Hellgate burns Braves

There are plenty of statistics that can summarize Flathead’s Western AA matchup against one-loss Missoula Hellgate on Tuesday night at Flathead Gymnasium.

The Knights (18-1 overall, 10-1 Western AA) hit eight 3-pointers to Flathead’s two. They pulled in 39 rebounds to Flathead’s 20. They shot 25 free throws to Flathead’s eight.

Most importantly, the Knights committed just nine turnovers to Flathead’s 14 in a 73-28 conference road victory as the state’s top-ranked team showed why it’s favored to make a title run from the opening tip.

With two 3-pointers, seven free throws and an authoritative dunk by senior Tres Tinkle, Hellgate opened up the contest on an 18-5 run, prohibiting the Braves from ever holding a lead.

The Knights ramped up the defensive pressure in the second quarter, holding Flathead to a single field goal when Braves senior Keaton Krantz connected on a layup in the paint with 40 seconds to play in the half.

Flathead (4-14, 1-10) scored three-points in the second quarter, all from Krantz, and Hellgate led 46-14 at the break.

Tinkle finished with a game-high 21 points and nine rebounds while teammates Devin Bray shot 50 percent from behind the arc for a 14-point effort.

“They’re incredibly athletic, long and lean. You can tell by the way they move out there,” Braves head coach Fred Febach said of the Knights.

“Tres (Tinkle) certainly is the centerpiece, but he’s got a few people around him that make him really good. You can tell their skill level is way up there in all aspects of the game. What impresses me is they know where to find that open guy and when he’s open he’s hitting the shot.”

The Braves did get a bright spot on senior night from Trae Habel. The senior finished with a team-high seven points, shooting 60 percent from the floor to lead Flathead.

Four of his seven points came in the third quarter and between his scoring possessions he took a charge to energize the Flathead bench and spark a short-lived 4-0 run.

“He battles. You’re going to get a great effort out of that kid every time,” Febach said.

“He has no quit in him. He works his buns off underneath there. He’s a little undersized and it shows at times, but you can help but respect the heart in that kid. I really enjoy that about him and all my kids. The try is there, the want is there. We just have to continue to work and try to get better.

“Our thinking needs to be ‘It’s high school basketball. Play one game, go to work, put it in the rearview mirror and move on to the next one and who knows what might happen.’ That’s the mentality we have to have.”

Off until Friday night, the Braves will have plenty of time to regroup for the second crosstown rivalry game of the season — an 8 p.m. tipoff at Glacier.

Hellgate     23     23     18     9     —     73

Flathead     11     3     10     4     —     28

HELLGATE — Tres Tinkle 7-16 6-8 21, Rhett Baerlocher 3-8 3-6 11, Easton Packard 1-3 1-2 4, Justin Koehn 2-2 0-0 4, Devin Bray 4-9 4-4 14, Jason Koehn 1-1 2-2 5, Mark Lebsock 4-7 1-1 10, Connor Schnek 2-4 0-0 4, Brayden Frolich 0-1 0-2 0. Totals — 24-56 17-25 73.

FLATHEAD — Seth Adolph 0-5 1-2 1, Alex Croymans 2-9 1-3 5, Kye Auclaire 1-1 0-0 2, Bridger Johnson 1-2 1-2 3, Cade White 1-1 0-0 2, Tyler Johnson 1-4 0-0 2, Keaton Krantz 1-2 1-2 3, Blake Wilson 1-2 0-0 3, Trae Habel 3-5 1-2 7. Totals — 11-35 4-8 28.

3-point goals — Hellgate 8-19 (Bray 2-4, Tinkle 1-4, Packard 1-1 Ja. Koehn 1-1, Lebsock 1-1). Flathead 2-8 (Croymans 1-3, Wilson 1-1). Rebounds — Hellgate 39 (Tinkle 9, Baerlocher 5) Flathead 20 (B. Johnson 4, Habel 2). Assists — Hellgate 23 (Tinkle 5, Baerlocher 4, Packard 4), Flathead 11 (B. Johnson 3, Croymans 2). Turnovers — Hellgate 9, Flathead 14. Total fouls — Hellgate 8, Flathead 19. Fouled out none.