Braves bully Bengals
Flathead’s Jason Russell goes up for the basket while Helena’s Drew Waltee defends during first-half action Saturday night in Kalispell. Flathead won 74-43 as four of its five starters reached double-figure scoring. Karen Nichols/Daily Inter Lake
This wasn't a basketball game, it was a rugby scrum. All that was missing were some teeth and a few pints of bitter.
Midway through the fourth quarter of an already heated game between Helena and Flathead, the Braves' Jason Russell and Helena's Matt Komac were tangled up and fighting for the ball. After the ref whistled a jump ball, the players rolled to the ground and Komac threw a punch at Russell. He received a technical foul and went to the bench, as the Flathead student section jeered the Bengals' senior co-captain.
"That was ridiculous," Flathead junior Geoff Hogan said of Komac, who was involved in an earlier altercation with the Braves' Jeremy DeHerrera. "He was out of control."
In the end, however, Hogan and the Braves got the last laugh, thumping the hapless Bengals 74-43 on Saturday in front of a delighted home crowd in Kalispell.
"We played a great game tonight," said Hogan, who finished with 12 points and a team-high eight rebounds. "We were hitting our outside shots and working the ball inside. Everything was working for us."
Early on, the Braves ran their bread-and-butter, high-low play with Hogan and freshman Brock Osweiler. On Saturday, though, they switched roles as Osweiler started at the top of the key and found Hogan in the paint on Flathead's first two possessions.
Later, it was Osweiler's turn in the paint as he nailed a reverse layup to put the Braves up 9-1. Less than a minute later, Beau Watkins (game-high 13 points) connected on the first of his two 3-pointers and the rout was on.
Flathead, which shot 24-for-55 (44 percent) from the field, led 19-9 after the opening quarter and 40-24 at halftime.
Osweiler finished with 12 points and six rebounds. Mack Andrews added 11 points for Flathead (7-1, 3-1 Western AA), which saw 11 of its 12 players score. DeHerrera was the only Braves starter not in double figures, but had nine points and four steals, and just as many floor burns.
"Jeremy gets us going on both ends of the floor," Flathead coach Fred Febach said. "Teams always look at Brock and Geoff, but we have other kids who can play."
DeHerrera was instrumental in his team's early run, keying a full-court press that forced 20-plus turnovers in the contest and led to the testy second half.
"We threw our press on them and shut them down," DeHerrera said. "They were so desperate for the ball, they started hacking us pretty hard."
"They're going to play like that, because they're not as talented as they were in the past," Febach said. "Our kids did a good job handling it. And our press did a great job; we didn't want to give them a chance to breathe."
Well, considering Helena had just one player in double figures - Brian Evans, who scored 10 points - it's safe to say the Bengals were sufficiently suffocated.
The Braves will stay in the Valley this week, playing at Columbia Falls on Tuesday, and hosting Whitefish on Thursday.
BRAVES 74, BENGALS 43
Helena 9 15 6 13 - 43
Flathead 19 21 17 17 - 74
Helena - Matt Komac 1 4-6 6, Reil Cornelius 2 2-4 6, Grant Fink 1 1-2 3, Brendan Moe 2 3-4 8, Steven Foster 2 1-1 5, Brian Evans 4 0-0 10, Drew Waltee 2 0-0 4, Matt Hustad 0 1-4 1. Totals: 14 12-21 43.
Flathead - Ryan Gregg 1 0-0 2, Beau Watkins 4 3-4 13, Gary Rivers 2 0-0 4, Mack Andrews 2 3-5 11, Jeremy DeHerrera 3 2-2 9, Burk Schaible 1 0-0 2, Jason Russell 0 1-2 1, Richard Boggs 1 2-4 4, Geoff Hogan 4 4-4 12, Brad Huff 1 2-2 4. Totals: 23 21-27 74.
3-point goals: Helena 3 (Evans 2, Moe), Flathead 5 (Watkins 2, Andrews 2, DeHerrera). Total fouls: Helena 24, Flathead 18. Technical fouls: Komac. Fouled out: Hustad.