BUTTE — The Butte Central boys basketball team lived up to its top-five ranking Tuesday.
Jack Keeley racked up 16 points and Owen McPartland added 15 as the Maroons — ranked as the No. 2 Class A program in Montana Sports' boys basketball power rankings — used a second-half surge to run past Corvallis 65-43 at the Maroon Activities Center.
Central improved to 10-1 overall and 3-0 in the Southwestern A while the Blue Devils dropped to 5-5 overall and 0-2 in conference play.
The Maroons took a 31-28 lead into halftime before pulling away in the third to lead 44-34 heading into the fourth quarter where Central outscored Corvallis 21-9 in the final frame.
Keeley had 12 of his 16 points in the second half and Joshua Sutton added 12 points for the Maroons.
Corvallis was paced by 12 points from Dered Criddle and 8 from Cameron Whiteley.
Central will face No. 4 Dillon on the road on Friday in a Top 5 showdown while the Blue Devils will travel to Stevensville on Thursday.
