State A Basketball: Laurel holds on to beat Columbia Falls

BILLINGS — Columbia Falls couldn’t quite finish off a wild, explosive fourth quarter on Thursday, falling 59-50 to Laurel in the opening game at the Class A state boys basketball tournament.

Laurel (20-2) opened the final quarter with a 5-0 run to push its lead to 20 points, the largest of the game, before the Wildcats (15-6) came roaring back.

Columbia Falls did get within five, but never any closer.

The Wildcats scored 25 points in the final frame. They were held to 10 points for the second and third quarters.

Trevor Houston dropped in 13 points to pace Columbia Falls. Luke Kazlauskas had 12 and Jared Trinastich 11.

Brett Thompson led Laurel, and all scorers, with 25 points.

Laurel advances to semifinal play today at 6:30 p.m. versus Stevensville.

Columbia Falls drops into loser-out action with Browning at 12:30 p.m.

Stevensville slipped by Browning in a back-and-forth first-round contest on Thursday 65-64.

A State Basketball Tournament

Thursday’s First-Round Boxes

Laurel 17 11 12 19 — 59

Columbia Falls 15 6 4 25 — 50

Laurel (20-2) — Taylor Maida 4-7 2-2 13, Shawn Nardella 0-0 2-4 2, Bryce Herman 1-3 0-1 2, Dylan Meccage 0-1 0-0 0, Brett Thompson 6-10 10-15 25, Jake Anderson 0-0 0-0 0, Evan Jones 6-9 3-4 17, Zac Allen 0-1 0-0 0, Jarred Simons 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 17-31 17-26 59. 3-point goals: 8-14 (Maida 3-5, Herman 0-1, Meccage 0-1, Thompson 3-4, Jones 2-3). Fouls: 21. Turnovers: 16. Assists: 13 (Herman 5). Steals: 8 (Jones 3). Blocks: 1 (Allen 1). Rebounds: 20 (Anderson 6).

Columbia Falls (15-6) — Trevor Houston 5-16 1-1 13, Alex Presnell 0-1 0-0 0, Austin Martin 1-2 2-2 5, Colin King 2-2 0-0 4, Luke Kazlauskas 5-9 2-5 12, Nakia Alexander 0-0 2-2 2, Ty Morgan 1-2 1-1 3, Jared Trinastich 2-3 7-7 11, Austin Kimmet 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 16-35 15-18 50. 3-point goals: 3-15 (Houston 2-9, Martin 1-2, Kazlauskas 0-3, Morgan 0-1). Fouls: 23. Fouled out: Trinastich. Turnovers: 14. Assists: 8 (Kazlauskas 3, Trinastich 3). Steals: 3 (Houston 1, Presnell 1, King 1). Blocks: 2 (Kazlauskas 1, Trinastich 1). Rebounds: 18 (Kazlauskas 5).

Stevensville 17 19 10 19 — 65

Browning 17 12 13 22 — 64

Stevensville — Chris Lords 0-0 0-0 0, Austin Lords 2-7 0-1 6, Kadin Beller 4-7 0-0 8, Chance Coleman 0-0 2-2 2, Zach Gavlak 6-11 0-0 12, Jesse Sims 6-11 8-9 20, Jared Schultz 7-17 1-6 17. Totals: 25-53 11-18 65. 3-point goals: 4-14 (Lords 2-3, Beller 0-2, Schultz 2-9). Rebounds: 45 (Lords 13). Assists: 14 (Gavlak 11). Steals: 8 (Schultz 3). Blocks: 1 (Sims). Fouls: 14. Turnovers: 31.

Browning — Dan Hall 3-6 2-2 8, Isaac McKay 1-4 0-0 2, Wyatt Mad Plume 0-0 0-0 0, George Hall 2-7 2-2 7, Clarence McNabb 1-2 0-0 2, Trevor Gray 0-1 0-0 0, Emmette Dustybull 0-3 0-0 0, Deejay Lazy Boy 11-24 0-1 25, Jalen Croff 5-13 3-3 14, Sam Croff 2-3 1-2 6. Totals: 25-63 8-10 64. 3-point goals: 6-25 (McKay 0-2, G. Hall 1-3, Gray 0-1, Dustybull 0-1, Lazy Boy 3-12, J. Croff 1-5, S. Croff 1-1). Rebounds: 28 (Lazy Boy 6). Assists: 16 (Lazy Boy 6). Steals: 19 (Hall 5). Blocks: 2 (D. Hall 2). Fouls: 20. Fouled out: D. Hall. Turnovers: 16.

Frenchtown 14 6 15 7 — 42

Central 15 17 11 13 — 56

Frenchtown — John Chapman 3-13 1-2 7, Levi Shephard 3-5 0-0 7, Daniel Lebsock 2-5 1-2 6, Andrew Honken 0-2 0-2 0, Bridger Truett 1-5 0-2 3, Kyle Cyr 3-5 4-7 11, Matt Price 3-9 2-5 8, Chris Delaney 0-1 0-0 0, Jordan Moe 0-0 0-0 0, Bobby Erbaugh 0-0 0-0 0, Eli Marceau 0-0 0-0 0. Team totals: 15-45 8-18 56. Three-point goals: 4-19 (Chapman 0-5, Shepard 1-3, Lebsock 1-4, Truett 1-4, Cyr 1-1, Price 0-2). Rebounds: 26 (Price 6). Assists: 8 (Chapman 3). Steals: 8 (Lebsock 3, Cyr 3). Blocks: 0. Fouls: 14.Fouled out: None.

Billings Central — Jacob Stanton 3-4 1-2 7, Riley NHichols 0-1 0-0 0, Holden Ryan 0-0 0-2 0, Ian Byorth 1-2 0-0 2, Garret Flaming 0-1 0-1 0, Connor Cerkovnik 2-5 0-2 5, Blayne Sandau 6-10 0-0 15, Bryce Hawbaker 0-1 0-0 0, Daniel Meyer 7-12 5-7 19, Dylan Hanser 4-6 0-1 8. Team Totals: 23-42 6-15 56. Three-point goals: 4-11 (Stanton 0-1, Nichols 0-1, Flaming 0-1, Cerkovnick 1-3, Sandau 3-5). Rebounds: 34 (Meyer 11). Assists: 14 (Stanton 8). Blocks: 6 (Meyer 4). Steals: 5 (Meyer 3). Fouls: 13. Fouled out: None.

Butte Central 39, Belgrade 34

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