BILLINGS — The Billings West boys basketball team is in the win column in Eastern AA play.
The Golden Bears held off a Billings Skyview fourth-quarter rally to hand the Falcons their first loss in conference play, 60-59. It was West's first Eastern AA win of the season, as the Bears improve to 1-3 in league play.
Skyview grabbed a 28-26 lead at halftime, but West played lights-out defense in the third quarter to take a 41-35 lead into the final quarter. West's lead grew to as many as 10, 49-39, before the Falcons began to mount a comeback.
On multiple occassions, Skyview pulled within four points in the final quarter. The Falcons trailed 58-56, but Sam Phillips hit two free throws to essentially ice the game. A Skyview 3-pointer fell through with less than five seconds to play as the Bears were able to let the clock run out without inbounding the ball.
Skyview is back in action on Thursday at Billings Senior, while West will play Friday against Belgrade.
