Buzzer-beater completes Butte's sweep of Flathead

A bolstering Western AA league basketball win was there for Flathead High’s taking Friday, but the Butte Bulldogs took it instead.

The Bulldogs got an offensive put-back at the buzzer – basically a stolen rebound – from Jake Olson to beat the Braves 57-55 on their court.

The win capped a sweep for the Bulldogs, who also won the girls’ matchup with Flathead 67-39 earlier. The nightcap was in doubt, though, until the very end.

That’s where Olson, who scored 14 of his 22 points in the third quarter, haunted Flathead.

First he took a disputed charge from Gabe Adams – the fifth personal for Flathead’s starting big man – with 14.7 seconds left.

Then he corralled a missed shot by teammate Tommy Mellott. His put-back nestled into net as the buzzer sounded.

“We just have to make some plays at the end,” said Flathead coach Ross Gustafson, whose club fell to 1-6, 1-3 in league games. “I think down the stretch Butte made than we did.

We made some, but Butte made one or two more.”

Flathead, riding 10 first-quarter points from Joston Cripe, shot out to a 19-9 lead and was up 24-12 after two Brian Wells’ free throws at 6:06 of the second quarter.

Butte (3-4, 2-2 in league) worked back behind 3-pointers from Cael Stenson and Andrew Booth.

The Bulldogs trailed 35-29 at halftime – Flathead’s Hunter Hickey hit three free throws just before intermission – and then surged in the fourth. Enter Olson, who drew a third foul from Adams and went to work.

“We didn’t have our big guy in and again, we’re going to more inexperienced guys,” Gustafson said. “And Olson kind of ate them up a little bit. They found him – they were looking for him and they found him.”

His left-handed shot from the low block but Butte up 45-40 late in the third. But he didn’t score in the fourth until the final buzzer.

Adams had a put-back to give Flathead a 53-49 lead, and the Braves were on the verge of going up 57-53 with a wide-open layup. It drew too much flange, and Olson found Mellott for a game-tying layup with 30 seconds left.

Then came the charge, and the heartbreak.

“We just need to be a little bit better,” Gustafson said of his team, which got 16 points from Cripe and 14 from Adams.

Blake Drakos added 20 for the Bulldogs, who are at Glacier Saturday for another double header. The boys tip off first, at 1 p.m.

Flathead’s next action is a Tuesday non-league 7:30 p.m home game against Columbia Falls.

Butte 9 20 18 10 — 57

Flathead 19 16 10 8 — 55

BUTTE (3-4, 2-2) – Cael Stenson 2 0-0 5, Blake Drakos 7 2-2 20, Jake Olson 8 6-6 22, Tommy Mellott 2 1-2 5, Andrew Booth 1 0-0 3, Mikey O’Dell 1 0-0 2, Kenley Leary 0 0-0 0, Ryan Burt 0 0-0 0, Dillon Ferry 0 0-0 0. Totals 21 9-10 57. 3-point goals 6 (Drakos 4, Stenson, Booth). Fouls 13. Rebounds 36 (Mellott 7, Stenson 7, Olson 7). Steals 1 (Drakos). Turnovers 13.

FLATHEAD (1-6, 1-3) – Joston Cripe 6 0-1 16, Cooper Smith 3 0-0 6, Gabe Adams 6 2-2 14, Hunter Hickey 3 3-3 9,Tannen Beyl 3 0-0 8, Ethan Vandenbosch 0 0-0 0, Brian Wells 0 3-4 3, Gatlin Bruner 0 0-0 0, Ezra Epperly 0 0-0 0, Max Anderson 0 0-0 0. Totals 21 7-9 55. 3-point goals 6 (Cripe 4, Beyl 2). Fouls 14. Fouled out – Adams. Rebounds 25 (Adams 6). Steals 8 (Cripe 4). Turnovers 8.

Girls

Butte 67, Flathead 39

The game got away from the Bravettes (2-5, 1-3 in league) in the second quarter, when Butte put together an 18-2 run.

McKenna Carpenter, who was 5-for-8 from 3-point range and had 20 points, started the run with a three. Brooke McGrath’s basket at the 2:30 mark made it 36-14.

Flathead had trouble with Butte’s full-court pressure: 17 turnovers by halftime and 27 total.

“They’re a really strong defensive team but it’s kind of like Tuesday (a 49-25 loss to Missoula Hellgate) – you can’t start off the game with double-digit turnovers,” Flathead coach Tricia Dean said. “You’re not going to get enough looks at the basket.”

MacKenzie Tutty added 14 points for Butte (4-3, 2-2). Kennedy Kanter, Akilah Kubi and Clare Converse had seven points each for the Bravettes, who next play Tuesday at Columbia Falls at 6 p.m.

Butte 21 17 8 21 — 67

Flathead 12 6 8 13 — 39

BUTTE (4-3, 2-2) – Haley Harron 4 1-2 11, Trisha Ericson 3 1-3 8, Makenna Carpenter 7 1-2 20, Grace McGrath 0 0-0 0, MacKenzie Tutty 3 6-10 14, McCaul McCarthy 2 0-1 4, Kodie Hoagland 1 0-2 3, Tylar Clary 0 2-2 2, Maddy Skeel 0 0-0 0, Brooke McGrath 0 2-2 2, Maddie Rhodes 0 0-0 0, Ashley Olson 1 0-0 3. Totals 21 13-24 67. 3-ponit goals 9 (Carpenter 5, Herron 2, Hoagland, Olson). Fouls 18. Rebounds 27 (Carpenter 4). Steals 16 (Tutty 6). Turnovers 11.

FLATHEAD (2-5, 1-3) – Clare Converse 3 1-2 7, Jenna Johnson 2 1-3 6, Akilah Kubi 3 1-2 7, Kennedy Kanter 2 3-4 7, Emily Lembke 1 0-0 2, Myah Attard 2 0-0 4, Maddy Moy 1 0-0 2, Molly Winters 0 0-0 0, Kuyra Siegel 1 0-0 2, Bridget Crowley 0 2-2 2. Totals 15 8-13 39. 3-point goals 1 (Johnson). Fouls 15. Rebounds 43 (Kubi 7). Steals 5 (Kubi 3). Turnovers 27.