BILLINGS — The Montana all-stars ran their combined winning streak to 12 games Friday by sweeping Wyoming on the first night of the 2019 Midland Roundtable basketball series at Alterowitz Gym.
Montana’s girls used a 20-8 run to begin the third quarter to pull away from a strong Wyoming squad for an 84-66 win. Froid-Medicine Lake forward MacKenzie Dethman led a balanced attack with 14 points, as the home team came out of halftime with a renewed sense of urgency.
“That third quarter, we really moved the ball well,” Dethman said. “Coach (Wes Keller) always says in-out game, we really moved the ball inside and out, got our shots.”
“I like to get the ball into the bigs a little bit,” echoed Montana head coach Wes Keller. “We want to get paint touches and then kick-out 3s. When we did reverse the ball a time or two, that stuff happened.”
Six other Montana players scored between eight and 12 points, including Billings West twins TyLee and TyRaa Manuel.
Montana’s boys also used a third-quarter run to pull away from Wyoming for a 103-100 win to claim their 15th straight victory in the series. Montana led by just three after both the first and second quarters, but extended the lead to double digits early in the fourth and held on.
Manhattan Christian graduate Caleb Bellach wowed the crowd with multiple dunks – his athleticism will be a big hit with the Montana State Bobcats next season.
The games were played at Alterowitz on the campus of MSU Billings for the first time, after normal host Rocky Mountain College sustained water damage to its gym. The games were also played in Billings on Friday night for the first time, after Wyoming officials asked to host Saturday night games instead.
The girls open play at Sheridan College Saturday at 5:30 p.m.
