Flathead wins in OT
Flathead’s Tanner Salois celebrates his game-tying shot with seconds to go in the fourth quarter of a game against Glacier during February 2010. Flathead pulled away with the win in overtime.
Flathead's Karl Ingram stretches his arm up to defend against Glacier's Shay Smithwick-Hann's shot at the start of the overtime period.
The last time Flathead beat Glacier in boys basketball, Tanner Salois was a sophomore and George Sherwood was an eighth grader.
On Friday night, it was their turn to add an old-school victory to the record books.
Salois hit a game-tying 3-pointer with just over three seconds left in the fourth quarter and Sherwood scored a game-high 21 points as Flathead edged Glacier 71-65 in overtime in a spirited crosstown showdown at Glacier High.
Salois, a senior, hit four 3-pointers in the game and finished with 18 points and Flathead evened the series record against Glacier at three wins apiece with their first rival victory since Feb. 22, 2008.
“It’s amazing to come in here and get a win like this, against one of the best teams, I think, in the conference,” Flathead coach Fred Febach said. “The kids just did a super job. They stepped up and made plays when they had to and we knocked down some free throws. Sometimes it’s a simple game, isn’t it?”
There were 18 3-pointers in the game (nine on each side) and neither team led by more than five in the second half. Heading into the fourth quarter it was evened out at a 48-all tie.
Glacier took a four-point lead with just over two minutes left in regulation after senior Connor Fuller scored five straight points, giving the Wolfpack a 62-58 advantage.
Flathead senior Karl Ingram inched the Braves closer with a pair of free throws, but Glacier’s Shay Smithwick-Hann powered into the paint and earned his own trip to the line, where he made one of two.
With 19 seconds left, Febach called a timeout and looked up at the scoreboard. Down three points, who to give it to?
The sharpshooting senior, who else?
Salois, who came into the game having made 14 3-pointers already this season, sprinted around a screen with a Glacier defender glued to his hip, caught the pass and jutted into the air with Flathead’s hopes in his hands.
“It was intense. We ran the play to try and get me the three at the end, but we didn’t really get into it, they stopped us at first. But then I got an open shot, and luckily I hit it,” Salois said.
The Braves weren’t about to lose after that. In the four-minute overtime, Salois turned in a breakaway layup to make it 66-65 with a minute left and, following a steal by Joe Pistorese, Sherwood, a sophomore, followed with two free throws to make it 68-65 with 26.6 seconds to go.
Glacier, who was 2-0 in overtime games this season heading into Friday, just didn’t have the magic this time.
“They shot the lights out tonight,” Glacier coach Mark Harkins said. “I was not disappointed with our effort there, our execution was OK. The whole game was back and forth, it was a game of runs; both teams had some and it looked at times like someone was going to break away a little bit and each time the other team would come back in. It was a great basketball game tonight.”
Pistorese finished with eight points, Jeremy Grosswiler had 13 points and 11 rebounds and Karl Ingram had seven points and 11 rebounds for Flathead (7-5 overall, 3-2 in Western AA).
Fuller finished with 18 points and Smithwick-Hann had 13 points and eight rebounds for Glacier (9-5, 3-3). Glacier senior Grahm Schmaltz had a monster second quarter and hit four 3-pointers a la 12 points. Schmaltz fouled out in the opening minute of overtime.
“We knew the second half was key for us because the last couple times we’ve played them they pretty much hurt us in the secong half,” Febach said. “But tonight in the second half I thought we played great basketball, great team ball ... I’m sweating and I’m happy.”
Flathead hosts Missoula Hellgate today at 4:30 p.m. Glacier hosts Western AA leader Missoula Sentinel on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.
Flathead 15 15 18 15 8 — 71
Glacier 10 19 19 15 2 — 65
FLATHEAD — Dean Stimpson 1 0-0 2, Tanner Salois 7 0-0 18, Karl Ingram 2 3-4 7, Joe Pistorese 3 0-0 8, George Sherwood 7 4-7 21, Connor Tice 1 0-0 2, Jeremy Grosswiler 5 3-4 13. Totals 26 10-15 71.
GLACIER — Bryan Chery 3 0-0 7, Grahm Schmaltz 4 0-0 12, Colter Hanson 0 4-4 4, Shay Smithwick-Hann 4 5-6 13, Logan Quay 2 0-1 4, Trey Griffith 2 0-0 6, Connor Fuller 7 2-4 18, Mario Venturini 0 1-2 1, Ryan Edwards 0 0-2 0. Totals 22 12-19 65.
3-point goals — Flathead 9 (Salois 4, Sherwood 3, Pistorese 2), Glacier 9 (Schmaltz 4, Fuller 2, Griffith 2, Chery); Rebounds — Flathead 37 (Grosswiler 11, Ingram 11), Glacier 26 (Smithwick-Hann 8); Turnovers — Flathead 19, Glacier 12; Team fouls — Flathead 13, Glacier 15; Fouled out — Schmaltz
CORRECTED (Feb. 6) — Glacier is now 3-3 in conference (not 2-3).