BILLINGS, Mo. -- Billings and Spokane, two of the top teams in the Southwest Central League the past few years, met up on Tuesday night at Billings as the host Wildcats took down the visitors from Spokane 81-63.
Billings played with a certain sense of determination, as the Wildcats were coming off a 1-2 performance in the Nixa Invitational this past weekend and were looking to get back on track. Billings and Spokane played a fairly even first quarter, as Spokane’s Hunter Bishop helped keep Spokane within six points as Billings took a 19-13 lead after the first eight minutes. Billings would round into form in the second quarter, however, as Kaleb Harter and Brady Chastain helped Billings outscore Spokane 17-9 in the second quarter and the Wildcats took a 36-22 lead into halftime.
The Spokane Owls only trailed by 14 going into the third quarter, and were thus very much in the ballgame. However, Billings took off offensively as Chad Yeokum and the rest of the Wildcats outscored Spokane 26-11 in the third quarter to take a commanding 62-33 lead in the Southwest Central League showdown.
Spokane came alive somewhat in the fourth quarter, as Collin Ault and Eric Bowman heated up from the field. Spokane finished the game strong and outscored Billings 30-19 in the fourth quarter, yet it was not enough as Billings coasted to the 81-63 victory.
Kaleb Harter led the Billings Wildcats with 23 points and even added a breakaway slam dunk which brought the hometown fans to their feet. Chad Yeokum added 16 points for Billings, and Brady Chastain scored 13.
For Spokane, Hunter Bishop led the Owls with 17 points, and Collin Ault also scored 17 points with a strong fourth quarter. Guard Eric Bowman added 16 for the Owls in the loss.
