The Braves came out the gate swinging with five 3-pointers in the first quarter, but Tyse Todorovich and Seth Lieberg combined for 41 points to lead Helena High past host Flathead 58-44 in Western AA boys basketball on Friday evening.  

"I thought we came out hot and played well from the start, but in the third quarter we stopped rebounding, and that was the difference in the game,” Flathead coach Dan Trageser said. “When you have to come down against a set defense every time, it makes scoring really hard, and that’s where the game turned.”  

Flathead (1-10, 0-6 in Western AA games) was led by Hunter Fann, who scored 10 points in his first varsity start.Lance Schneller added nine, including two 3-pointers. Boston Case chipped in seven points and Eli Coopman scored six. 

Chase Foster contributed to Todorovich and Lieberg’s performance for Helena High (6-5, 3-3 in conf.) with eight first-half points.  

Both teams made seven 3-pointers; the Bengals won the free-throw battle going 11-19 from the line, compared to Flathead’s 7-16. 

The first quarter showcased a high-scoring, back-and-forth start. Fann opened the game with two 3-pointers, and Schneller’s layup sparked the Braves to a 11-5 lead, but Todorovich scored eight points to put the Bengals within three to end the period.  

Helena pulled ahead in the second quarter, holding the Braves to six points and getting timely free throws from Lieberg and Todorovich. Layups from Ben Reichner and Coopman cut Capital’s lead to 31-27 at halftime. 

Lieberg opened the third quarter with a layup that was followed by a 3-pointer from Kale Day, leading to an 11-1 run for the Bengals. Flathead struggled to find baskets until Case splashed a 3-pointer late in the period. The Bengals took advantage on the glass to take a commanding 42-32 advantage heading into the fourth. 

“Our defense has been pretty solid, and that’s something we want to keep. If we add the rebounding piece, we’ll be in a good spot going forward,” Case said. 

Flathead continues their season against Helena Capital at 2 p.m. on Saturday. 

Helena    18    13    11    16    -    58 

Flathead    21    6    5    12    -    44 

HELENA HIGH — Pacer Lybbert 1 0-2 3, CJ Danforth 0 0-0 0, Reece Silvonen 1 0-0 3, Seth Lieberg 5 5-6 16, Tyse Todorovich 9 6-9 25, Jon Laboy 0 0-0 0, Chase Foster 3 0-0 8, Kale Day 1 0-0 3, Gracen Silvonen 0 0-0 0, Seth Kizer 0 0-2 0. Totals 20 11-19 58. 

FLATHEAD — Sam McConnell 0 0-0 0, Eli Coopman 2 1-2 6, Ben Reichner 2 0-0 4, Lance Schneller 2 3-6 9, Hunter Fann 4 0-2 10, Liam Rech 0 2-2 2, Reece Brotherton 0 1-2 1, Boston Case 3 0-2 7, Max Schotsak 1 0-0 2, Kyler Kossman 0 0-0 0, Benny Forman 1 0-0 3. Totals 15 7-16 44. 

3-point goals — Helena 7 (Foster 2, Lybbert, Lieberg, Todorovich, Day, R. Silvonen), Flathead 7 (Schneller 2, Fann 2, Coopman, Forman, Case). Fouls — Helena 15, Flathead 16.