By Bruce Sayler
The chill that enveloped Butte Thursday crashed its way into the Ross J. Richardson Memorial Gym at Butte High School, too.
At least, it put a freeze on Butte High efforts and interests. Missoula Hellgate might have had a little bit to do with the Bulldogs’ woes, too, as the Knights handed them their first loss, 50-38, in their home arena this season.
“We weren’t very good, tonight,” dejected Butte High head coach Matt Luedtke said afterwards. “I’m disappointed. We need to do a better job as a coaching staff to get our guys better.”
Hellgate sported a big, deep, athletic lineup and seemed to be able to just keep pulling more and more threats and strength off the bench. The Knights dominated on the boards and used the free throw line to their advantage.
Montana Tech-bound Zane Gillhouse, a 6-foot-5 senior, scored 17 points and grabbed five rebounds to front the win while 6-3 senior Spencer Wayland notched 14 points and eight rebounds. The gaping 39-23 advantage in rebounds for Hellgate also featured 6-3 senior Evan Pyron with nine caroms and 6-7 sophomore Liam Dick with seven, to go with two shot-blocks. Vince Paffhausen came off the bench to dole out three assists and grab three steals. Dick and Paffhausen both come from Butte ancestry.
“It was a weird energy for us tonight,” Luedtke said. “We need more guys to step up and we were not very aggressive tonight on the offensive glass.”
Hellgate also limited Butte High star Hudson Luedtke’s touches and shots, holding him to seven points for the game. Cayde Stajcar led the team with 13 points and yanked down a team-high nine rebounds in a strong effort. Rhett Arntson came off the bench to fire in three 3-point baskets on the way to 11 points.
After gaining a 24-17 halftime edge, Hellgate was successful in keeping Butte High off the foul line. The Bulldogs made just one free throw out of only six they were awarded for the game. They went to the line just once in the second half. A 10-for-15 performance at the charity stripe was enough for the Knights to widen some margin and stifle the home team.
“We’ve just got to do better,” coach Luedtke said. “For us to score only 38 points? Hat’s off to (the Knights).
“We need to work on getting the ball more to Hudson and we’ve got to make shots. This is two or three games in a row we’ve been lackluster.”
Hellgate led all the way. Gillhouse drained a 3-pointer 23 seconds into the games and sparked the Knights to a 13-8 first-quarter advantage. They rattled off the first six points of the second frame and, by halftime, owned the 24-17 difference.
Intermission did nothing to warm the Bulldogs’ touches. A Wayland basket off a pass from Pyron gave Hellgate a double-digit lead, 30-20, with 2:11 to go in the third quarter. Gillhouse opened the second half with a bucket and then the teams went scoreless for nearly five minutes as physical defense kept the offenses off-balance.
The margin was maintained through the final quarter.
Luedtke was able to dish nine assists against a fierce defense meant to prevent the state’s leading scorer in Class AA from shooting. He also gathered seven rebounds. Brady Hanson wound up with four points, three blocks and four rebounds. Mitch Verlanic nailed a 3-pointer. Josh Liston, Kendel Noctor, James Pearston and Brady Walsh also played.
The loss dropped the Bulldogs to 8-2 for the season, 3-2 in conference play. They are to play at Missoula Big Sky on Tuesday. Hellgate improved to 7-2 overall, 4-1 in the Western AA.
MISSOULA HELLGATE (7-2, 4-1) – Liam Dick 0-4 3-4 3, Sam Cohea 0-0 0-0 0, Zane Gillhouse 8-14 0-0 17, Spencer Wayland 6-15 0-0 14, Evan Pyron 1-4 2-2 4, Vince Paffhausen 1-4 1-2 3, JT Klimkiewicz 0-1 -0-0 0, Parker Link 2-8 4-7 0, Will Petrino 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 18-50 10-15 50.
BUTTE HIGH (8-2, 3-2) – Cayde Stajcar 6-10 1-4 13, Hudson Luedtke 3-10 0-0 7, Mitch Verlanic 1-5 0-0 3, Josh Liston 0-4 0-0 0, Brady Hanson 2-5 0-0 4, Rhett Arntson 4-10 0-2 11, Kendel Noctor 0-1 0-0 0, James Pearston 0-0 0-0 0, Brady Walsh 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 16-47 1-6 38.
Hellgate 13 11 10 16 – 50
Butte High 8 9 5 16 – 38
3-point goals – Hellgate 4-13 (Dick 0-2, Gillhouse 1-1, Wayland 2-5, Paffhausen 0-1, Klimkiewicz 0-1, Link 1-3), Butte High 5-23 (Luedtke 1-5, Verlanic 1-6, Liston 0-4, Hanson 0-1, Arntson 3-7). Fouled out – Pyron, Verlanic. Total fouls – Hellgate 18, Butte High 13. Technicals – none. Rebounds – Hellgate 39 (Pyron 9, Wayland 8, Dick 7), Butte High 23 (Stajcar 9, Luedtke 7). Blocks – Hellgate 2 (Dick 2), Butte High 4 (Hanson 2). Assists – Hellgate 9 (Pyron 3, Paffhausen 3), Butte High 13 (Luedtke 9). Steals – Hellgate 5 (Paffhausen 3), Butte High 4 (Stajcar 2). Turnovers – Hellgate 10, Butte High 9.
