourth.
7:20 p.m. | WATCH video highlights from tonight's girls semifinal games
7:13 p.m. | HALFTIME: Missoula Sentinel 26, Helena 13
Helena is having a hard time getting good looks against the lengthy zone of Sentinel, which features 6-foot-5 Kade Robinson and 6-8 Lincoln Rogers. Helena has been limited to 29% shooting. Meanwhile, on the other end, Rogers is taking defenders one-on-one and scored eight points in the second quarter. Rogers has 11 points overall.
7:00 p.m. | Early buckets
Missoula Sentinel's first three baskets came from beyond the arc via Gavin O'Reiller, Beau O'Reilly and Zeke Glidewell. The Spartans seem pretty relaxed out on the floor but Helena isn't conceding anything. Sentinel leads the Bengals 18-11 early in the second quarter.
6:52 p.m. | Quotes
The last five minutes of the West girls' semifinal win over Missoula Big Sky turned into a street fight. Bodies were flying, players were limping, and both teams went scoreless for nearly four minutes. In the end, though, it was Reagan Soucy lobbing a pass inside to Reese Enderson for a 46-45 lead with 2.9 seconds left. After Macy Criswell made two free throws — she was the tone-setter for the Golden Bears — Big Sky's Avory DeCoite just missed a desperation 3-point attempt at the buzzer.
"That was a lot, when there's so much energy and there's just a lot going on around you," said Criswell, who finished with 15 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists. "But we did really well at staying composed and we worked really well together, especially when there was so much pressure and energy surrounding us."
West goes on to the championship against Gallatinn for the second year in a row. The Bears dropped last year's title game 66-63 in OT, and this year, the Raptors have defeated West by scores of 60-57 (another OT) and 53-49. Is another barn-burner in store for Saturday night?
"Can we prepare any more for them?" West coach Jason Amundsen said, asking himself a question. "You know, can we execute? That's the key, can we execute? Gallatin's a good team and hopefully we're ready."
DeCoite finished with 16 points to lead Big Sky. Kenzi Schmitz scored 10 points and grabbed 11 rebounds.
6:39 p.m. | Helena boys (12-9) vs. Missoula Sentinel boys (17-3)
Still working on post-game reaction to the thrilling win by the West girls, but the boys have taken the floor for the first of their two semifinal games:
Tyse Todorovich (31 points), Seth Lieberg and Chase Foster combined for 64 of Helena’s 68 points on Thursday’s overtime win. The Bengals are seeking their first title-game appearance since 2001. Sentinel had just six players score in its win over Billings Senior and will lean on their active zone to help get them to their second title-game appearance since 2024.
6:29 p.m. | FINAL: Billings West 48, Missoula Big Sky 45
Well, it was the ending we expected. Avory DeCoite's desperation 3-pointer at the buzzer went of the rim, and the Golden Bears hung on to reach a second consecutive title game. More to come on this one.
6:00 p.m. | Points in 3s
The third quarter was high octane, and the points came in bunches. West and Big Sky combined for five 3-pointers in about a three-minute span, and there were also two players who collected three points the old-fashioned way with a bucket and a free throw.
We're headed for a frenzied finish, it appears: West leads 40-35 after three, with a championship appearance at stake.
Sidenote: Big Sky's Avory DeCoite has been scrambling and diving for every loose ball.
5:34 p.m. | HALFTIME: Billings West 24, Missoula Big Sky 17
Macy Criswell helped set an early aggressive tone for West. The sophomore has has been to the free-throw line eight times, and together with Bryn Fitzgerald, have tag-teamed defensive assignments on Big Sky's Avory DeCoite, the top girls' scorer in AA (21.7 ppg).
Criswell leads the Golden Bears with nine points, while DeCoite has a team-high seven for the Eagles.
5:20 p.m. | West, Big Sky playing it even
Already three lead changes as the fist quarter finishes. West is up 11-9 going into the second in this high-energy game.
5:12 p.m. | Quotes
Gallatin's offense took a while to get going against Senior, but its defense was solid from the start. Among the most active all game was senior Ave Odegard, and, in fact, coach Taylor Cummings called Odegard the team's "Energizer Bunny." Opponents might call her a "pest."
"It's just a big part of my game and it's the way that I love to play the game," said Odegard, who finished with six rebounds and three steals to go along with seven points. "I think doing the dirty work, doing the stuff that nobody else wants to do, is taking me far in my career."
Searching for their second consecutive championship, the Raptors have gone about as far as they can, with one more day to go, one more game to win, in the state tournament.
"Control what you can control," Cummings said. "That's the thing about this team and our experience is that we've been in these situations. We have to continue to tell ourselves that there is only so much you can control sometimes."
5:02 p.m. | Billings West girls (18-2) vs. Missoula Big Sky girls (18-2)
The second girls semifinal is about to get under way, so while I process some quotes from Gallatin's win in the first semi, here's a look at West and Big Sky:
The Golden Bears, who received 18 points and 16 points, respectively, from Reese Enderson and Reagan Soucy on Thursday, are looking to reach the title game for the second year in a row and third time in the past four seasons. Big Sky and University of Montana-bound Avory DeCoite, who led four double-figure scorers in Thursday’s win with 18 points, are seeking to get the Eagles to the championship game for the first time since 2009.
4:47 p.m. | FINAL: Gallatin 64, Billings Senior 38
Gallatin improved to 21-0 and ran their winning streak to 30 straight, steadily pulling away from the Broncs. Jada Davis scored 21 points, and 13 Raptors' steals helped force 18 Senior turnovers and limit the Broncs to 33% shooting. Ivy Runsabove and Eva Blatchford both had 8 points for the Broncs.
The Raptors advanced to the championship game, to be held Saturday at 6:30 p.m. Senior, meanwhile, heads to the loser-out Saturday morning game at 9.
4:28 p.m. | More room for Raptors
Gallatin found some offensive flow in the third quarter. Ave Odegard, Jada Davis and Ava Fleming all hit 3-pointers, and the Raptors have extended their lead to 46-26.
4:05 p.m. | HALFTIME: Gallatin 27, Billings Senior 13
Senior will have to figure out how to break down the Raptors' defense to get back into this one. Gallatin isn't firing on all cylinders offensively (Raptors are hitting the offensive glass well) but its defense is creating turnovers and contesting most of the Broncs' shots. Senior has 13 turnovers on nine Gallatin steals. Raptors also have nine offensive rebounds.
3:50 p.m. | Senior timeout
And just like that, Gallatin starts the second quarter on a quick 7-0 run less than two minutes in, forcing the Broncs to talk things over. Raptors are up 15-5.
3:46 p.m. | A lot of up and down
A fairly fast pace to the first quarter, but not a lot of result. Gallatin built a 7-2 lead but its now 8-5 after the first quarter. Gallatin forcing some turnovers but not turning them into points.
3:30 p.m. | Preview: Billings Senior girls (14-7) vs. Gallatin girls (20-0)
As players are introduced, let's look at today's first girls semifinal.
Bella Ferguson hit five 3-pointers and Eva Blatchford recorded a double-double (17 points, 10 rebounds) in Thursday’s first round to help send the Broncs to their first semifinal appearance since 2007. Gallatin put four players into double figures in its first-round win and recorded 21 steals.
