Thursday February 29 was the start of Montana AA basketball Divisonals for boys and girls. The Western teams played in Butte.
The Western teams in the tournament were: Missoula Hellgate, Kalispell Flathead, Helena Capital, Kalispell Glacier, Missoula Sentinel, Helena, Butte, and Missoula Big Sky.
The tournament lasted three days and ended on Saturday March 2. Four teams both boys and girls, advanced to state. The state tournament will be held at the Adams Center in Missoula on March 7-9.
Thursday Games
Boys
Missoula Hellgate and Kalispell Flathead were the first game in the boys tournament, and they played at 9:30 am. Hellgate was the first seed and Flathead was the eighth seed. The final score was Hellgate 65, Flathead 31.
Game two was between Helena Capital and Kalispell Glacier and they played at 11 am. The teams were well matched with Glacier being the fourth seed and Capital being the fifth seed. Capital showed up and beat Glacier by nine points. The final score was Capital 53, Glacier 44.
Game three was between Helana High and Missoula Sentinel and they played at 3:30 pm. Helana was the third seed and Sentinel was the sixth seed. Sentinel pulled an early upset in the tournament and beat Helana by 10 points. Grady Walker had 24 points and and Kade Robinson had 17. The final score was Sentinel 62, Helena 52.
Game four was between Butte and Missoula Big Sky and they played the final game on Thursday at 5 pm. Butte was the second seed and Big Sky was the seventh seed. The final score was Butte 65, Big Sky 56.
Girls
Missoula Big Sky and Kalispell Flathead played the first game in the girls tournament at 12:30 pm. Big Sky was the first seed and Flathead was the eighth seed. The final score was Big Sky 52, Flathead 42.
Game two was between Helena Capital and Missoula Sentinel at 2 pm. Both teams had a high ranking. Capital was the fourth seed and Sentinel was the fifth seed. The final score was Capital 56, Sentinel 33.
Game three was between Helena and Butte at 6:30 pm. Helena was the third seed and Butte was the sixth seed. The final score was Helena 42, Butte 37.
Game four was between Missoula Hellgate and Kalispell Glacier at 8 pm which was the final game of the day. Hellgate was the second seed and Glacier was the seventh seed. The final score was Hellgate 44, Glacier 38.
Friday Games
Boys
Glacier and Flathead played game five and kicked off the second day of the tournament playing at 9:30 am. Both teams lost their previous games so the loser of this game was out of the tournament. The final score was Glacier 63, Flathead 38.
Game sixth was between Big Sky and Helena at 11 am and because both teams lost their previous games this game determined who would move on in the tournament. The final score was Big Sky 56, Helena 48.
Game seven was a semifinal game and was between Hellgate and Capital. The winner of this game would go on to the championship game to play for the first seed position at state for the west. The final score was Hellgate 41, Capital 38.
Game eight was between Sentinel and Butte at 5 pm. Butte was the second seed going into this game and Sentinel was 4 seeds below them, but Sentinel pulled the biggest upset of the tournament and won the Semifinal game by a 17 feet away buzzer beater scored by sophomore Lincon Rogers
Girls
Sentinel and Flathead played game five and kicked off the second day of the tournament playing at 12:30 pm. The win was needed for either team to stay in the tournament. The final score was Sentinel 66, Flathead 46.
Game sixth was between Glacier and Butte at 2 pm. Just like the previous game both teams needed the win to stay in the tournament.The final score was Glacier 48, Butte 44.
Game seven was a semifinal game and was between Big Sky and Capital. The winner of this game would go on to the championship game to play for the first seed position at state for the west. The final score was Big Sky 48, Capital 36.
Game eight was between Hellgate and Helena at 8 pm. This was also a semifinal game so both teams would go on to play another game.The final score was Hellgate 38, Helena 34. Hellgate would go on to meet Big Sky in the championship game.
Saturday Games
Three games happened on saturday. Two of the three games were loser out games, winner advanced to state and the third game was the championship were both teams go to state but play to be seeded one or two.
Boys
Game nine was between Capital and Big Sky at 11 am. Both teams had won and lost a game before this. This game was for the fourth seed at state; the loser would not advance to state. The Final score was Capital 58, Big Sky 50.
Game ten was between Butte and Glacier at 11 am. Butte had good games in the tournament winning their first game by nine points and losing their last game by only one point. This game was for the third seed ranking at state; the loser doesn’t advance to state. The final score was Butte 58, Glacier 56.
Game eleven was the final game of the tournament, and was between Hellgate and Sentinel. Both teams are from the same town so the heat was high for this game. Hellgate has also dominated Sentinel in the past. This game will decide who is the first and second seed at state. The final score was Hellgate 59, Sentinel 40.
Girls
Game nine was between Glacier and Capital at 12:30 pm. Both teams had won and lost a game before this. This game was for the fourth seed at state; the loser would not advance to state. The Final score was Glacier 46, Capital 40.
Game ten was between Sentinel and Helena at 12:30 pm. Sentinel was going into this game feeling pretty good because they won their last game by 20 points. This game was for the third seed ranking at state; the loser doesn’t advance to state. The final score was Sentinel 54, Helena 36.
Game eleven was the final game the tournament was between Hellgate and Big Skyl. Both teams are from the same town so both teams had more fuel to win. Hellgate has also had a dominating team this season. This game will decide who is the first and second seed at state. The final score was Hellgate 47, Big Sky 44.
Conclusion
These four teams that have made it to state will meet the four teams that have made it form the Eastern tournament. The teams from the east for the boys are: Great Falls CMR(fourth seed) Bozeman(third seed) Bozeman Gallatin (second seed) and Billings west (first seed) . The girls teams from the east who made it are: Great Falls CMR (fourth seed) Billings west (third seed) Bozeman Gallatin (second seed) and Billings Skyview (first seed).
