State AA boys: Wolfpack trounces Falcons

BUTTE — It was the opener of the State AA basketball tournament, and the Glacier boys answered the call.

Kaidrian Buls scored 15 points and he and Adam Nikunen combined on seven 3-pointers Thursday to lead Glacier over Billings Skyview 65-48 at the Butte Civic Center.

Nikunen, a perfect 4-for-4 from 3-point range, added 12 points. Senior center Noah Dowler pitched in with 12 points, 11 rebounds and four blocked shots to help the Wolfpack (15-7) into Friday’s 3:30 p.m. semifinal game against Billings West (19-3).

The Eastern AA champion Golden Bears led Missoula Big Sky 38-11 at halftime on the way to a 62-34 win.

Glacier 65, Skyview 48

The Wolfpack led their game 30-16 at halftime.

“We had a good morning,” Glacier coach Mark Harkins said, then gave props to Nikunen and Buls. “It’s easy to get tight at a state tournament and they didn’t. They came out loose and hit their shots, and I thought the whole team fed off that.”

Buls, inserted in the starting lineup after Tyler McDonald injured an ankle against Butte on Feb. 4, hit two early 3-pointers before Dowler scored inside for an 8-0 Glacie lead.

The gap was 13-4 after a McDonald basket, 20-7 after Buls drove for a bucket at 6:10 of the second quarter, and 30-11 when Dowler rebounded his own miss and kicked a pass out to Ty Olsen for a three with 1:00 left in the first half.

Nikunen hit his third 3-pointer to open the third quarter, and Olsen’s steal and coast-to-coast drive made it 39-20.

Skyview (13-10) closed to 39-25 on a fast break bucket and Harkins called time at 3:44 of the third quarter. From there until 5:55 left in the game, his team outscored the Falcons 11-2.

The 6-foot-7 Dowler was a presence, getting an offensive rebound that turned into Nikunen’s fourth 3-pointer, then blocking a shot and scoring at the other end for a 46-27 gap at 2:10 of the third.

He fed a cutting Buls for a basket for Glacier’s largest lead, 52-29.

“I thought the kids did their jobs and knew their roles,” Harkins said. “I thought Noah did a really nice job, especially in the second half, not only scoring and rebounding but protecting the rim.

“He blocked some shots and allowed us to get out — and I tell you our guys are amazing off the bounce. It’s nice for them to know that Noah is back there.”

Olsen added nine points and Cohen Kastelitz had eight points and six boards for the Pack.

Lane Love scored 16 points for Skyview, which will face Big Sky in a loser-out game Friday at 9 a.m.

The Wolfpack will play West for the first time since Glacier’s 2017 State AA tournament title run.

Skyview 7 9 13 19 - 48

Glacier 13 17 16 19 - 65

BILLINGS SKYVIEW — Lane Love 6-16 1-2 16, Kyler Ben Howells 0-3 0-0 0, Kyler Mikkelson 3-8 2-2 8, Rhyse Owens 4-9 0-0 9, Anthony Schacht 2-4 0-2 6, Tristan Roedocker 0-0 0-0 0, Willes Frederick 3-9 0-0 6, Winter Lonebear 1-4 0-0 3, Ryan Haskell 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-53 3-6 48.

GLACIER — Cohen Kastelitz 3-6 2-2 8, Kaidrian Buls 6-14 0-0 15, Noah Dowler 6-12 0-0 12, Ty Olsen 4-7 0-0 9, Adam Nikunen 4-5 0-0 12, Tyler McDonald 3-4 0-0 6, Xavier Stout 0-2 1-2 1, Jeff Lillard 0-0 0-0 0, Carson Gulick 0-2 0-0 0, Travys Agan 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 27-53 3-4 65.

