SPORTS

Prep Basketball: Billings West cruises past CMR Rustlers

Scott Mansch
smansch@greatfallstribune.com

Kelly Darragh’s former team honored him before the game.

Then his current one did the same with their play.

Kameron Rauch poured in 25 points and the Billings West Bears cruised past the C.M. Russell High Rustlers 74-45 Friday night in an Eastern AA boys’ basketball game.

On a team of highly recruited athletes coached by Darragh, the former CMR star, Rauch is not the most frequent headline-maker.

But he was Friday before about 500 fans at Paris Gibson Education Center.

“A lot of people don’t know about Rauch,” Darragh said of the 6-5 senior. “He’s probably one of the most versatile players in the state, can play inside and out. He usually doesn’t even start for us.”

But that doesn’t mean the Bears don’t count on the slender leaper, who was one of many West stars playing above the rim this night.

“He could start for us, or anybody in the state,” Darragh said. “But it’s a huge lift for us to have him come off the bench. We can sub him in for center or point guard and anything in between.”

West improved to 9-2 in league play and 17-2 overall. University of Montana recruit Jared Samuelson, a 6-foot-6 star, scored 13 points and 6-8 Dan Betcher, who is committed to Rocky Mountain, scored 9.

But it was Rauch who impressed the most as the tall, talented Bears won in impressive fashion. West outscored the outmanned Rustlers 24-10 in the second quarter and continued to pour it on in the second half.

“We’ve got some good athletes and we got after it,” said Darragh. “It was nice to see us close out a game, because we’ve had some trouble with that.”

The Bears led by as many as 35 points in the fourth quarter.

Darragh was honored before the game as being a member of the all-time CMR boys’ basketball team. He and former Russell head coach Mike McLean, who was also honored, received warm receptions from the crowd.

“It’s always fun to come back to Great Falls,” said Darragh, a 1995 CMR graduate in his first season as West’s head coach after a dozen years as an assistant. “Different seat, but it still feels the same.”

The Bears took control early in the second quarter with an 8-1 run. West tallied the last 13 points of the first half en route to a 38-18 halftime bulge.

The rout was on.

Veteran C.M. Russell High coach John Cislo said he got after his squad a bit at halftime about competing better, and the Rustlers did just that.

“I’ve known Kelly since he was playing here at CMR and was glad he got the job,” Cislo said. “He’s got a nice team: big, strong and physical.”

The Rustlers got 10 points from junior guard Karl Tucker II. Starting guard Andrew Grinde, the Russell football superstar, didn’t play because of sore knees.

“West has a big, tough physical team and they’re tough to compete against,” said Cislo, whose team is back at Paris Gibson Saturday afternoon at 4:30 to take on Billings Senior. “But we’ve got to do a better job of competing. We did that much better at the end.”