MISSOULA – The Garden City’s first crosstown doubleheader belonged to the Missoula Hellgate Knights on Tuesday. Hellgate’s girls started the evening with a 60-44 win over Missoula Big Sky. Then, the Knight boys nearly doubled-up the Eagles, 69-35.
Hellgate’s girls held a slim 10-7 lead after one quarter. Then, the KnightS pushed their advantage to double digits with a strong second quarter. The home team led 24-14 at halftime and 41-27 after three quarters.
Big Sky made a run in the fourth quarter and cut the lead down to six in the final minutes, But Hellgate put the game away from the free throw line to win it.
In the boys game, the Eagles hung with the highly-ranked Knights for the first quarter. A running buzzer-beater by Brady Tabish cut the Hellgate lead to 17-11 after eight minutes. But just like in the girls game, the Knights dominated the second quarter and led 36-17 at halftime.
Big Sky could never cut into the lead throughout the second half, and Hellgate improved to 4-0 with the victory.
Each school has one more game against Coeur D’Alene before going on Christmas break. The boys from Big Sky and Hellgate host the Vikings from Idaho on Thursday and Friday, respectively. The Eagle and Knights girls travel to Coeur D’Alene on the same nights.
