Maroons survive and advance at State A; down Glendive 56-42 in first round

For the fifth time in six seasons, Brodie Kelly's Butte Central Maroons are headed to the State Semifinals.  Jack Keeley had a double-double with 14 points at 13 rebounds and a third-quarter defensive lockdown turned a one-point halftime deficit into a 41-28 lead heading into the fourth quarter and the Maroons held on for a 56-42 first round win over the Dawson County Red Devils Thursday morning at the State A Boys and Girls Basketball Tournament being held at the Butte Civic Center.

Owen McPartland led all scorers with 15 and Joshua Sutton added 12 for Butte Central who advance to tomorrow's 3:30pm boys semifinal against the winner of the Columbia Falls/Fergus contest.

The Maroons wasted no time in jumping out to a 10-2 lead and would lead 13-6 at the close of the first quarter.  Glendive would respond in the second quarter outscoring the Maroons 19-11 gaining momentum off of a monster block by forward Cyrel Eaton that nearly went into the upper level.  But whatever Coach Kelly had to say at halftime stuck as the Maroons would now allow a single point until halfway through the quarter and would take a 13-point advantage into the final stanza.  The Maroons would ride the momentum in the 4th quarter and the Red Devils would get no chance at a final run.

Ticket information for tomorrow's semifinal is available here.