The third time was the charm.
The Braves made clutch free throws – nine of 12 in the final 1:36 – and edged cross-town rival Glacier 63-58 in the semifinals of the Class AA state boys basketball tournament on Friday night.
Flathead, the third seed from the West, advances to the championship game for the first time since 2003. The Braves will play Billings West at 8:30 p.m. Glacier, the top seed from the West, plays Missoula Hellgate at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday in loser-out action. The winner advances to the consolation game at 5 p.m.
George Sherwood scored 18 points and made 3-of-4 free throws in the final 46 seconds. Matt McLean had 17 points and broke a 54-all tie with back-to-back free throws with 1:36 left. Shea Schroeder sank two free throws with 26 seconds left to give Flathead a 60-56 lead. He finished with 12 points.
Glacier beat Flathead in both cross-town games during the regular season and led throughout most of Friday’s semifinal before going cold in the final minutes. The Wolfpack only scored four points in the final 3:30. Ryan Edwards had 23 points and 10 rebounds for Glacier. Colton Harkins had 10 points and 11 rebounds. Evan Epperly scored 10 points.
Flathead outscored Glacier 22-14 in the fourth quarter. For the game, the Braves shot 30-of-46 from the free throw line. Glacier made 13-of-25.
FLATHEAD — Matt Tokarz 0-2 3-5 3, Matt McLean 3-10 8-11 17, George Sherwood 4-13 10-13 18, Austin Jones 0-1 2-2 2, Shea Schroeder 3-7 6-9 12, Chris Cronk 2-6 1-4 7, Drew Crosby 0-2 0-0 0, Al Michael Olszewski 0-0 0-0 0, Nick James 2-4 0-2 4, Garth West 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 14-48 30-46 63.
GLACIER — Kyle Griffith 2-7 0-2 4, Evan Epperly 3-13 4-6 10, Colton Harkins 3-6 1-4 10, Sean Peters 1-3 2-2 4, Karl Hellwig 1-1 0-0 2, Andy Boyer 0-2 0-0 0, Bryan Michaels 1-3 0-0 2, Si’Cha Tallman 0-0 0-0 0, Logan Iverson 1-5 1-4 3, Matt Peters 0-0 0-0 0, Ryan Edwards 9-11 5-7 23. Totals 21-51 13-25 58.
Flathead 7 15 19 22 — 63
Glacier 8 15 21 14 — 58
3-point goals — KF 5-18 (Tokarz 0-2, McLean 3-8, Sherwood 0-4, Cronk 2-3, Crosby 0-1), KG 3-13 (Griffith 0-2, Epperly 0-4, Harkins 3-4, Boyer 0-1, Michaels 0-1, Iverson 0-1). Rebounds — KF 31 (Sherwood 6, Schroeder 6), KG 39 (Harkins 11, Edwards 10). Fouls — KF 23, KG 32. Fouled out — Harkins, S. Peters, Iverson. Technical fouls — none. Assists — KF 9, KG 17 (Epperly 9). Turnovers — KF 17, KG 23. Blocked shots — KF 1, KG 7 (Edwards 6). Steals — KF 13 (Tokarz 4, McLean 4), KG 9 (Harkins 3, S. Peters 3).
Girls
Billings Senior 35, Glacier 30
Despite another big game from Cassidy Hashley, Glacier bowed out of its first state tournament in a close game on Friday.
The Lady Broncs had five scorers with at least five points and eliminated the Wolfpack in a loser-out contest at the girls state tournament in Bozeman.
Hashley had a game-high 14 points and 13 rebounds and Nicole Heavirland added 10 points for Glacier (12-10). Rachel Chery, Amy Lybeck and Kirstyn Haugenoe each scored two apiece.
Heavirland scored 16 and Hashley had 10 in a 48-35 loss to Bozeman in the opening round on Thursday.
The top seed from the West, Missoula Sentinel (18-4), will play the East’s top seed, Bozeman (21-0), in the championship game on Saturday.