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Western C: Twin Bridges girls, Manhattan Christian boys secure divisional titles

Twin Bridges cruised past Manhattan Christian 56-32 to secure the Western C divisional title.
Manhattan Christian routed Harrison-Willow Creek 57-43 to win the Western C divisional championship.
Posted at 12:26 AM, Feb 26, 2023
and last updated 2023-02-26 02:43:49-05

BUTTE — The Western C divisional tournament came to a close Saturday night with both the Twin Bridges girls and Manhattan Christian boys punching their tickets to state in convincing fashion.

Despite the Eagles falling 56-32 in the title game, Manhattan Christian is still sending both teams to state. However, the fate of Harrison-Willow Creek is still yet to be determined.

Since Lone Peak defeated West Yellowstone 53-51 in the consolation game, Harrison-Willow Creek and the Big Horns will play a challenge game Monday night at the Maroon Activity Center (MAC) to determine who gets the second bid to state.

The Class C state tournament begins March 9 in Billings at First Interstate Area at MetraPark.

Twin Bridges girls 56, Manhattan Christian 32

The Falcons were on a mission for redemption Saturday night, and they did just that, routing Manhattan Christian in a 24-point victory to secure the Western C divisional title.

Twin Bridges has only suffered one loss this season (21-1), which came last week during the District 12C championship against Manhattan Christian, 36-33.

The Eagles started out strong rattling off a quick four points, but a three-pointer from Emma Konen capped off a 7-0 run by Twin Bridges to take a 7-4 lead with 4:21 remaining in the first.

Manhattan Christian's Ava Bellach responded one minute later with the equalizer, but the Falcons didn't let that take away from their momentum.

Twin Bridges went on a 12-0 run to build a 12-point lead, which was highlighted by Allie Dale's three-point play after stealing the ball from Ava Bellach and laying in the and-1 after contact.

The Falcons never looked back cruising past Manhattan Christian 56-32.

Dale led all scorers with 21 points, while Kyle Pancost also finished in double-figures (10) for Twin Bridges. Katelyn Van Kirk led Manhattan Christian with 10 points.

Manhattan Christian boys, 57, Harrison-Willow Creek 43

After squeaking past West Yellowstone Friday with a two-point victory over the Wolverines, Harrison-Willow Creek met the reigning State C champions in Saturday's divisional title game, Manhattan Christian.

The two went head-to-head in the 12C semifinals last week with the Eagles winning by 10, and Manhattan Christian improved their margin Saturday with a 14-point victory to punch their ticket to the state tournament, 57-43.

The first half was a back-and-forth affair with Manhattan Christian holding a one-point lead after 20 minutes of action, 26-25.

However, the Eagles opened up the score in the third quarter thanks to Seth Amunrud's career night and never let the Wildcats get back within striking distance.

Amunrud finished with a game-high 26 points and 10 rebounds to complete the double-double, while also recording two blocked shots and four steals.

The Eagles had two more players finish in double-figures: Austin Kriebel (10) and Christian Triemstra (11).

Harrison-Willow Creek's Joe Cima also recorded a double-double scoring 16 points while hauling in 10 rebounds. Aaron DeFrance also added 10 points for the Wildcats.