HELENA -- The Helena Capital boys and girls notched wins over Butte to open the Western AA Conference season, with the boys downing Butte at home 67-52, and the girls doing it on the road 55-45.
The Helena Capital boys team jumped out to a hot start in the contest with 24 points, 17 of which came from Trevor Swanson and Brayden Koch, compared to Butte's eight points. They continued to roll in the contest, leading 39-19 at the half.
Swanson led the game with 19 points.
The Bulldogs came out of halftime with a spark and puzzled the Bruins, both on offense and defense, and cut the deficit to 11 headed into the final frame. However, the Bruins lead and 80 percent free-throw shooting down the stretch helped them prevail in their first conference game of the season over the Bulldogs.
Cael Stenson and Jake Olson led the Bulldogs with 12 points each.
The Helena Capital Bruins will now take on Missoula Hellgate Jan. 11, with the boys playing in Missoula at 3:30 p.m. and the girls playing host to the Knights at 4:15 p.m.
The Butte Bulldogs will play Helena High on Jan. 11 with the boys playing in Butte and the girls in Helena with both games set to tip off at 3:30 p.m.
