Butte bounces back to beat Braves 67-58

Early on the Flathead Braves looked poised to follow up their first win of the season Friday night with another one Saturday afternoon against Butte. The Braves were up 32-27 heading into the third period when Butte's Jace Stenson made three 3-pointers in the frame to spark a 67-58 come-from-behind victory.

Stenson finished with a game high 23 points, 15 of which came after the break.

Throughout the first half, the Braves unleashed a full-court press to disrupt the Bulldogs’ ability to find a rhythm in the half-court and create transition opportunities.

The Braves also found success rebounding the ball which earned high praise from Braves coach Dirk Johnsrud for their efforts on the glass.

“Proud of our guys how we competed, won the rebounding statistic again tonight which has been a huge stepping stone for this ballclub," he said.

Johnsrud also noted a pair of Braves really stood out for their efforts on the boards.

“Slate Burrington and Lyric Ersland did a fantastic job rebounding the ball, they both had a double-double for us today,” Johnsrud said.

Burrington finished with 12 points and Ersland had 11.

6-foot-6 junior Noah Cummings paced the Braves scorers with 16 and junior guard Josh Eagleton finished with 15.

Johnsrud mentioned that turnovers were a factor for the Braves in the loss and something his team will continue to work at.

“We were a little high in turnovers today,” Johnsrud said. “We try to get 15 or less for the game and we were at 19.”

The Braves won the free throw battle, outpacing the Bulldogs 25 to 21 at the line while Butte outshot the Braves from beyond the arch 10 to 3.

Stenson and Tucker Lee were money from deep for the Bulldogs with the pair making four 3-pointers each. Lee finished with 16 points and Cameron Gurnsey chipped in 14 for Butte while doing most of his work around the basket.

It was a physical ballgame that saw both teams reach the double bonus in the second quarter and in total the teams combined for 71 free throw attempts.

The Braves are back in action next weekend with a pair of games in Helena. They take on Capital Friday night and Helena High on Saturday.

Butte 11 16 22 18 67

Flathead 18 14 11 15 58

BUTTE — Jace Stenson 23, Tucker Lee 16, Cameron Gurnsey 14, Casey Merrifield 9, Bo Demarais 3, Dylan Bache 2.

FLATHEAD — Noah Cummings 16, Josh Eagleton 15, Slate Burrington 12, Lyric Ersland 11, Brody Thornsberry 4.