BILLINGS — Lockwood and Billings Central have set up a championship showdown Saturday night at the Eastern A boys divisional basketball tournament inside First Interstate Arena in Billings.
Both the Lions and Rams won semifinal games Friday night.
Lockwood 64, Glendive 51
Lockwood led Glendive by as many as 14 but had to hold off the Red Devils for an eventual 64-51win in Friday's semifinals of the Eastern A boys divisional basketball tournament.
The win also clinches Lockwood's first appearance in the Class A state boys basketball tournament in program history.
"It's about time," Lockwood head coach Bobby Anderson said.
The Lions jumped on Glendive, leading 29-15 midway through the second quarter before carrying a 29-22 lead into halftime. The Red Devils trimmed that lead to four, 35-31, in the third quarter, but Lockwood's bucket on the opening possession of the fourth quarter pushed the lead back to 13 points.
Following a technical foul on Lockwood's Kobe Blake with the lead at 13, Glendive seized momentum and cut the lead to two, 51-49, on an Ethan Rivas 3-pointer with 3:02 to play. The Lions, though, ripped off 10 unanswered points, capped by a Blake 3-point play, to push the lead to 64-49 with 37.6 seconds to play.
"We've been saying all week, 'Adversity visits the tough but stays with the weak,'" Anderson said. "We showed our toughness (Friday). Adversity does not discriminate. We all go through it in life, on the court and off the court.
"That has been the message all year long. We're going to embrace chaos and smile through adversity. It will visit us, but it will not stay with us."
Lockwood was at a distinct size disadvantage with Glendive's Levi and Cy Eaton patrolling the paint, but the Lions were able to take the front-court duo out of the game offensively and force perimeter shots.
"It starts with ball pressure. Our ball pressure was phenomenal. Make it tough to get it to them was our objective. I have a lot of respect for Wade Murphy," Anderson said. "The objective was to pressure the heck out of the ball. ... Then we were going to double the post when it go within six feet. I thought we did a good job of that."
Lockwood put four players in double figures, led by Kobe Blake's 15 points. Jude Barnett added 14, Zicciah Callison-Blake scored 13 and Nate Davis finished with 10. Cy Eaton led Glendive with 17 points.
The Lions are in Saturday's 7 p.m. title game against Billings Central. Lockwood and Central split their two regular-season meetings. Glendive will play Lewistown in loser-out action.
Billings Central 62, East Helena 50
Jim Stergar had one message for his Billings Central boys at halftime of their Eastern A semifinal against East Helena — just keep grinding.
The Rams out-scored the Vigilantes 37-28 in the second half to run away with a 62-50 win and advance to Saturday night’s championship game.
“They keep plugging away. We feel that attrition will kick in. It's been like that all year long. Teams give us their best shot every time we play," Central head coach Jim Stergar said. "In the second half you could tell attrition kicked in. Their shots weren't falling as well as they did in the first half. That's why you play two halves.
"We rely on attrition. I'm glad our guys are fresh for (Saturday) night. I'm just proud of our guys for hanging around. They could have easily rolled over and let the twilight zone kick in and have some team beat you that shouldn't. Coach (Ty) Ridgeway has that team going. I'm proud of what he's done at East Helena. They're a good ball club and they can make some noise. Anything can happen."
Central trailed East Helena by one in the closing moments of the first half but went on a 17-5 run spanning the final minute of the first half and the first six minutes of the third quarter, stretching the lead to 11 points.
The Rams were able to put the game to bed in the fourth quarter, as the lead ballooned to 21 just three minutes into the period.
Central turned the tide with its defensive effort over the final 16 minutes, forcing numerous turnovers and contested shots from East Helena.
“We're spoiled with these student-athletes. They just know how to get it done and how to step it up. They're winners and we have the luxury of coaching winners. It's nice," Stergar said.
Central's Darcy Merchant led the Rams with 16 points, including an emphatic two-handed jam in the final minute to punctuate the victory. Howie Martin added 14 for Central. East Helena's DeonDray Ellis led all scorers with 27 points.
Central and Lockwood are slated for a 7 p.m. tip in Saturday’s title game. The Rams and Lions split their two regular-season meetings. East Helena will play Havre in Saturday morning loser-out action.
