Basketball Roundup: Big Sky boys slip past Wolfpack in OT
The Daily Inter Lake
MISSOULA - Ben Cutler scored 23 points and Ben Sansaver added 10, but it wasn't quite enough to lift the Glacier Wolfpack over Missoula Big Sky.
The Eagles (5-3 overall and 2-0 in Western AA) defeated Glacier (5-2, 1-1) 66-62 in overtime Thursday night.
"It was a great game. It was close the whole game. Both teams battled real hard," said Glacier coach Mark Harkins.
"Compliments to Big Sky, they came out and played very, very hard," he said.
"It was a good game to watch. We had some opportunities that we didn't quite get," he added.
The Wolfpack will be using upcoming practices to work on rebounding and free throw shooting - it gave up 13 offensive rebounds, which led to 12 points for the Eagles, and also missed 10 free throws on the night.
"We talked beforehand that winning on the road is hard. To their credit, they were close. There were some real positive things we can take out of it.
"But there were lots of things, looking back, that we've got to get better at," he added
The Wolfpack travels Saturday to Coeur d'Alene.
Glacier 14 11 15 15 7 - 62
Big Sky 20 7 10 18 11 - 66
Glacier - Josh Doty 1 0-0 3, Connor Fuller 2 0-0 4, Shay Smithwick-Hann 3 3-8 9, Logan Clay 1 0-0 2, Mike Rasmussen 4 1-3 9, Ben Cutler 8, 6-6 23, Chad Gassaway 1 0-0 2, Ben Sansaver 4 2-5 10. Totals 24-52 12-22 62.
Big Sky - Spencer Powell 5 5-8 15, Mike LaValley 5 1-7 12, Kevin McHugh 0 1-2 1, Brant Montelius 3 4-6 11, Ryan Devlin 9 6-7 25. Totals 23-54 17-31 66.
3-point goals: Glacier 2 (Doty, Cutler), Big Sky 3-10 (LaValley Montelius, Devlin). Total fouls: Glacier 26, Big Sky 17. Fouled out: Doty, Smithwick-Hann, Rasmussen.
Libby 46, Troy 33
TROY - Libby broke open a tight ballgame with a 14-point third quarter in the nonconference matchup.
Colton Cannon led a balanced Libby attack with 12 point. Kelly May was next with 11 and Conner Benson finished with 10.
Shadow Garrett led Troy with 11 points. Aaron Palmer totaled 10.
Libby improves to 6-2. Troy slips to 7-2.
Libby 10 8 14 14 - 46
Troy 8 5 6 14 - 33
LIBBY - Conner Benson 10, Kelly May 11, Joel Fuller 5, Colton Cannon 12, Nate Broden 2, Alex Cislo 6.
TROY - Jesse Day 6, Shado Garrett 11, Aaron Palmer 10, Brian Hammrich 6.
Girls
Bigfork 56, Whitefish 44
WHITEFISH - Bigfork capitalized on Whitefish losing five players to foul trouble in the final period for a Northwestern A victory.
Bigfork (1-0 and 4-1) outscored Whitefish (0-3 and 3-6) 25-9 in the final frame. The Valkyries did the bulk of their scoring at the free throw line in that period, sinking 14-of-21 shots.
Fouling out for Whitefish were Jessie Slaybaugh, Torie Powell, Olivia Nagler, McCara Cullen and Paula Oliveira.
Kate Klundt paced Whitefish with 21 points and 14 rebounds. It was her seventh double-double of the season.
Roxy Thurman paced Bigfork with 14 points. Mallery Knoll had 11 and Taylor Peck 10.
Bigfork 7 10 14 25 - 56
Whitefish 14 8 13 9 - 44
Bigfork - Mallery Knoll 11, Quinci Paine 2, Ariana Schults 2, Quindee Averill 2, Taylor Peck 10, Roxy Thurman 14, Caitlin Charlebois 7, Kaylee Fierro 7, Signa McLeod 1.
Whitefish - Jessie Slaybaugh 2, Torie Powell 2, Kate Klundt 21, Heather Melcer 3, Olivia Nagler 8, McCara Cullen 4, Paula Oliveira 2, Olivia Curtiss 2.