HELENA — It's not easy to thrive under pressure but in a one-game playoff to reach the Class AA state tournament, the Capital boys basketball team did just that.

Against the Missoula Big Sky Eagles, a team the Bruins beat by just a single point last week, Capital built a lead as large as 22 points on its way to a 55-38 win and a second consecutive berth in the Class AA state basketball tournament.

"I'm super happy for our kids," Capital head coach Guy Almquist said. "As a coach, you want your kids to have a great experience and part of that is playing in a tournament. We obviously don't have a divisional tournament, so the only way is to make the state tournament and there was a lot of pressure on this game. I thought we came out and let it rip."

Brenton Belzer certainly did. Facing the prospect of Thursday's game inside the Bears Den (in Helena) being his last as a high school player, the senior came out firing, connecting on two 3-pointers that ignited a 21-3 Capital run that turned a 5-2 Big Sky advantage into a 23-8 Bruins lead.

"Our coaches told us these are the games where you have to let it rip and play with the most confidence," Belzer said. "We put a lot of time into our preparation so there weren't any nerves before the game."

"We talked a lot about getting off to a great start," Almquist said. "We don't press a lot but we pressed. I thought it was important to get nervous energy out. You aren't nervous if you are prepared but you are anxious. If you don't have that in you, you aren't human and I thought we played with a lot of confidence."

Much of that confidence stemmed from their effort on defensive end of the floor. The Bruins held Big Sky to 14 points in the first half and just 0.56 points-per-possession, an effort that included just one 2-point field goal.

While the Eagles were just 1-of-6 inside the arc in the first half, Capital attacked relentlessly, making 11-of-15 2-point attempts as the Bruins built an 18-point half-time lead.

"We didn't settle for too many 3s," Almquist said. "I think that's a big mistake in these games and our points in the paint were probably higher than usual."

The final tally of points in the paint were 18 for Capital and two for Big Sky. The Eagles made eight 3-pointers but shot just 36 percent overall. CHS, on the other hand, shot 57 percent from the field and rebounded 47 percent of their misses for good measure.

In terms of points off turnovers and second-chance points, the Bruins had a 21-7 advantage which was too much for the Eagles to overcome.

Belzer scored eight points in the first half for CHS and finished with 10, but the game-high went to sophomore Drew Almquist who had 13, including a late 3-pointer that put the win on ice. Dylan Alqmuist and Landon Levang added seven. Merek Mihelish, Brett Buehler and Conor Toivonen each had six.

"It's a great feeling," Dylan Almquist said. "This is what you work for all year. You hope to get an opportunity to play in a game like this to get to state. That's the main goal and then you just have to let it rip."

It was a common theme for the Bruins and Drew Almquist was another Bruin who did.

"Drew is getting confidence," Coach Almquist said. "He doesn't play as much basketball as some of the other guys but over the course of the season, he's come on. Over the last 2-3 weeks, he's been scoring the ball and rebounding, being aggressive in the paint. Him coming along in this past month has really helped out the team."

Isaiah Reed was the high scorer for Big Sky with 10. Eli Kasberg added seven for the Eagles who scored 25 in the second half compared to 24 for CHS.

Big Sky's run was too little too late and even with eight triples, they only averaged 0.84 points per possession.

"We made a few adjustments (defensively) and the kids really bought into it," Coach Almquist said. "They understood this is how you win postseason games. You have to defend."

The Bruins finished the game with 29 defensive stops compared to 18 for their opponent on their way to punching their ticket to the Class AA state tournament where they will open with Billings Skyview at 9 a.m. next Thursday at the Brick Breeden Fieldhouse in Bozeman. 

"It's been special," Dylan Almquist said. "But we're not finished yet. We have more we plan to accomplish and just have to work hard next week, whatever happens."