BILLINGS — Lockwood head coach Bobby Anderson said after Friday night's semifinal victory that the Lions would need to beat Billings Central in the title game to stamp it as an official rivalry.
Consider it done.
The Lions topped Central 61-58 Saturday night inside First Interstate Arena to claim the program's first Eastern A divisional basketball championship.
"I think that's pretty certified. I think they'd say the same thing. They wanted to see us and we wanted to see them, and it's always fun to play them," Anderson said.
The two sides played to a draw in the first half knotted at 24-24. Lockwood took a six-point lead into the final period after a Gabe Ronquillo put back and a Kobe Blake layup before the horn.
The lead grew to nine, 51-42, in the fourth quarter before Central ripped off seven unanswered points. The Lions answered with a 7-2 spurt of their own, capped by a corner 3-pointer by Nate Davis with 2:43 to play that pushed the lead to 58-51.
"That's two nights in a row that (Davis) hit pretty much a game-winning 3 for us," Anderson said. "Having him back — he was with us his freshman year and had to take a year off. We're so glad he's back. (Davis) brings a lot of competitiveness to this group that fuels us."
Lockwood put four players in double figures, led by Kobe Blake's 15 points. Davis added 13, Zicciah Callison-Blake scored 11 and Ronquillo finished with 10. Darcy Merchant led Central with 17.
Joining the Lions and Rams at the Class A boys basketball state tournament will be East Helena and Glendive. The Red Devils topped the Vigilantes in the third-place game earlier Saturday.
