BILLINGS — The duo of Connor Kieckbusch and Braxton Haws played the roles of heroes for the Billings Senior Broncs as they survived 63-62 over Billings Skyview at Rimrock Auto Arena on Thursday night.
The Broncs ran out to a five-point halftime lead, but Zach Schacht kept the Falcons afloat with two dunks in the opening half.
The Falcons then exploded out of the locker room and totally flipped the script. Logan DeHaven scored 13 points in the frame as Skyview outscored Senior by 10 points in the third quarter and led by five after three.
That’s when Kieckbusch took over. He hit a circus layup while drawing a foul with five minutes left to draw the Broncs within one at 52-51. With about a minute left and the game tied Kieckbusch drained a corner triple for a three-point lead.
Kieckbusch and Haws hit all their free throws down the stretch, Skyview never took a 3-pointer, failing to have a chance to tie.
Kieckbusch led all scorers with 27 while Haws added 16 for the victorious Broncs. Billings Senior improved to 4-1 with the win.
The girls game was decided much earlier. Billings Senior controlled from the opening whistle for the easy 56-34 win.
The size of Billings Senior was simply too much for the Falcons to handle as the Broncs scored all their second-half points from inside the paint.
Kola Bad Bear led the Broncs and all scorers with 16 points, while Bailey Eleazer added 11 points.
