Bagnell hits key shots to lift Polson

Kyle Bagnell delivered when needed and Polson survived a rough performance at the free throw line Thursday to hold off pesky Bigfork 50-43 in first-round play of the Northwestern A boys divisional basketball tournament at Glacier High School.

Bagnell, who led all scorers with 17 points, scored six-straight points during a key stretch in the fourth quarter to keep the Pirates, 10-9 overall, in position for the victory.

"He hit some real crucial shots for us," Polson coach Karl Tait said.

"He had a big game."

Bagnell turned a steal into an easy layup to extend Polson's lead to five points with 6:30 to play.

The 6-foot-1 sophomore guard/forward then answered back-to-back scores by Bigfork with a pull up jumper, which he banked off the glass, and another athletic jumper. That kept Polson in front 42-37 with 3:48 remaining.

Waylon Michel swished a jumper 30 seconds later, extending Polson's advantage to 44-37. Michel finished with 12 points.

Bigfork, 3-16, managed to close within four, 46-42 on a trey by Zach Hansen, with 42 seconds remaining, but that was as close as the Vikings would get.

Polson could have put the game away in the final 1:43, but went 6-for-13 from the free throw line. The Pirates missed the front end of the bonus twice, and went 0-for-2 on two trips to the line.

Polson and Bigfork split during the regular season and Tait expected another low-scoring battle to be decided in the paint.

"They outrebounded us 57-18 the last time we played them," he said.

"That was our focus - to make sure it didn't happen again. That was a big difference (in this game)."

Bigfork outrebounded Polson, by only 34-28.

Tim Rausch had seven rebounds to lead the Pirates.

"They go to the boards hard," Tait said of Bigfork.

"This was a credit to our kids."

Bigfork opened in impressive fashion, taking a 19-15 lead after eight minutes of play. The Vikings, however, followed that with one point in the second quarter. That allowed Polson to go in front 28-20 at the half.

"Up by four, then down by eight," Bigfork coach Lyle Whiteman said.

"Just turned it over, missed shots. That one-point quarter was a nightmare."

Brock Boll led Bigfork offensively with 14 points and nine rebounds. Hansen, who had three treys, was next with 12 points.

Scott Taylor pulled down eight rebounds for Bigfork and Garrett Pewe had seven assists.

"Against a team like that with a patient offense, the clock runs, you get fewer possessions," Whiteman said.

"Their patient game doesn't let you score very well, too many. We missed (too many) shots inside."

Polson advances to a semifinal contest today at 4 p.m. versus No. 2 seed Libby, 13-5. Bigfork drops into loser-out action Saturday at 9 a.m. at Flathead High School.

Bigfork 19 1 10 13 - 43

Polson 15 13 8 14 - 50

BIGFORK - Garrett Pewe 2 0-0 5, Zac Hansen 4 1-2 12, Brock Boll 4 6-7 14, Scott Taylor 1 3-6 5, Donny Tudahl 3 0-0 6, Travis Knoll 0 0-2 0, Ben Sandry 0 1-2 1. Totals: 14 11-19 43.

POLSON - Craig Bagnell 1 3-4 5, Kyle Bagnell 7 1-2 17, Waylon Michel 4 3-4 12, Tim Rausch 1 0-4 3, Louis Mohr 3 2-3 9, Ryan Kelley 1 0-0 2, Derrick Rathe 1 0-0 2. Totals: 18 9-17 50.

3-point goals: Pewe, Hansen (3); K. Bagnell (2), Michel, Rausch, Mohr; Team fouls: Bigfork 20, Polson 14; Fouled out: Boll, Tudahl.