Rausch helps Polson top Libby
Polson coach Karl Tait's heart was pounding in the final minutes of Friday's semifinal boys basketball game, but it's resting easy now.
Junior Tim Rausch drained a pair of free throws with 19.5 seconds left to give Polson a one-point lead and the Pirates went on to survive a 35-34 in a Northwestern A divisional basketball thriller against No. 2 seed Libby on Friday at Glacier High.
Libby missed a chance at tying the game with a free throw with three seconds to go and the Pirates let out a collective sigh of relief after upsetting the Loggers, who had swept them during the regular season.
"It was pretty exciting," Tait said. "That's pretty tough for an old guy who's ticker isn't all that great, and it didn't get much better during that game."
It was the second straight upset of the day for teams with a bye heading into the semifinal and No. 3 seed Polson now finds itself playing in the championship game against Columbia Falls tonight at 6 p.m. Libby follows No. 1 seed Whitefish to the consolation bracket and plays No. 5 Ronan this morning at 9 a.m. at Flathead High.
"What can I say, you hold them to 34 points, and that's a good basketball team," Tait said. "We just made the shots, made the plays that we needed just enough to win."
The Libby offense was ice cold from the start, missing its first nine shots from the floor.
"It was a struggle to get the ball in the hole," Libby coach Wally Winslow said. "We shot way too many 3s (at the start), which is OK when they're going in, but they weren't, so then we had to switch gears."
But Polson wasn't much warmer either and managed only 16 points in the first half.
"I don't know anything about the stats or what, I just know that we won the game," Tait said. "It was truly a team victory."
Louis Mohr scored all seven of Polson's second-quarter points and finished with nine. Rausch finished with eight points and Kyle Bagnell had seven points and 14 rebounds for the Pirates.
Conner Benson had a game-high 13 points and Joel Fuller netted eight for Libby.
"Sometimes it goes in, sometimes it doesn't," Winslow said. "In a situation like that, a low scoring game, you gotta take advantage of your opportunities."
The most Libby lead by was five during the third quarter, but Craig Bagnell drained a 3-pointer at the buzzer to make it 29-27 heading into the final eight minutes.
Polson cut the lead to one with a minute left after Craig Bagnell hit a midrange jumper. Polson grabbed two separate rebounds off Libby missed free throws and the ball eventually landed in Rausch's hands for the game-winning free throws.
"It's a semifinal basketball game, you have to make plays," Winslow said. "I'm very happy with our effort, they worked very hard, they defended really well, but sometimes you just have to hit the shots at the right time."
Polson 9 7 11 8 - 35
Libby 9 5 15 5 - 34
POLSON - Craig Bagnell 2 0-0 5, Kyle Bagnell 3 0-1 7, Waylon Michel 2, Tim Rausch 2 4-4 8, Louis Mohr 4 0-0 9, Ryan Kelley 1 2-2 4. Totals 13 6-7 35.
LIBBY - Cree Maloney 1 0-0 2, Connor Benson 6 0-1 13, Kelly May 0 0-2 0, Joel Fuller 3 0-0 8, Colton Cannon 2 0-0 6, Alex Cislo 2 1-6 5. Totals 14 1-9 34
3-point goals - Polson 3 (C. Bagnell, K. Bagnell, Mohr), Libby 5 (Cannon 3, Fuller 2, Benson); Total fouls - Polson 14, Libby 11; Fouled out - None