BUTTE — Missoula Hellgate and Helena Capital punched their semifinal tickets Thursday at the Western AA boys divisional basketball tournament at the Civic Center.
Hellgate routed Kalispell Flathead 65-31 while Capital held off Kalispell Glacier 53-44 to advance.
Later Thursday, Missoula Sentinel and Butte advanced to the semifinals with victories. Sentinel moved on with a 62-52 win over Helena, and Butte topped Missoula Big Sky 65-56.
Hellgate and Capital will square off in the first semifinal Friday at 3:30 with Sentinel and Butte to follow at 5.
Missoula Hellgate 65, Kalispell Flathead 31
Zane Gillhouse put up 16 points and nine rebounds for Hellgate in its 65-31 win over Flathead as the Knights advanced to Friday's semifinals.
Evan Pyron added 12 points for Hellgate, which shot 59% as a team (26 of 44). The Knights outrebounded the Braves 35 to 16, and had nine offensive boards.
Lyric Ersland led Flathead with 10 points. The Braves will look to stay alive Friday in the loser-out bracket.
Helena Capital 53, Kalispell Glacier 44
Cole Dawes scored 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds as Capital moved on with a 53-44 win over Glacier.
Dylan Almquist also had 16 points for the Bruins, while Daniel Larson added eight points and four rebounds.
Glacier, which fell into the loser-out bracket, was led by Cohen Kastelitz's 14 points and 10 rebounds. Noah Cummings added eight points and six rebounds.
Missoula Sentinel 62, Helena 52
Sentinel got 24 points from Grady Walker in beating Helena 62-52 to advance to the semfinals.
Kade Robinson added 17 points and Riley Allen put in nine to help the Spartans, who outscored Helena 18-7 in the third quarter to take control.
Tevin Wetzel had 20 points to lead Helena, which will play Friday in loser-out action. Madden Spaulding socred 11 points and Jaxan Leiberg contributed 10 points for the Bengals.
Butte 65, Missoula Big Sky 56
Dylan Bache had a monster game to help Butte to a 65-56 win over Big Sky and vault into the semis.
Bache was dominant with 28 points and 15 rebounds — including seven offensive bards — to lead the Bulldogs. Hudson Luedtke and Torre Tempel each had 11 for Butte while Bo Demarais scored 10.
Isaiah Reed and Carson Towe each scored 16 points to lead the way for Big Sky. Calijah LaRance scored eight points for the Eagles, who moved into loser-out play.
