BILLINGS - The Lodge Grass Indians trailed by one at halftime but used an early 13-2 run in the third quarter to build separation and eventually ran past Manhattan 55-43 in Friday's Southern B semifinal at First Interstate Arena.
Damon Gros Ventre, who along with DC Stewart finished with 15 points, put an exclamation on the win when he handled a 4th-quarter laser pass across mid-court and threw down a rousing dunk for a 49-36 Indians lead. Ty Moccasin added a game-high 12 rebounds for Lodge Grass.
The Tigers, who led 19-18 at break, were outscored 21-11 in the third quarter and never able to regain the lead.
Wyatt Jones was Manhattan's top scorer with 15 points followed by Evan Douma with 13 and eight rebounds.
Three Forks 81, Lame Deer 55
Three Forks turned this game into a track meet from the opening tip, shot 87.5 percent from two-point range (14-16) in the first half and raced by Lame Deer 81-55 to reach Saturday's divisional championship against Lodge Grass.
The Wolves jumped out to a 26-12 lead after one and more than doubled up the Morning Stars at halftime with a 52-25 lead and led by as many as 31.
Finn Tesoro led the Wolves with 26 points. Mikey O'Dell added 18, Jacob Bucignani 13 and Owen Long 10 points for Three Forks.
Journey Emerson was held to 4-17 shooting but finished with 15 points to lead Lame Deer. Jaxxon McCormick was next in scoring with 11 points. Kendall Russell led the Morning Stars in rebounding with 10.
Three Forks and Lodge Grass will meet for the divisional title Saturday night at 6:30 p.m.
