GREAT FALLS — Kolby Finley and the Chiefs gave their all on Thursday morning, but the Blake brothers of Lockwood combined for 42 points, defeating Ronan 65-53 in the first round of the Class A state tournament at the Four Seasons arena.

“There were just too many turnovers, not enough rebounds, and we didn’t shoot it particularly well,” Ronan coach George Sherwood said. “At this level, you can get away with maybe one of those things, but not all three.” 

Finley led Ronan with 29 points and 7 rebounds; Matiya Nenemay added 14 points and the Chiefs (17-5) fell into a loser-out game Friday against Butte Central at 9 a.m. Friday.  

For Lockwood, Zicciah Callison-Blake scored a game-high 26 points. Kobe Blake splashed two triples to finish with 16 and Gabe Ronquillo contributed 13. The Lions advance to the semifinals against Billings Central. They split their regular-season meetings. 

Billings Central 65, Ronan 53

Callison-Blake opened the second with back-to-back finishes at the rim, then swished a 3-pointer before halftime to give the Lions a 36-24 lead. 

In the third quarter, Finley finished a tightly contested and-one and found Jordan Messerly under the basket to give the Chiefs life, but that’s when the turnovers began. 

Nenemay cashed in another contested finish for Ronan earlly in the fourth quarter but the Lions forced three turnovers in a row that led to Blake and Ronquillo transition baskets. 

Lockwood maintained control and made its free throws to put the Chiefs away. 

The Chiefs beat the Maroons in the Western A semis 58-51 

“Getting third place is something that hasn’t happened here in a long time,” Sherwood said. “It would be great to come home with some hardware.” 

Lockwood    20    16    11    18    -    65 

Ronan    18    6    13    16    -    53

LOCKWOOD — Zicciah Callison-Blake 8 8-12 26, Tucker Keller 1 0-2 3, Dylan Miller 0 0-0 0, Kobe Blake 5 4-8 16, Isaiah Greer 2 0-1 4, Gabe Ronquillo 5 3-4 13, Nate Davis 1 1-2 3, Raider Kalfell 0 0-0 0. Totals 27 16-29 65. 

RONAN — Matiya Nenemay 4 7-10 14, Siouxprixm Qualtier 0 3-4 3, Jhett McDonald 1 0-0 3, Kolby Finley 14 2-3 29, Tryance Matt 0 0-0 0, Ben Running Rabbit 0 0-0 0, Will Normandeau 0 0-0 0, Jordan Messerly 1 0-0 2, Oliver Rowe 0 2-2 2. Totals 21 14-19 53.    

3-point goals — Lockwood 5 (Blake 2, Callison-Blake 2, Keller), Ronan 3 (Finley, Nenemay, McDonald). Fouls — Lockwood 13, Ronan 18. 

Dillon 48, Miles City 42

The Beavers are back in the Class A semifinals for the fifth straight year. Aason Munday led all scorers with 14 points and grabbed eight rebounds for Dillon.  

Cooper Nansel led the Miles City Cowboys with 13 points, Bridger Muri 12, and Rylin Genry 10.  

Nansel scored nine points in the second half to keep the Cowboys within reach, but Dillon fans were brought to their feet when Munday threw down a monster slam on the baseline, giving the Beavers a 40-33 lead in the fourth quarter. 

Dillon’s Will Hansen added two late layups to fend off a late 6-0 Miles City run. 

Dillon tips off with the Frenchtown on Friday at 5 p.m., in a rematch of last week’s Western A semifinals that saw the Beavers best the Broncs 55-41. 

Dillon    9    16    11    12    -    48 

Miles City    12    11    10    9    -    42

DILLON — Canin Christiansen 1 0-0 2, Braxtyn Turney 3 2-3 9, Noah Feenstra 3 0-0 7, Cohen Hartmen 2 2-2 6, Will Hansen 2 3-4 7, Paxton Puyear 1 0-0 3, Aason Munday 5 4-4 14, Gage Curnow 0 0-0 0. Totals 20 11-13 48. 

