Glacier boys rout Flathead, 68-40
Don't worry about the explosion you heard last night. That was just Ben Cutler going off in the Flathead gym.
The Glacier guard scored 10 of his game-high 27 points in a little more than two minutes, sparking a 32-6 Wolfpack run that turned a tight game into a blowout.
Glacier led just 36-34 with about five minutes left in the third period. But by the time the Cutler gang was done dicing up the Braves defense two minutes into the fourth, the score was 68-40, the Glacier starters were making their way to the bench, and the Wolfpack student section interspersed serenades of 'sweep" with calls to see little-used reserve Freddie Blodnick on the floor.
"We came out and shared the ball real well on the offensive side and that really got us going," Glacier coach Mark Harkins said of his team's second-half performance.
Just as they did in the team's first meeting, the Braves gave Glacier all it could handle in the first half. Flathead's frontcourt tandem of Karl Ingram and George Sherwood combined for 19 first-half points, and Ingram grabbed five first-half boards.
The Braves held the lead early in the first quarter, and then again briefly led by a point at the half's final minute when Ingram connected on a 3-point play.
But in the third period all that changed. Cutler, who had an off night from behind the arch missing 6 of 8 3-point attempts, suddenly found his range. And Shay Smithwick-Hann began to exploit Flathead's interior defense.
Smithwick-Hann finished with 17 points and seven rebounds. Glacier had a 37-30 edge on the boards.
Ingram turned in another blue-collar effort for Flathead, finishing with 22 points and nine rebounds. Sherwood added 12 points and five rebounds. Tanner Salois also finished in double figures with 11 points for Flathead.
With a second-place finish, Glacier has earned a home game playoff game. Depending on today's Western AA results, that might just mean a rematch with Flathead.
If so, Glacier's coach expects the Wolfpack will get another test from their crosstown rivals.
"There are a couple of games a year when your intensity has to go through the roof," Harkins said. "The crosstown game is one of them."
Glacier 19 11 28 18 - 76
Flathead 14 14 12 15 - 55
Glacier - Conner Fuller 1 1-2 3, Shay Smithwick-Hann 5 6-7 17, Mike Rasmussen 2 0-0 4, Ben Cutler 11 3-4 27, Cody Grosswiler 2 1-2 5, Josh Doty 1 1-2 4, Colter Hanson 2 0-0 4, Logan Quay 3 0-1 6, Kramer Wilson 0 0-1 0, Chad Gassaway 0 0-0 0, Ben Sansaver 1 0-0 2, Freddie Blodnick 0 0-0 0, Jacob Leininger 1 -0- 2, Grahm Schmaltz 1 0-0 2. Totals 30 12-19 76.
Flathead - Dean Stimpson 1 0-0 2, Tanner Salois 2 5-6 11, Karl Ingram 9 4-7 22, George Sherwood 3 5-7 12, Mike Vanarendonk 1 1-3 3, Ian Gillespie 0 0-0 0, Jesse Bennett 0 0-0 0, Tyler Hawkins 0 0-0 0, Matt Mclean 1 0-0 3, Dominic Eickert 0 0-0 0, Joe Pistorese 0 0-0 0, Conner Tice 1 0-0 2. Totals 0 0-0 0.
3-point goals: Glacier 4 (Cutler 2, Smithwick-Hann, Doty). Flathead.T otal fouls: Glacier 22, Flathead 18. Fouled out: None.