MISSOULA — The Missoula Loyola boys basketball team will indeed have a chance to play for the State B championship trophy in its hometown.

The Rams (24-1) reached the title game by scoring an 82-70 win over Malta (21-4) in the first semifinal Friday afternoon at Robin Selvig Court inside Dahlberg Arena on the campus of the University of Montana.

They’re now one win away from fulfilling the ultimate ending that was imagined as a possibility when the sites of the 2025 state tournaments were announced in April 2023, about one month after the team of talented sophomores won the school’s first state championship by beating Malta in Great Falls.

“We knew since our sophomore year that state was going to be here our senior year, so I’m looking forward to it,” Loyola senior Reynolds Johnston said. “If we can win, it’s something special. We just got to stay confident. We got to be the predators, not the prey. Don’t take anything for granted and stay locked in.”

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That group is now veteran seniors who have the Rams on the doorstep of winning their third consecutive state crown before some of them go on to play in college. Loyola is in the title game for the sixth time in program history and will try to join Lodge Grass (1988-90) as the only Class B teams to win three championships in a row.

“It’s been unreal,” Loyola coach Scott Anderson said. “These kids just figure it out and they’re used to it. They work real hard in the offseason. I don’t know how much coaching is involved. Things are tight out there and they’re still having fun. These kids just don’t panic. So, I feel like we got a shot tomorrow.”

To carve their place in history, the Rams will have to go through Lodge Grass (22-2), which tallied a 72-61 win over Harlem (13-13) in the second semifinal. The championship game tips off at 6:30 p.m. Saturday.

Lodge Grass is in the chipper for the 12th time in program history and the first time since 2021. It has won six outright titles, most recently in 2021, and was co-champs in the pandemic-shortened 2020 tournament.

Three Forks and Glasgow extended their seasons Friday morning with wins in loser-out action. The Wolves and Scotties will shoot for a spot in the consolation championship in loser-out games at 9 a.m. Saturday. Three Forks will face Harlem and Glasgow will battle Malta.

Missoula Loyola 82, Malta 70, semifinal

The first semifinal produced a championship game-level atmosphere with tense action and dueling student sections, and for good reason. Malta was widely believed to be Loyola’s toughest competition at the tournament, and it took a 12-0 run to open the final quarter for Loyola to pull away after leading by five.

“It’s just kill time,” Johnston said of the mindset in the final eight minutes. “You got to play with no fear. They’re going to hit big shots, but we just got to stay solid and keep playing good defense, keep working, keep believing.”

Johnston, the defending Montana Gatorade player of the year who will be going to play at College of Idaho, scored 16 of his team-high 28 points after halftime. He had received “overrated” chants from the Malta student section while shooting free throws in the first quarter, only to hush them multiple times by putting a finger in front of his mouth following made baskets.

“Rey, he kind of took over,” Anderson said. “We were trying to get the ball low and then they double teamed on him. He does a great job of passing up, but he’s also such a monster. We always find a way. We’ve been doing it for three years, and they found a way.”

Loyola senior Ethan Stack, who will play in college at Montana Tech, scored 17 of his 25 points in the first half, draining a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from about 40 feet away on the mid-court logo to give the Rams a 23-21 lead after a back-and-forth first quarter.

Vincent Lincoln made its three Loyola scorers in double figures as he chipped in 14 points, 11 of which came in the first half.

Malta’s Bohdi Brenden scored 17 of his 22 points in the second half, shooting 6 of 13 on 3-pointers as the Mustangs finished 16 of 37. He hit three triples during a 12-3 close to the third period as Malta pulled within 60-55 after Loyola had its largest lead up to that point at 57-43.

“They’re just so good,” Malta coach David Costin said of Loyola. “Their defenses, they switch them up on you and pressure you. Their length and size and quickness, intelligence, they got it all.

“Coming in, we knew we had to shoot the 3-ball well. We shoot it pretty well for the year and a little better tonight than normal. But I think our defense wasn’t disciplined enough. We gave up too many easy baskets.”

Malta’s Stockton Oxarart scored 13 of his 16 points in the first half and shot 4 of 9 from deep, including 3 of 5 before halftime as the Mustangs stayed within striking distance by trailing 42-37 at the intermission.

Treyton Wilke scored 11 points to give Malta three double-digit scorers.

Lodge Grass 72, Harlem 61, semifinal

Lodge Grass closed the game on a 15-7 run after its nine-point lead to begin the fourth quarter was trimmed to three points midway through the final frame. Being in tight games late was new territory for the Indians.

TJ Gros Ventre led Lodge Grass with 24 points on 8-of-20 shooting. He knocked down 5 of his 12 3-point attempts, including a corner triple that put the Indians up 63-56 and proved to be the game-winning basket.

JJ Bends poured in 22 points on 8-of-17 shooting for Lodge Grass.

Harlem’s Cody McCabe and Lance Morgan scored 20 points apiece while Tayden Colliflower added 10. Morgan’s fast break dunk had pulled Harlem within 57-54 of Lodge Grass after it came into the fourth quarter trailing 55-46.

Glasgow 69, Thompson Falls 50, loser out

The Blue Hawks were still within striking distance at halftime, trailing by seven points. Glasgow (18-8) pulled away with a 19-12 surge in the third period.

The Scotties dominated the boards with a 39-24 advantage. Cade Hudyma pulled down 12 rebounds to go along with his 30 points on 11-for-15 shooting from the floor and an 8-for-9 effort at the foul line.

Myles Yoakam and Wyatt Babb chipped in 15 points apiece for the Scotties. Grad Nielsen grabbed nine rebounds, all coming on the defensive end.

Kaiden Robins led the Blue Hawks (19-6) with 13 points. Bryson LeCoure added 11 points and a team-high four assists.

Glasgow shot a sizzling 61 percent from the floor (25 for 41). Thompson Falls shot 30.2 percent (19 for 63).

Three Forks 60, Manhattan 58, loser out

The Tigers took an eight-point lead into the fourth quarter but couldn’t hold on. The Wolves finished with a 19-8 surge in the final 10 minutes, hitting 5 of 8 shots from the floor, including 2 of 4 from 3-point land.

Aaron DeFrance had a big game for Three Forks, collecting 24 points on 10-for-13 shooting from the floor and a 2-for-2 effort from the foul line. Teammates Hunter Feddes and Drydan Frisinger added nine points apiece and Dylan Swenson had eight points.

Sam Stewart paced the Tigers with 23 points, hitting 10 of 12 shots from the floor. Chance Fenno chipped in with 14 points.

Manhattan (12-10) had 12 turnovers to three for Three Forks (22-4). The Tigers dominated the boards, 26-14, with Kaysen Konkol collecting seven rebounds for Manhattan. 

This story will be updated.