It was another crosstown split when Missoula’s Class AA schools Hellgate and Sentinel met for a doubleheader at the Spartans’ gym Tuesday.
The Hellgate boys got the early matchup of the doubleheader and went off in a 61-35 victory, a blowout sparked by the Knights’ 17-0 run in the third quarter. Then the Spartan ladies turned the tides with their own strong showing, a 77-45 imbalance.
Both games were repeat outcomes from two weeks ago in the first round between the schools at Hellgate.
There’s plenty more inter-city action to come later this week. Hellgate hosts Missoula Big Sky on Thursday while Sentinel’s squads head across town to Big Sky High School on Saturday to conclude rivalry week.
Hellgate boys 61, Sentinel 35
A pair of boys’ basketball teams entered Tuesday’s showdown headed in decidedly different directions. By the final buzzer, each was another step down their respective paths.
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The Hellgate Knights won their eighth game in a row and the 11th in the last 12 contests after starting the season on a much slower clip. Sentinel, on the other hand, has lost six of seven following an 8-2 start.
For Hellgate ( 7-2 in Western AA, 13-4 overall), things are really starting to heat up.
“Our guys have worked hard from the beginning of the year, but the last month and a half, the last six weeks we keep getting better every day,” Hellgate coach Jeff Hays said.
“That’s our focus ... but I think it’s almost as important that we enjoy what we’re doing,” he continued. “I think we all put too much pressure on ourselves earlier and now we’re focused again.”
The Knights, who won the State AA title a year ago and came into this season with high expectations, flexed their muscles in the third quarter Tuesday. Hellgate took a 21-14 lead into the half and held tight with a seven-point gap for the next three minutes. The ensuing four minutes or so is where the visitors won the game, though.
The Knights embarked on a 17-0 run that more than doubled-up the Spartans, 45-21.
“The third quarter was big time for us,” said Hellgate junior Tres Tinkle, who notched a double-double with 24 points and 10 rebounds. “We were defensively stopping them and making open passes and that energy off a good pass is bigger – really – than a basket.”
Tinkle started the stretch when he turned a Hunter Mahlum pass into a bucket and then scored on an assist from Devin Bray the next time down the court. Next it was Tinkle’s turn to dish as he sent a pass to Brady Henthorn for points on a third straight possessions.
After a Sentinel timeout, Henthorn scored again and drew the foul for a three-point play. Two possessions later Tinkle returned the favor, assisting on a Mahlum basket that made it 39-21. After a pair of free throws each by Tinkle and Rhett Baerlocher and another Tinkle basket, the Spartans’ drought finally ended. Matt Warren made two free throws in the final 30 seconds of the quarter to get his team back on the board.
“Hellgate just came out, they got some steals and they were able to make a big run on us,” Spartans coach Jay Jagelski said.
Bray capped off his nine-point outing with five assists, most among Hellgate players. In all, six Knights combined on the team’s 13 dimes. Tinkle had a trio as well as four blocks.
Chase Walker’s 10 points led the Spartans, who shot just 27.3 percent (12-44) as a team compared to the Knights’ 56.4 percent (22-39).
Sentinel (4-5, 9-8) is reeling after starting the league season 3-0. It’s lone win since a stretch against Class A opponents in late January came last week against Kalispell Glacier. Since then were back-to-back home defeats to Kalispell Flathead and the crosstown Knights.
Despite the streak of sputters, Sentinel still has a good shot at third in the Western AA standings with three games remaining. The Spartans are a half game back of Glacier, but won both matchups between the teams this year.
“We’ve got to know that the season is not over by any shot,” Jagelski said. “We’re still in third, fourth place for conference. ... We’ve still got our vision in sight and that’s to make it to the state tournament.”
Hellgate now has a 2 1/2 game lead on Glacier for second place, though is still behind undefeated Helena Capital.
Both teams played without a major contributor Monday. Hellgate post player Pat Colberg sat out because of an ankle injury while Sentinel point guard Zaccheus Darko-Kelly missed the game because of team disciplinary issues.
Hellgate | 9 | 12 | 26 | 14 | – | 61 |
Sentinel | 7 | 7 | 9 | 12 | – | 35 |
HELLGATE – Tres Tinkle 10-17 3-6 24, Dylan Harvala 1-2 0-0 3, Rhett Baerlocher 3-6 2-2 8, Brady Henthorn 3-4 1-1 7, Josh Seaton 0-0 1-4 1, Hunter Mahlum 1-2 0-0 2, Connor Schenk 1-1 0-0 2, Devin Bray 2-4 4-5 9, Mark Lebsock 0-2 1-2 1, Easton Packard 1-1 0-0 2, Brayden Frohlich 0-0 2-2 2. Totals: 22-39 14-22 61. | ||||||
SENTINEL – Quaizhon Walker 0-5 0-0 0, Matt Warren 2-4 3-5 7, Kagen Khameneh 2-8 0-2 4, Sean Laughnan 1-2 0-0 2, Austin Violette 0-6 1-3 1, Jackson King 0-1 0-0 0, Bryce Neibergs 1-2 0-0 2, Chase Walker 3-8 2-2 10, Travis Zander 1-5 2-2 5, Jeremy Eisenmann 2-3 0-1 4. Totals: 12-44 8-15 35. | ||||||
3-point goals – Hellgate 3-10 (Harvala 1-2, Bray 1-2, Tinkle 1-3), Sentinel 3-14 (C. Walker 2-5, Zander 1-4). Total fouls – Hellgate 15, Sentinel 19. Fouled out – Khameneh (Sent). Rebounds – Hellgate 28 (Tinkle 10), Sentinel 25 (Khameneh 6). |
Sentinel girls 77, Hellgate 45
The best answer for strong defense is perfect shooting.
