ST. IGNATIUS — Friday, the Thompson Falls boys and girls, Eureka's boys, and St. Ignatius' girls, all won semifinal matchups to advance to their respective District 7B championship games.
Eureka boys 84, St. Ignatius 32
In the first boys semifinal game it was the Eureka Lions taking on the St. Ignatius Bulldogs and it was all Eureka from the get-go.
The Lions took a commanding 27-10 lead after the first quarter and never looked back.
At the half Eureka led 42-15 then after three quarters they led 65-30 before ultimately riding a complete performance to a 84-32 win to punch a ticket to the championship game.
The Lions were led by Tristan Butts with 26 points. Jose O’Brien led the Bulldogs with 18 points.
Thompson Falls boys 60, Plains 37
In the second boys semifinal it was the Thompson Falls Blue Hawks battling the Plains Horsemen. It was back-and-forth to start as the Blue Hawks held a narrow 10-8 lead near the end of the first quarter.
Then Thompson Falls went on a huge 18-6 run to head into halftime on top 28-14.
After the third quarter the Blue Hawks led 43-25 and they went on to win 60-37 and set up a championship game against the Eureka Lions.
Nick Tessier led Thompson Falls with 15 points. The Horsemen were led by Zeph Dines with 10 points.
St. Ignatius girls 54, Plains 13
In the first girls semifinal it was the St. Ignatius Bulldogs and the Plains Trotters and St. Ignatius dominated from start to finish.
The Bulldogs jumped out to a huge 27-3 lead after the opening quarter and then led 39-8 at the half.
With a running clock in the second half the game went by quickly and the Bulldogs led 48-11 after three quarters before coasting to their 54-13 win to lock up the first spot in the girls championship game.
The Bulldogs were led by Kason Page with 23 points. Trystan Larsen led Plains with five points.
Thompson Falls girls 60, Eureka 54
In the second girls semifinal it was the Thompson Falls Blue Hawks battling the Eureka Lions in what wound up being the closest game of the day.
After the opening quarter Thompson Falls led 16-14. Then by the half the Hawks started to pull away and led 28-21.
Eureka came out strong in the third quarter and made it a one point game as Thompson Falls narrowly led 41-40 heading into the fourth quarter.
In the final minutes of the games the Blue Hawks pulled away and managed to secure a 60-54 win to fill the final championship berth available to set up a matchup against the St. Ignatius Bulldogs.
Gabi Hannum led Thompson Falls with 27 points. Eureka was led by Kara Stanger who had over half the team's points with 29.
For full highlights of all four semifinal games, see the video above.
