Powder Valley tops Butte Falls

The Badgers earned that right after edging Butte Falls 63-62 Saturday at Butte Falls in the second round of the Class 1A playoffs.

“It was a close game,” said Powder coach Kyle Dixon. “We were lucky to get out of there with a win.”

Powder Valley built a 21-11 lead after one period, and led 36-24 at halftime.

Then, Butte Falls rallied to make things interesting.

“They hit a couple of big threes, their crowd got going, and they got their momentum going,” Dixon said. “And we missed a couple of shots.”

Powder still led 63-62 with four seconds left. Butt Falls got one final shot away. The shot was off the mark and Trenton Dixon grabbed the rebound to end the game.

Dixon led Powder with 25 points. Bryson Kandle added 13, and Peter Colton 10.

Hardy Casillas led Butte Falls with 28 points.

Powder opens the state tournament Thursday at 6:30 p.m. against Columbia Christian, a team the Badgers defeated 57-45 in the opening round a year ago.

Powder Valley    21    15    13    14    — 63

Butte Falls    11    13    18    20    — 62

Powder Valley (63) — Dixon 11 2-4 25, B. Kandle 5 0-0 13, G. Kandle 2 0-0 5, Allen 1 2-6 4, Colton 5 0-0 10, Akers 1 0-0 2, Benites 2 0-0 4, Reed. Totals 27 4-10 63.

Butte Falls (62) — Casillas 9 6-11 28, Gower 4 0-1 11, Adams 3 1-2 7, McGonagle 2 1-2 6, Dunham 2 0-0 4, Weaver 2 2-2 6. Totals 22 10-18 62.

Three-point goals — Dixon, B. Kandle 3, G. Kandle, Casillas 4, Gower 3, McGonagle.