HELENA -- On a foggy winter Saturday, the Butte Bulldogs and Missoula Hellgate Knights boys basketball teams nabbed wins over the Helena High Bengals and Helena Capital Bruins, respectively.
The Bulldogs pulled ahead early and poured on the score often in the effort, leading by 12 at the end of the third quarter en route to the 62-39 win over the Bengals.
Butte's top scorer was Billy Kelly with 16 points, nine of which came from beyond the 3-point line. Kaden Huot and Austin Zeiler were the only Bengals to post double-digit scoring efforts with 11 points each.
At Helena Capital, despite the fight the Bruins put up against the Hellgate Knights, the reigning Western AA champions pulled away late to down Helena Capital 53-44.
Cayvey LaRance and Beckett Arthur were poised and dominant in the effort, putting away 17 points apiece. Arthur also recorded four assists and four rebounds in the win.
The Bruins were led by Brayden Koch with 14 points and Tyler Tenney with 13.
Up next for the Knights, they'll head to Kalispell Flathead to take on the Braves on Jan. 15. The Bulldogs will make a similar trip, but they'll face the Glacier Wolfpack, also on Jan. 15.
The Helena High and Helena Capital boys will road trip to Missoula next Tuesday. The Bengals will take on the Sentinel Spartans, the Bruins will play the Big Sky Eagles.