MILES CITY — Brennan Holmen 0 0-0 0, Kordt Smith 2 2-5 7, Rylin Gentry 4 0-0 10, Kolter Hoff 0 0-0 0, Braden Schneidt 0 0-0 0, Lute Vann 0 0-0 0, Cooper Nansel 6 0-0 13, Bridger Muri 6 0-0 12. Totals 22 2-5 42. 

3-point goals — Dillon 3 (Turney, Feenstra, Puyear), Miles City 4 (Gentry 2. Smith, Nansel). Fouls — Dillon 8, Miles City 12. Fouled out — none. 

Billings Central 71, Butte Central 45

Ryan Peoples tallied 17 points in the first half to keep the Maroons afloat, but Billings Central’s Darcy Merchant and Toby Stewart scored 20 apiece to rout Butte Central 71-45. 

After a narrow 29-28 lead at halftime, Merchant scored eight straight for Billings Central, starting an extended 23-2 run in the third period. Stewart sandwiched two triples between a layup, extending the Rams lead 52-30 midway through the third. 

Billings Central    16    13    29    13    -    71 

Butte Central        16    12    8    9    -    45

BILLINGS CENTRAL — Howie Martin 3 0-0 8, Cy Hansen 0 0-0 0, Praxton Prill 3 0-0 6, Grady Heaney 1 0-0 2, Darcy Merchant 7 5-6 20, Gunnar Larsen 2 0-0 4, Ethan Stergar 1 0-0 3, Toby Stewart 7 2-2 20, Will Snell 4 0-0 8. Totals 36 7-8 71  

BUTTE CENTRAL — Noah Sutton 1 0-0 2, Ryan Peoples 8 6-7 23, Cade Kelly 0 0-0 0, Joshua Sutton 6 2-2 16, GG Fantini 0 1-2 1, Jaxon Hiatt 1 0-0 3.Totals 20 9-11 45.  

3-point goals — Billings Central 8 (Stewart 4, Martin 2, Merchant, Stergar), Butte Central 4 (J. Sutton 2, Button, Peoples). Fouls — Billings Central 14, Butte Central 9. 

Frenchtown 62, Glendive 34

Griffin Smith led Frenchtown with 18 points and Cooper Michaud added 17, leading the Broncs past Glendive in the first round of the State A tournament. 

Ethan Rivas led Glendive with 15 points, making 7 of 17 shots from the field. The Red Devils shot just four free throws, making two of them. Both teams forced 16 turnovers. 

It was tight going into halftime, 21-17 Frenchtown led, but Michaud and Griffin swished two triples out of the break to help the Broncs outscore Glendive 21-6 in the third period, taking a commanding 43-23 lead. 

Frenchtown    11    10    21    20    -    62 

Glendive    10    7    6    11    -    34

FRENCHTOWN — Trevor Smith 4 1-4 11, Cooper Michaud 7 2-6 17, Konnor Klimpel 0 0-0 0, Brooks Day 1 0-0 3, Hendrix Wayne 0 0-0 0, Cole Pfahler 1 0-0 3, Brayden Ricci 2 0-0 4, Hank Smith 1 4-8 6, Henry Griffin 7 3-4 18. Totals 29 10-22 62. 

GLENDIVE — Jackson Tipton 0 0-0 0, Logan Stanhope 0 0-0 0, Jace Desaye 0 2-2 2, Easton Shriver 0 0-0 0, Ethan Rivas 7 0-0 15, Kyler Wergin 0 0-0 0, Isaac Eaton 3 0-0 7, Thayden Hatfield 3 0-0 6, Cy Easton 2 0-0 4. Totals 17 2-4 34. 

3-point goals — Frenchtown 6 (T. Smith 2, Michaud, Day, Pfahler, Griffin), Glendive 2 (Rivas, I.Eaton). Fouls — Frenchtown 4, Glendive 16. Fouled out — none.