BILLINGS — Three Forks held off a hard-charging Colstrip team to begin Southern B boys basketball divisional play Thursday at First Interstate Arena, while Huntley Project rolled to an easy win over Lame Deer.
Three Forks 50, Colstrip 44
After jumping out to a 20-0 lead, Three Forks held off a furious Colstrip rally that saw the Colts get as close as one point in a 50-44 win in Thursday's opening game.
Micaiah Hauser and the Wolves came flying out of the gates, taking a 20-0 lead in the first six minutes. Hauser scored 10 of those points. But their offense went stagnant for the rest of the first half, as Colstrip climbed back within 27-15 at the break.
Then JT Baer went to work late in the third quarter. The Colstrip senior scored 12 straight points for the Colts, outscoring Three Forks 12-2 in a run that trimmed a 33-22 deficit to 35-34 in the first minute of the fourth.
Zach Pitcher then hit a 3 for the Wolves, followed by a Hauser layup that brought the lead back to 40-34. Colstrip never got closer than five the rest of the way.
Hauser finished with 20 to lead Three Forks, while Dustin Dalke added 11. Baer led all scorers with 21.
Huntley Project 60, Lame Deer 36
Brothers Isaiah and Noah Bouchard each recorded a double-double as District 4B champion Huntley Project cruised to a 60-36 win over Lame Deer in Game 2 Thursday.
Isaiah scored 14 points with 11 rebounds - mostly in the first half - while Noah added 10 points and 12 rebounds for the Red Devils. Rylan DeVries added 11 points.
Project completely controlled the glass, running the score up to 60-25 in the fourth before taking out its starters. Lame Deer's Rocco McMakin led all scorers with 22, though much of that came with the game well out of hand.
NEXT: Huntley Project and Three Forks will meet in a Southern B semifinal Friday at 3 p.m. The winner clinches a berth to the State B tournament. Colstrip and Lame Deer fall into loser-out play.
