GREAT FALLS — The No. 1 seed Bozeman and No. 4 seed Billings Skyview boys both earned wins on Day 1 of the Eastern AA divisional tournament in Great Falls.
The Hawks and Falcons will square off in the Friday’s semifinal at 6:30 p.m., with the winner clinching a berth at the AA state tournament.
Bozeman 59, Great Falls High 46
Jake Casagranda scored 18 points to lead the No. 1 Hawks over Great Falls High 59-46 in the first round of the Eastern AA divisional. Kellen Harrison added 17 points for the Hawks while Luke Smith scored 12.
The Hawks led 16-11 after one quarter and 28-18 at halftime before cruising in the final two quarters. Scott Klinker led the Bison with 12 points with Evan Brown scoring 10 to join his teammate in double figures. Ashton Platt scored nine points for GFH before fouling out in the fourth quarter.
Bozeman will advance to face Billings Skyview in the 6:30 p.m. semifinal on Friday. The Bison will face Billings Senior in loser-out action at 12:30 p.m.
Billings Skyview 58, Billings Senior 50
The No. 4 Billings Skyview boys pulled away from crosstown rival Billings Senior in the fourth quarter for a 58-50 win in the first round of the Eastern AA divisional tournament.
Lane Love led the Falcons with 17 points and was one of four from Skyview in double figures. Kyler Mikkelson had 12 points, Rhyse Owens added 11 and Anthony Schacht scored 10 and grabbed 13 rebounds.
Jaiden Turner led the Broncs with 15 points followed by Brighton McCaffery with 13. The Broncs were out rebounded 43-22. Senior was down by as many as 13 points in the first half but cut the lead to one entering the fourth.
The Falcons outscored the Broncs 17-10 in the final frame which yielded the final score.
Skyview will advance to face top ranked Bozeman in the semifinals at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. Senior will take on Great Falls High in the consolation bracket at 12:30 p.m.
Bozeman Gallatin 71, Great Falls CMR 63
Eli Hunter dropped 25 points and the Gallatin Raptors topped Great Falls CMR 71-63 in the first round of the Eastern AA divisional tournament.
The Raptors jumped out to a commanding 20-11 lead after the first quarter and pushed the lead to 38-23 at halftime. After going down 17 in the third quarter, CMR clawed back to within single digits but couldn’t close the gap.
Troy Hugs added 15 points for the Raptors with Garrett Dahlke adding 11 in the win. The Rustlers were led by Tyler Moore with 17 points, Hunter McMann with 16 and Trigg Mapes with 14 in defeat.
The Raptors will advance to face Billings West in the Eastern AA semifinals on Friday at 8 p.m., while the Rustlers will look to stay alive in the tournament against Belgrade.
Billings West 59, Belgrade 51
Billings West earned the final spot in the Eastern AA semifinals with a 59-51 win over No. 7 seed Belgrade.
The Bears will face the Bozeman Gallatin Raptors in the semifinals, Friday at 8 p.m. where the winner will advance to the championship on Saturday,