3-point goals — Skyview 7-18 (Love 3-6, Schacht 2-2, Owens 1-4), Glacier 8-17 (Nikunen 4-4, Buls 3-8, Olsen 1-2, McDonald 0-1, Stout 0-2). Rebounds — Skyview 26 (Frederick 7), Glacier 34 (Dowler 11). Fouls — Skyview 10, Glacier 9). Blocks — Skyview 1 (Owens), Glacier 4 (Dowler 4). Steals — Skyview 7 (2 with 2), Glacier 8 (Olsen 3). Turnovers — Skyview 15, Glacier 15.

West 62, Big Sky 34

Eleven of 12 Billings West players scored, led by Cooper Tyson's 12 points.

Billy Carlson added 10 points and eight rebounds; Braden Zimmer had 10 points off the bench.

The Beats shot 57 percent — 17 of 30 — in the first half while building that 27-point lead, and didn’t cool off in the second.

Josiah Cuaresma’s 11 points led the Eagles (10-13).

West 19 19 11 13 - 62

Big Sky 7 4 12 11 - 34

BILLINGS WEST — Cooper Tyson 5-7 1-2 12, AJ Moser 2-5 0-0 4, Billy Carlson 4-9 2-2 10, Ben Erbacher 1-1 0-0 2, Mitchell Fogelsong 2-4 0-0 4, Teagan Balfanz 3-4 0-0 6, Drew McDowell 2-2 1-2 5, Shaydon Randall 1-2 0-0 2, Hunter Saks 1-3 0-0 2, Cash Rice 2-5 0-0 5, Waskar Capellan 0-1 0-0 0, Braden Zimmer 4-4 2-2 10. Totals 27-47 6-8 62.

MISSOULA BIG SKY — Isaiah Reed 1-5 0-0 2, Josiah Cuaresma 5-10 0-1 11, Aidan Beard 2-2 1-2 5, Owen McGuinn 1-5 0-1 2, Tory Williams 1-5 0-0 2, Lucas Thorn 1-7 0-0 2, Colter Ramos 2-5 0-0 4, Carson Towe 2-4 0-0 6, Avery Omlid 0-1 0-0 0, Michael Hawk 0-1 0-0 0, Drew Paxton 0-2 0-0 0. 15-47 1-4 34.

3-point goals — West 2-8 (Tyson 1-2, Rice 1-2), Big Sky 3-15 (Towe 2-3, Cuaresma 1-2). Rebounds — West 31 (Carlson 8), Big Sky 24 (Ramos 4). Fouls — West 7, Big Sky 7. Blocks — West 3 (3 with 1), Big Sky 1 (Cuaresma). Steals — West 7 (Tyson 3), Big Sky 4 (4 with 1). Turnovers — West 9, Big Sky 14.

Bozeman 77, Butte 63

The Civic Center was no home court advantage for Butte, which was outscored 50-29 after halftime.

Kash Embry scored 20 points and Kellen Harrison had 17 for the Hawks, who put four in double figures. Rocky Lencioni (12) and Luke Smith (11) were the others.

Hudson Luedtke led the Bulldogs with 16 points, and Jace Stenson checked in with 15.

Hellgate 63, Gallatin 57

Easton Sant scored 23 points to lead Hellgate, which trailed 26-23 at the end of a 12-0 second-quarter run by Gallatin.

The Raptors, with Eli Hunter shooting early and often from deep, led 31-27 early in the third quarter before the Knights ran off eight straight points — Sant and Chance McNulty hit 3-pointers — to lead for good, 35-31, at 4:07 of the third.

Hellgate had another 8-0 run, capped by Sant, to lead 52-42 with 3:20 left. Free throws kept the Raptors at bay after that.

Gallatin made life tough on Connor Dick, who got off just eight shots and scored 12 points. McNulty took advantage to hit four 3-pointers and score 14 points.

Hunter hit five 3-pointers on the way to 27; he was 11 of 26 from the floor. Jacob Sonju added 18 points for Gallatin.

Hellgate (18-4) will play Bozeman (19-3) in the 5 p.m. semifinal, while Butte (12-11) and Gallatin (14-9) have a loser-out battle at 10:30 a.m.