GREAT FALLS — The Winnett-Grass Range, Centerville, Belt and Roy-Winifred boys basketball teams all picked up quarterfinal wins Thursday at the District 8C tournament. WGR and Centerville will meet in the semifinals at Friday with Belt and Roy-Winifred to follow.
Winnett-Grass Range 71, Great Falls Central 32
Great Falls Central was out in front for most offthe first quarter, but around the one-minute mark is when Brady Bantz went coast-to-coast for an and-one and gave the lead back to the Rams.
WGR got their first double digit lead in the second quarter as Jace Bantz forced a turnover and finished the break to go ahead 25-15. That lead only continued to grow as the Rams cruised to victory.
Centerville 55, Denton-Geyser-Stanford-Geraldine 53
Centerville took a ten point lead during the second quarter, going ahead 24-14, but DGSG cut it down to seven by half time as they trailed 26-19. The Miners were able to grow their lead to twelve in the third quarter, but Axel Becker’s last-second offensive rebound and put back cut the lead down to 37-31 heading into the fourth.
The Bearcats’ Clay Harwood scored five straight points to start the final quarter and bring them within one. Both teams traded 3-pointers late in the quarter until the Miners were working with a 51-48 lead with just over a minute to play.
Cole Noble gave the Miners a four point lead after sinking two free throws with less than 20 ticks to go, but Becker knocked down a clutch 3 to make it 53-52 with nine more seconds on the clock.
Luke Kelley was sent to the line and put in two more free throws, giving Centerville a 55-52 lead. With one last chance to extend the game Tyce Smith’s 3-pointer was short, but Blaze Becker got the offensive rebound and was fouled on the layup with 0.3 seconds to go.
Becker made the first free throw to make it a two-point game. On the second, he intentionally missed and Smith was there for the rebound but his last second effort went off the backboard and around the rim before falling off.
Belt 72, Highwood 27
It was all business for the Huskies as they built a 29-11 lead by halftime. Highwood had a better offensive performance in the third quarter, scoring more than they did in the first two quarters combined.
However, it wasn’t nearly enough to keep up with the high powered Husky offense who held a commanding 52-25 lead after three quarters of play.
Roy-Winifred 51, Hobson-Moore 26
After being knotted at 11-11, the Outlaws finished the first quarter on a 9-1 run to put them ahead 20-12.
The Outlaws held the Titans to just five points in the second quarter as they went ahead 34-17. Roy-Winifred never let their foot off the gas as they secured the final spot in Friday’s semifinals.
