BOZEMAN — When the final buzzer sounded on Billings Skyview’s 48-46 win over crosstown rival Billings West for a Class AA state title, there was only one thing going through Zekai Owens’ head.
“Dunk,” he laughed.
After corralling a long rebound on a potential game tying shot from Billings West, Owens had nothing but open court in front of him. He threw down an exclamation point jam after the clock hit zero. And then it was time to celebrate.
The Skyview Falcons were state champs once again. As Owens spoke to media with a net around his neck postgame, he reflected on a hard-fought win.
"It feels achieved. All the work we put in all year, all year long and the practices we had, the tears we had, the enjoyment we had,” Owens said. “It all came together in this last game and we did what we needed to do, and that was win a state championship.”
Did what needed to be done, indeed.
After falling twice in the regular season to West, the Falcons had all they could handle to topple the Bears.
Billings West jumped out to a 5-0 lead and led 13-9 after the first quarter. But Skyview took its first lead of the game, 17-15, on a Tayshaun Williams jump shot midway through the second quarter.
Skyview built a 26-20 lead at halftime but saw it evaporate after a 13-2 Billings West run to start the third helped put the Bears up 37-33 entering the fourth.
From there it was punch, counter punch. Cash Rice gave West a five-point lead after a three-point play with 4:01 left, but Williams answered back with a 3-pointer of his own to make it 42-40.
Skyview got the lead back when Winter Lonebear hit a 3 to put the Falcons on top 45-44 with 2:25 remaining, and they wouldn’t trail again. West had a chance to win after Skyview’s Willes Frederick missed a pair of free throws up 48-46 with 9.5 seconds left, but Shaydon Randall’s shot was off the mark, leading to Owens’ celebratory dunk.
“We knew coming into this game, it was gonna be a dogfight,” Williams said. "There's going to be, like, punches thrown, like everything. Just all the hard stuff. So we had to give it all we had, and that's what we did."
Owens and Williams each had 14 points to lead the Falcons to victory. Jaysun Mims added eight points in 14 minutes off the bench. West was led by Rice who scored 16 points. He was joined in double figures by Randall with 13 and Ben Erbacher with 12 points.
It’s the second straight year that Billings West came up short after earning the No. 1 seed out of the East. The state title marks the first for Skyview since 2021. The Falcons were also named co-champions with Missoula Hellgate in 2020 following the COVID-shortened tournament.
The Skyview girls won titles in 2022 and 2024 and with a boys title coming back to Billings, there’s not doubt where the best basketball in Montana lives.
“Go Billings, go Skyview,” Owens said. “People doubt the Heights. Now there’s no doubt."
Helena 67, Bozeman Gallatin 57
The Helena High boys are taking home state hardware for the first time since 2014, after a 67-57 win over Bozeman Gallatin in the Class AA third-place game.
The Bengals, playing in their first state tournament in six years, were led by Tevin Wetzel who scored 20 points and grabbed six steals. Jaxan Lieberg added 17 points and six rebounds and Eli Peterson contributed 12 points in the win.
Gallatin, the defending 2024 Class AA champion, was led by Mac Melin with 15 points. He was joined in double figures by Kale Fasting with 11 points and Grant Vigen with 10.
The Raptors built an eight-point lead early, but the Bengals responded and took a 17-15 lead with under one minute remaining in the first quarter to go ahead. Helena then went on a 16-0 run and held off Gallatin for the rest of the game.
