Hellgate Boys Knock Off Flathead Braves, Despite Late Comeback

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Sant, Rosemond, Filardi celebrate against Missoula Big Sky the previous week (Photo Courtesy of Easton Sant)

MISSOULA- Donovan Headswift, Easton Sant, and Connor Dick led a balanced Hellgate attack against the Flathead Braves on their way to a rough 54-43 win on Saturday evening at Hellgate High School. Lyric Ersland and Noah Cummings carried the Braves, accounting for nearly half of Flathead’s scoring on the night. 

The Knights’ (14 assists) opened up the game on an 11-0 run, silencing Flatheads bench while holding the Braves to 0 points until the 2:23 mark in the first quarter. Dick picked up 7 points on 5 assists for the night, with 4 of his points coming in the first frame. A blur of offense and 3 assists lit up the scoreboard to a 13-3 Hellgate lead after one quarter. 

Flathead came out firing in the second quarter with Ersland hitting a triple in the first possession for the Braves. The Knights quieted down a riled up bench, by following the opening possession with Leo Filardi hitting Headswift with a one-handed bullet for 2. Hellgate exploded for 24 points on 6 assists in the second quarter, much of it thanks to the help of Headswift’s 10 points in the second frame. Flathead’s head coach, Dirk Johnsrud, got heated and penalized his team with a technical,  giving the Knights an extra two as Sant promptly drained both free throws. “We started the game pretty strong and had momentum,” said Sant. “I feel really happy to be in the position I’m in. I’m learning a lot, and it’s a lot of fun to be playing with everyone here from Hellgate.” The Knights headed into the locker room at halftime with a commanding 37-15 lead. 

The second half of the match opened up with both offenses missing shots, the first blow being a triple fired by Flathead’s Cummings. Mario Rosemond scored half of the Knights’ 12 points in the third frame with a triple of his own in the mix, off of an assist from Colter Russel. Sant had some razzle dazzle added in, with a layup from the other side under the basket that found the bottom of the net. Hellgate played smart basketball and drew zero fouls against Flathead in the third quarter, marching into the final frame of the night with a 49-26 lead.

The fourth quarter of the duel was flip flopped from the previous three. The Braves held the Knights to only 5 points and 1 assist in the final eight minutes. A travel violation against Hellgate after they went eight minutes without a whistle against them, shifted the momentum. Cummings erupted for 7 quick points with a triple and two jumpers to ease the Knight’s bench. Flathead went on a tear and a 13-2 run until the 2:30 mark, until the Knights mustered only 3 free throw points and a layup by Cuinn Powers. “We started to slack towards the end, and they gained momentum,” said Sant. “We were able to hold them off at the end and maintain our lead.”

The Knights held true, and came away with the win. Catch these awesome athletes on Feb. 4 at 4:15 here at Hellgate against Helena High as they gear up for the Golden Goat game against Big Sky later that month!