Bulldogs dunk Hellgate at Richardson Gym on Friday Night

Butte's 6'9 center, Braylon Larson, put the exclamation point on the win with a thunderous breakaway dunk as time expired and the Butte High Bulldogs boys basketball team scored the game's final 5 points in getting past the Missoula Hellgate Knights 61-57 Friday evening at Ross J. Richardson Memorial Gymnasium.

After Hellgate's Chance McNulty's two free-throws put Hellgate up by 1 with 25.9 seconds on the clock, it was another long-range bomb from senior Tocher Lee on the ensuing possession to give the Bulldogs the lead and after a Hellgate turnover, a two-handed jam by Larson to close the deal, sending the sizeable crowd into a frenzy.

Larson did plenty of damage on both ends of the floor, altering many of Hellgate's inside shot attempts and emphatically swatting away two of them.  Larson was one of four Bulldogs in double-figures finishing with 10 points, while Lee netted 14.  Hudson Luedke led the way for the Bulldogs, adding 24 points to his all-time boys scoring record while Rodman-esque senior forward Dylan "Bobby" Bache got 10 points, most of them from offensive rebounds.  Spencer Callahan added a trey for Butte High.  Missoula Hellgate was led by senior guard Easton Sant who scored 17 and was joined in double-figures by junior forward Spencer Wayland's 13.

The victory snaps a two-game skid for the Bulldogs and avenges a 74-72 double-overtime loss in Missoula on January 9th.  Butte High improves to 9-5 on the season with a 5-4 mark in the Western AA.  The Bulldogs will next be back in action at home next weekend as they host the Glacier Wolfpack on Friday evening and the Flathead Braves on Saturday afternoon.