ANACONDA — Butte Central’s boys’ and girls’ basketball teams opened 2026 with a road sweep of a longtime rival Thursday night at Memorial Gym.

Butte Central’s girls’ opened the doubleheader with a 37-22 win over Anaconda. The Maroon boys closed out the night with a 55-49 victory over the Copperheads in the night cap.

The Maroons open Southwestern A play Saturday against Stevensville. The girls will play at the Maroon Activities Center, while the boys will hit the road. Both games are set to start at 3 p.m.

BOYS
Butte Central 55, Anaconda 49
Joshua Sutton and Ryan Peoples combined to score 37 points to lead the Maroons to victory.

Both sank three 3-pointer son the night. Sutton finished with 19 points, and Peoples tossed in 18.

The Maroons led 19-13 after the first quarter and took a 28-23 lead into halftime. Central led 40-34 after three quarters.

Jaxon Hiatt added five points for the Maroons, who got four apiece from GG Fantini and Burkley Lakkala, three from Noah Sutton and two from Cade Kelly.

Travis Dye had a big night, scoring 21 points to lead the Copperheads. He connected on five shots from 3-point range.

Brody Galle added 10 points for Anaconda. Shane Schalk scored seven, while Jesse Jones tossed in five, Kyson Patrick netted four, and Carson Lacey scored two.

BUTTE CENTRAL (5-1) — Ryan Peoples 6 3-6 18, Cade Kelly 1 0-0 2, Joshua Sutton 6 404 19, GG Fantini 2 0-0 4, Jaxon Hiatt 1 3-3 5, Noah Sutton 1 0-0 3, Henly Mansanti 0 0-0 0, Burkley Lakkala 1 2-3 4. Totals 18 12-19 55.
ANACONDA (5-2) — Jesse Jones 2 1-2 5, Shane Schalk 3 1-3 7, Brody Galle 3 2-6 10, Teague Cromwell 0 0-0 0, Carson Lacey 1 0-0 2, Travis Dye 6 5-5 21, Treyton Patrick 0 0-0 0, Kyson Patrick 1 2-3 4. Totals 16 10-20 49.
Butte Central             19        9          12        15 — 55
Anaconda                   13        10        11        14 — 49
3-point goals — BC 7 (Peoples 3, J. Sutton 3, N. Sutton), 7 (Dye 5, Galle 2). Fouls — BC 20, Anaconda 19. Fouled out — none.

GIRLS
Butte Central 37, Anaconda 22
Jordyn Samson made the most of her first trip to the Snake Pit with the Maroons.

The eighth grader sank three 3-pointers and matched teammate Zayonna Otherbull with 12 points to lead the Maroons to the victory.

Central outscored the Copperheads 12-2 in the first quarter and led the rest of the way. BC led 17-12 at the half and 26-16 after three quarters.

Rylee Forbes and Arika Stajcar each added four points for the Maroons. Braelynn Schelin and Luci Fanti scored two apiece, and Jaedyn Maldonado tossed in one.

Jade Moses scored eight points to lead the Copperheads. Averie Sandoval added seven points for Anaconda, which also go four from Jasmine Johnson, two from Addi Case and one from Addi Olson.

BUTTE CENTRAL (2-4) — Jordyn Samson 4 1-2 12, Evyn Smith 0 0-2 0, Zayonna Otherbull 5 2-5 12, Rylee Forbes 1 2-2 4, Braelynn Schelin 2 0-2 2, Jaedyn Maldonado 0 1-6 1, Luci Fantini 1 0-0 2, Arika Stajcar 2 0-0 4. Totals 14 6-19 37.
ANACONDA (1-6) — Jade Moses 3 2-4 8, Addi Case 1 0-0 2, Addi Jovanovich 0 0-0 0, Addi Olson 0 1-4 1, Quincy Saltenberger 0 0-0 0, Jasmine Johnson 1 2-4 4, Averie Sandoval 2 3-4 7, Meika Boyer 0 0-0 0. Totals 7 8-18 22.
Central           12        5          9          11 — 37
Anaconda       2          10        4          6 — 22
3-point goals — BC 3 (Samson 3), Anaconda 0.Fouls — BC 20, Anaconda 18. Fouled out — Jovanovich.