GREAT FALLS — The Glacier boys pushed their way into the semifinals at the Class AA state basketball tournament on Thursday at Four Seasons Arena, shutting down Billings West in the third quarter on the way to a 56-49 opening round victory.
The Wolfpack (18-3) took control of the game in the third quarter, opening the second half on a 6-0 run, pushing the ball in transition.
West (12-8) fought back to within four points but the Pack closed the quarter on a 7-0 run to build a 39-29 lead.
Glacier stretched the run to 9-0 early in the fourth quarter to build a 12-point lead by the time West was forced to foul to extend the game. After a shaky few trips to the free-throw line saw the lead shrink back to five points, the Wolfpack made its final six attempts to ice the game.
“They worked really hard,” Glacier coach Mark Harkins said. “We were a little sloppy on some things. Their effort was phenomenal. I thought we rebounded real well, I really like our defense. Offensively, I thought we turned the ball over too much, especially in the first half. It got better as (the game) went on.
“They brought the pressure on us. It was a little ugly, but down the stretch we hit some free throws and I was really proud of them.”
Glacier held a slight lead after a low-scoring first quarter, but pushed the pace early in the second, using a 9-2 run to build an 18-10 lead midway through the frame.
West countered with an 8-2 run of its own to tie the score at 20-20, but a 3-pointer before half from Glacier junior Caden Harkins gave the Wolfpack a narrow lead into the break.
Jaxen Hashley led Glacier with 15 points and 17 rebounds. Tadan Gilman had 14 points and Caden Harkins 12 points.
Bryson Deming scored 17 points for West and twin brother Braydon Deming had 14 points and 10 rebounds. The pair finished 3 for 13 from deep and the Bears were 3 for 21 for the game.
“That was our focus. We wanted to make sure we always had a hand up, always knew where they were and not give them any open looks,” coach Harkins said.
I thought the kids executed defensively pretty good. We lost them a couple of times but overall I was pleased.”
The Wolfpack advances to the semifinals for the fourth time in school history, where it will face Billings Skyview today at 3:30 p.m. The Falcons edged Missoula Sentinel 54-52 in the first game of the tournament.
West 6 14 9 20 – 49
Glacier 8 15 16 17 – 56
BILLINGS West – Jake Bell 1-3 0-0 2, Kaleb Martin 1-3 0-0 2, Bryson Deming 5-15 6-6 17, Braydon Deming 5-13 2-2 14, DJ Peretti 1-5 0-0 2, Carson Prokop 0-0 0-0 0, Cleveland Harvey 1-7 0-0 2, Jesse Owens 1-5 1-1 7, Cole Devries 0-1 0-0 0, Kobe Nelson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 18-60 10-10 49.
Glacier – Caden Harkins 2-5 6-6 12, Tadan Gilman 5-8 4-5 14, Collin Kazmier 0-1 0-0 0, Brec Rademacher 1-4 0-0 3, Jaxen Hashley 6-13 3-44 15, Pat O’Connell 2-2 4-5 8, Turin Bowden 1-2 0-3 , Jack Desmul 1-1 0-2 2, Cody Hartsoch 0-0 0-0 0, Jeremiah Martin 0-0 0-0 0, Kody Jarvis 0-1 0-0 0, Bryce Grame 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 18-37 17-25 56.
3-point goals – West 3-21 (Bra. Deming 2-7, Bry. Deming 1-6), Glacier 3-10 (Hawkins 2-5, Rademacher 1-4). Rebounds – West 32 (Bra. Deming 10), Glacier 34 (Hashley 17). Total fouls – West 21, Glacier 11. Fouled out – none.