Eagles hold off second half charge to beat Broadview-Lavina in state opener

The Eagles had led by as much as 21 in the late in the third quarter and then hung on in the fourth for a 54-45 victory in First Interstate Arena at MetraPark.

“Broadview did some great things for sure down the stretch,” Amunrud, who scored a game-high 20 points and grabbed six rebounds, said. “We had built up a pretty good lead, but they came back and so it was just about staying together as a team and trying to take good shots and limit their opportunities. But they played real well. It took everybody to get through that one.”

Christian (24-1), the defending state champion, advanced to the semifinals and will play Belt at 6 p.m. Friday. The Huskies (23-2) defeated Fairview, 53-43, in other first round action.

“Everybody here is good,” Eagles head coach Layne Glaus said. “They’re talented, tough and disciplined and it will be fun to watch and see what happens.”

The Eagles got off to a slow start but closed out the first quarter on an 8-0 run. That includes a 3 by Triemstra that beat the quarter buzzer.

An 18-3 run between the second and third quarters appeared to break the game open as Christian stretched an 11-point lead at halftime to 21 with 2:16 left in the third. But the Pirates rallied behind the effort of Kade Erickson, who scored all 12 of his points after the Eagles had made it 38-17.

“Defensively we weren’t protecting the ball and we struggle when we do that,” said Glaus. “A little undisciplined defensively. That was part of it and couldn’t hit shots, got to make shots.”

At times the Eagles struggled to get to the hoop, finish or even draw a foul. And Broadview-Lavina got a boost when Landon Drew banked in a 3 to end the third quarter to trim the deficit to 41-28.

Erickson scored nine points in the fourth to draw the Pirates within eight, 48-40. But Amunrud scored the final six points for Christian, including a putback with 1:34 remaining to stretch the lead back to double figures, 50-40.

The Pirates (21-5) got as close as 50-45 on a bucket by Erickson.

“When you’re not shooting well from three-point land you got to put your mind on getting to the hoop and we did do a great job of that down the stretch,” said Glaus.

Triemstra was the only other Eagle in double figures with 14 points, while Tebarek Hill had six.

“It’s good to be in those tight games,” said Glaus. “It will be a good one for us to watch and learn from it as we go into tomorrow’s game.”

William Sanguins finished with a double-double for Broadview-Lavina (14 points and 15 rebounds), while Connor Glennie had 11 points and six boards. The Pirates play Fairview in a loser-out game at 9:30 a.m. Friday.

“They played really well and hopefully that’ll get us ready for tomorrow because whoever we play tomorrow will be a great team for sure,” said Amunrud.

State C Tournament

(at First Interstate Arena, Billings)

Thursday’s scores

Manhattan Christian 54, Broadview-Lavina 45

Belt 53, Fairview 43

Broadus 66, Lone Peak 38

Big Sandy 60, Lustre Christian 47

Boxscore

Manhattan Christian 54, Broadview-Lavina 45

Christian 13 13 15 13 - 54

Broadview 8 7 13 17 - 45

MANHATTAN CHRISTIAN (24-1) – Mason Venema 1 1-2 3, Jack Scott 0 0-0 0, Tebarek Hill 2 1-2 6, Rance Hamilton 1 0-1 2, Nathan Adams 2 0-0 4, Christian Triemstra 5 0-0 14, Austin Kriebel 2 0-2 5, Seth Amunrud 7 6-6 20. Totals: 20 8-13 54.

BROADVIEW-LAVINA (21-5) – Kade Erickson 4 4-5 12, Cooner Glennie 4 2-4 11, Landen Drew 2 0-0 5, Jace Jansen 0 0-0 0, Carter Erickson 0 0-0 0, William Sanguins 6 2-2 14, Hank Tuszynski 1 0-0 3. Totals: 17 8-11 45.

3-point goals: MC 6 (Triemstra 4, Venema 1, Kriebel 1), B-L 3 (Glennie 1, Drew 1, Tuszynski 1).