The Spartans weren’t flawless for the game, but a 5-for-5 start from the field set the tone for a blowout victory in this crosstown rivalry.
The Spartans hit on their first three possessions to force a Hellgate timeout before sinking their next two, both from 3-point range, in a 12-0 flash to begin the game. Sentinel made nine of its first 10 from the floor overall.
“The start of our games, we always get going by our press (defense),” Sentinel’s Olivia Roberts said. “The start of our game Maddie and I both knocked down a few shots and that really got us going.”
Keast was responsible for eight of the 12, including both 3-pointers. The senior guard finished with 18 points, second to only Roberts’ 21.
But post player Sam Harper rounded out the senior trio’s nice scoring nights. She ruled the paint with 16 points on 6 of 7 shooting – the top individual mark among many excellent nights for the Spartans that shot 51 percent (29-57) as a unit.
“We’ve been talking about upping our game,” said Sentinel coach Karen Deden, whose team is now 8-1 in league games and 16-1 overall. “You know, intensify practice, intensify situations.
“Sometimes the hard thing is we don’t always get game situations and I thought our kids came out right away and put the pedal down and played hard right away.”
Hellgate (1-8, 5-12) trailed 29-11 after a quarter, but held onto the ball much better than the last time these two teams met. The Knights cut their turnovers by 25 percent with only 14 against the usual swarming defense of Sentinel.
Accordingly, that led to more offensive opportunities for Hellgate.
“Credit to Hellgate,” Roberts said. “They did hit their shots; they did shoot very well from the field. I guess we can’t come out every night with super sharp defense.”
The Knights made 1/3 of their shots (17-51) from the field and also went a perfect 7 of 7 from the free throw line.
Still, Hellgate coach Gary McLaughlin found it difficult to look past the 77 points his team allowed – a season-high scored by the Spartans and scored against the Knights.
“I think defensively we let down in the first half; we can’t let Sentinel score that many points in the first half and expect to compete,” said McLaughlin, whose team trailed 44-22 at intermission. “I was more disappointed in our defensive effort than our offense.
“They kind of owned us inside tonight.”
Kylie McWilliams and Kara Hogan each netted 11 points for Hellgate, seven of Hogan’s coming after halftime. McWilliams was 4 of 5 shooting on field goals and made all three of her foul shots.
The Spartans strengthened their grip on the second spot in the Western AA standings with a showdown with Helena Capital coming up following rivalry week. The Bruins bested Sentinel for its first loss of the season back on Feb. 1 in Helena and continue to sit just a half-game ahead of Sentinel at the top.
Hellgate is bringing up the rear in seventh place with a pair of games against the Kalispell schools coming up next week to end the regular season. The Knights took one from Flathead two weeks ago, the team’s lone league victory.
Hellgate | 11 | 11 | 9 | 14 | – | 45 |
Sentinel | 29 | 15 | 17 | 16 | – | 77 |
HELLGATE – Darby Henthorn 2-5 0-0 5, Claire Hinther 1-8 0-0 3, Lexi Duce 1-3 0-0 2, Ellie Arledge 1-5 0-0 2, Kylie McWilliams 4-5 3-3 11, Sidney Riddle 0-4 0-0 0, Katie Stahl 2-4 2-2 6, Maddie Hamilton 1-4 0-0 3, Kara Hogan 4-12 2-2 11, Caitlynn Anschuetz 1-1 0-0 2. Totals: 17-51 7-7 45. | ||||||
SENTINEL – Brittani Wulf 1-1 1-1 3, Haley Rogers 1-5 0-0 3, Syd Steele 1-2 0-0 3, Jill Madsen 0-2 0-0 0, Maddie Keast 7-11 2-2 18, Jess Henning 1-6 1-2 3, Lexi Steele 1-4 2-2 4, Shannon Worster 2-4 0-0 4, Olivia Roberts 8-13 4-5 21, Sam Harper 6-7 4-6 16, Emily Beach 1-2 0-0 2. Totals: 29-57 14-18 77. | ||||||
3-point goals – Hellgate 4-16 (Henthorn 1-2, Hamilton 1-3, Hogan 1-4, Hinther 1-5), Sentinel 5-15 (Keast 2-3, Steele 1-1, Roberts 1-3, Rogers 1-4). Total fouls – Hellgate 12, Sentinel 11. Fouled out – none. Rebounds – Hellgate 22 (McWilliams 4, Stahl 4), Sentinel 40 (Keast 7, Roberts 7). |
Reporter AJ Mazzolini can be reached at (406) 523-5298, at anthony.mazzolini@missoulian.com, @AJMazzolini or missoulapreps.com.