MISSOULA — The Hellgate boys ran out to an 11-point lead after the first quarter, cruising past Flathead 68-44 in a Western AA conference game.

The Knights rolled to a 45-23 halftime lead in the win, led by sophomore Tres Tinkle who poured in 21 points and five rebounds. Brady Henthorn scored 12 points, including three 3-pointers, and Devin Bray scored 11 for Hellgate (9-2 Western AA, 16-3 overall).

Shea Schroeder led the Braves (4-7, 10-9) with nine points, while Matthew Tokarz and Matt Quist scored eight points each. 

The loss temporarily drops Flathead into fifth in the Western AA, a half game behind Missoula Big Sky (4-6, 9-9), which stayed on pace by upsetting Hellgate on Thursday. 

Flathead914147—44

Hellgate2025158—68

FLATHEAD – Blaine Newman 2-5 0-0 5, Matthew Tokarz 3-7 0-0 8, Kaleb Cannaday 0-0 0-0 0, Shea Schroeder 4-8 1-1 9, Garth West 3-7 1-2 7, Chandler Escalante 0-2 2-2 2, Adam Bradley 1-2 0-0 2, Matt Quist 4-6 0-0 8, Will Cronk 1-3 0-0 3, Easton Johnson 0-2 0-0 0, Alex Croymans 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 18-39 4-6 44.

HELLGATE – Tres Tinkle 7-12 6-11 21, Luke Bewley 2-8 0-0 4, Brady Henthorn 4-6 1-2 12, Brendan Jones 1-2 0-1 2, Pat Colberg 3-5 0-0 6, Dylan Harvala 0-2 1-2 1, Kole Swartz 2-5 0-0 4, Devin Bray 4-7 2-4 11, Hunter Mahlum 1-1 2-2 5, Mark Lebsock 1-1 0-0 2, Jordan Smith 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 25-51 12-22 68.

3-point goals – Flathead 4 (Tokarz 2, Newman, Cronk), Hellgate 6 (Henthorn 3, Bray, Mahlum, Tinkle). Total fouls – Flathead 17, Hellgate 7. Fouled out – none. Rebounds – Flathead 14 (Schroeder 5), Hellgate 26 (Henthorn 6, Tinkle 5). Turnovers – Flathead 20, Hellgate 10.