Butte pulls away again on Braves
BUTTE — A strong start by Flathead gave way to another sterling finish by Butte, which downed the Braves 65-55 in a State AA boys’ basketball play-in game Thursday.
Jake Olson scored 22 points and Billy Kelly added 14 for Butte (8-7), which qualified for next week’s state tournament in Great Falls.
Flathead ended up 6-9, though the Braves bolted to a 16-6 lead and were up 18-6 on Gabe Adams’ basket at 6:40 of the second quarter.
Kenley Leary hit a 3-pointer to start a 15-4 surge by the Bulldogs, who eventually tied the game 27-all going to halftime.
Joston Cripe’s basket to open the third quarter was Flathead’s last lead; Olson and Kelly scored and Butte was up for good, 33-31. Similar to their 60-49 win at Flathead on Feb. 13, the Bulldogs had a strong second half.
Leary added 13 points for Butte. Cripe and Hunter Hickey scored 14 points each to lead Flathead, which was looking for its first state berth since 2017 and second since its runner-up finish at the 2012 State AA.
Adams added 10 points, Ethan VandenBosch nine and Ezra Epperly eight for Flathead.
Flathead 16 11 11 17 - 55
Butte 6 21 16 22 - 65
FLATHEAD — Hunter Hickey 3 7-8 14, Ethan VandenBosch 3 2-3 9, Gabe Adams 5 0-0 10, Ezra Epperly 2 4-5 8, Joston Cripe 2 8-11 14, Luca Zoeller 0 0-0 0, Gavin Chauinard 0 0-0 0. Totals 15 21-27 55.
BUTTE — Blake Drakos 1 3-4 5, Zach Merrifield 0 1-2 1, Cael Stenson 2 0-1 6, Billy Kelly 4 5-8 14, Jake Olson 9 4-7 22, Cameron Gurnsey 0 1-2 1, Kenley Leary 5 0-0 13, Jace Stenson 0 1-2 1, Kooper Klobucar 1 0-0 2. Totals 22 15-26 65.
3-point goals - Flathead 4 (Cripe 2, Hickey, VandenBosch), Butte 6 (Leary 3, C. Stenson 2, Kelly). Fouls - Flathead 22, Butte 22. Fouled out — VandenBosch, Adams, Merrifield.
Girls
Helena Capital 55, Flathead 38
HELENA — Paige Bartsch scored 15 points, Mara McGinley added 13 and Helena Capital ran up a sizable lead on the Flathead Bravettes after three quarters.
Kennedy Moore had 14 points and five rebounds to lead Flathead, which ended up 2-13. Kuyra Siegel added eight points off the bench, and she and Moore each hit two threes.
Akilah Kubi had seven points for the Bravettes.
McGinley’s total included three 3-pointers. Dani Bartsch added 10 points and 13 rebounds for the Bruins (14-1), who will head to the State AA as the West’s No. 2 seed.
Flathead 6 8 9 15 - 38
Capital 16 14 17 8 - 55
FLATHEAD — Maddy Moy 1 1-2 3, Akilah Kubi 3 1-2 7, Molly Winters 0-2 0-0 0, Kennedy Moore 5 2-4 14, Clare Converse 0 0-0 0, Bridget Crowley 0 1-3 1, Kuyra Siegel 3 0-0 8, Avery Chouinard 1 0-0 3, Rebecca Eacker 1 0-0 2. Totals 14 5-11 38.
HELENA CAPITAL — Audrey Hofver 1 0-0 2, Mara McGinley 5 0-0 13, Paige Bartsch 7 1-3 15, Jaymee Sheridan 1 2-2 4, Dani Bartsch 4 2-3 10, Carlie Gross 0 0-2 0, Rachael Stacey 1 1-2 4, Keetyn Sayers 1 0-0 3, Kayla Almqusit 1 1-2 4. Totals 21-58 7-14 58.
3-point goals - Flathead 5 (Moore 2, Siegel 2, Chouinard), Capital 6 (McGinley 3, Almquist, Stacey, Sayers). Rebounds - Flathead 32 (Moore 5), Capital 48 (D.Bartsch 13). Fouls - Flathead 14, Capital 8.