The way the fourth quarter was going for Joston Cripe, you half expected his desperation three-quarter court buzzer-beater to go in Saturday afternoon.

It didn’t, and Missoula Hellgate escaped the Flathead gym with a tougher-than-expected, 39-36 win. The Knights (8-2 overall, 5-1 in the Western AA) seemed in command with their deliberate offense and high-percentage shots — until they weren’t.

Flathead’s disruptive 2-3 zone served to keep the game close enough — Hellgate led 28-21 after three quarters — to win if somebody got hot. And Cripe got hot.

He scored 15 of his game-high 27 points in the final eight minutes. The 6-foot-1 senior guard hit two 3-pointers to draw the Braves to 32-31 with 2:34 left, then answered an Ian Finch three with one of his own, leaving Flathead down 35-34 with 37 seconds left.

The Knights, a little rattled, committed a disputed turnover, and when Cripe drew a foul and hit two free throws, Flathead was suddenly ahead 36-35 with 30 seconds remaining.

Hellgate answered with 14 seconds left, Griffin Kinch hitting a cutting Finch for a three-point play. There was still drama — Cripe was fouled with seven seconds left, but missed the front end, and Finch missed a free throw as well to set up Cripe’s final heave — but Kinch-to-Finch tilted the game.

“I’m just proud, No. 1, of how hard the kids played tonight,” Flathead coach Dirk Johnsrud said after his club fell to 1-10, 1-6 in league. “I thought defensively we were able to do some nice things.

“We struggled offensively at times, and then were able to hit some shots late in the game. But overall these kids battled hard today and I’m proud of how they represented Flathead High.”

The 6-2 Finch scored 14 points to lead Hellgate, and Connor Dick added 11. Dick hit a three at the end of the first period to put Hellgate up 13-7.

“We started out in a 1-2-2 (zone), and we were a little stretched. So we switched to the 2-3 and that worked out pretty well for us,” Johnsrud said.

Cripe drew plenty of attention from Hellgate’s man-to-man defense, but Luca Zoeller was Flathead’s next scorer with five points. Nobody besides Cripe scored in the fourth .

“He’s a playmaker. He really had a good game for us,” Johnsrud said. “I know a couple other kids were hurt and wishing they could have a better game. We’ll keep picking those kids up and find a formula that works for us.”

Hellgate 13 8 7 11 - 39

Flathead 7 8 6 15 - 36

MISSOULA HELLGATE — Connor Dick 4 2-2 11, Ian Finch 4 4-6 14, Griffin Kinch 4 1-2 9, Dre Bowie 1 0-0 2, Asher Topp 0 0-0 0, Easton Sant 0 0-0 0, Brogan Callaghan 0 0-0 0, Tommy Nilson 0 0-0 0, Donovyn Headswift 1 0-0 2, Leo Filardi 0 0-0 0. Totals 14 7-10 36.

FLATHEAD — Gavin Chouinard 1 0-1 2, Luca Zoeller 2 1-2 5, Joe Hansen 0 0-1 0, Drew Lowry 0 0-0 0, Joston Cripe 9 5-6 27, Noah Cummings 1 0-0 2. Totyals 13 6-10 36.

3-point goals — Hellgate 3 (Finch 2, Dick), Flathead 4 (Cripe 4). Fouls — Hellgate xx, Flathead 14. Fouled out — none.