GREAT FALLS — Missoula Sentinel and Missoula Big Sky came away with Class AA boys basketball wins on the road Tuesday night. Sentinel escaped with a close victory over Great Falls CMR to improve to 3-0 and Big Sky bounced back with a win over Great Falls High.
Sentinel 50, CMR 46
Sentinel entered the second half with a four-point deficit and only cut into that by one point as the teams were heading to the fourth quarter. After going down by as much as five in the fourth, the Spartans took a 37-36 lead after a corner 3 from Evan Richardson. The lead was only held for one possession as Dean Blair came up with an and-1 on the other end.
Getting down to two minutes left to play, the game was tied 41-41 when Blair came up with another big bucket for the Rustlers. Grady Walker countered that bucket with one of his own, knotting the game again. With a minute and a half on the clock, Sentinel called upon Lincoln Rogers and he delivered with a 3-pointer to go ahead 46-43.
CMR had a chance for the tie with under 10 seconds remaining but a 3-point attempt was off to the left as the Spartans hung on for the win. Walker had a team high 17 points for the Spartans and Blair finished with a game high 25 points for the Rustlers.
Big Sky 55 , Great Falls 43
The Eagles got hot in the second quarter to create a 14-point lead at the break. After being tied at 8-8 when the first quarter concluded, Big Sky hit three straight 3-pointers in the second frame to get going.
The Bison were able to get back within nine on the backs of Scott Klinker and Traycen Ehnes but that was the closest they would get. Big Sky pushed its lead back up to 16 heading into the fourth quarter and would not let off the gas.
Tristan Watson led the way for Great Falls with 13 points and Isaiah Reed had a game high 17 for Big Sky.
