Polson rallies by Billings Central

by The Daily Inter Lake
| March 5, 2010 2:00 AM

BUTTE — Polson overcame a 13-point first-half deficit to drop Billings Central 65-53 in quarterfinal play at the Class A state boys basketball tournament on Thursday at the Butte Civic Center.

Polson (13-9) trailed Billings Central 25-13, but outscored the Rams (12-9) 41-22 in the second half.

Polson’s Kyle Bagnell hit two free throws to tie it at 42-all as the third quarter winded down, and Louis Mohr followed with a field goal from the free throw line to give Polson its first lead at 44-42. Central, however, scored before time ran out to tie it back up at 44-44.

Kevin O’Brien opened the fourth period with a trey, giving Billings Central a lead, 47-44. The Rams used two free throws to maintain a three-point edge, 49-46, before Polson roared back.

Tim Rausch hit a field goal to get the Pirates within one, and Mohr followed with another basket to put Polson on top for good, 50-49.

A Vince DiGiallonardo trey and a Bagnell drive in the paint gave Polson a 58-49 lead with 3:20 to play.

Mohr had a big game, hitting 7 of 10 field goals and going 4-for-4 at the free throw line for 19 points.

All five Polson starters finished in double figures. Rausch had 13 points, Bagnell 12, Tyler Krell 11 and DiGiallonardo 10.

Connor Cunningham had 16 points for Billings Central and Connor Novakovich 15.

Polson, the Northwestern A divisional runner-up, advances to semifinal play tonight, 6:30, against No. 5-ranked Butte Central (15-6).

Billings Central, the Eastern A divisional champ, falls into loser-out action today at 12:30 p.m. versus Corvallis (14-7).

Polson 12 12 20 21 – 65

Central 18 1 3 13 9 – 53

POLSON (13-9) – Vince DiGiallonardo 4-10 0-0 10, Kyle Bagnell 5-11 2-4 12, Tim Rausch 5-8 2-4 13, Louis Mohr 7-10 4-4 19, Tyler Krell 5-6 1-3 11, Zach Camel 0-1 0-0 0, Sheldon Fisher 0-0 0-0 0, Cody Fisher 0-0 0-0 0, Will Davey 0-0 0-0 0, Derrick Rathe 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 2-46 9-15 65.

BILLINGS CENTRAL (12-9) – Kevin O’Brien 1-3 3-4 6, Connor Cunningham 6-12 4-5 16, Cole Cattelan 4-15 1-2 10, Jacob Stanton 1-3 0-0 2, Connor Novakovich 4-9 7-8 15, Nick Anthony 0-0 0-0 0, John Heger 0-2 0-0 0, Lucas Blehm 2-3 0-0 4. Totals 18-47 15-19 53.

3-point goals – Polson 4-13 (Digiallonardo 2-6, Bagnell 0-3, Rausch 1-1, Mohr 1-3), BC 2-14 (O’Brien 1-3, Cunningham 0-1, Cattelan 1-5, Stanton 0-1, Novakovich 0-1, Heger 0-2, Blehm 0-1). Rebounds – Polson 24 (Rausch 8), BC 30 (Cunningham 7, Cattelan 7). Assists – Polson 12 (Mohr 6), BC 8 (Cattelan 3). Steals – Polson 9 (Bagnell 3), BC 3 (O’Brien, Cattelan, Novakovich). Blocks – Polson 6 (Krell 3, Bagnell, Rausch, Rathe), BC 3 (Stanton 3). Turnovers – Polson 14, BC 19. Fouls – Polson 15, BC 17. Fouled out – Krell. Technicals – none.

Butte Central 70, Corvallis 64

Jonathan Richards scored 28 points ot power fifth-ranked Butte Central to a quarterfinal victory over Corvallis.

Butte Central (15-6) overcame a slow start to advance to semifinal play tonight, 6:30 p.m., versus Polson.

Corvallis led 18-11 and 36-29 after the first two quarter stops. Butte Central outscored Corvallis 19-9 in the third period for a 48-45 lead heading into the fourth period.

Corvallis (14-7) was led by drew Zeiler’s 21 points.

Corvallis plays a loser-out game today, 12:30 p.m., versus Billings Central.

Butte Central 11 18 19 22 — 70

Corvallis 18 18 9 19 — 64

BUTTE CENTRAL (15-6) — Andy Ritter 2-7 5-7 9, Colin Hollow 4-9 1-3 12, Aschan Richards 2-7 0-1 4, Sean Ferriter 1-3 2-2 4, Jonathan Richards 9-16 4-4 28, Phil Antonoili 1-3 0-0 2, Zach Kasperick 4-7 3-8 11.

CORVALLIS (14-7) — Drew Zeiler 4-12 9-9 21, Tyler Tintzman 1-1 0-0 2, Rodee Anderson 4-12 3-4 13, Riley Bradshaw 9-21 3-4 13, Joel Connolly 2-2 0-0 4, Mahlone Jessop 0-0 0-0 0, Todd Marchant 0-0 0-0 0, Colby Henderson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-48 15-18 64.

3-point goals — BC 9-21 (J. Richards 6-10, Hollow 3-6, Ritter 0-4, Kasperick 0-1), Corvallis 7-19 (Bradshaw 3-6, Anderson 2-5, Zeiler 2-8). Rebounds — BC 31 (J. Richards 9, Ritter 6, A. Richards 6), Corvallis 31 (Connolly 9, Tintzman 6). Assists — BC 7 (Hollow 2), Corvallis 7 (Bradshaw 3, Anderson 2). Steals — BC 4 (Ritter, Ferriter, J. Richards, Kasperick), Corvallsi 3 (Bradshaw 2). Blocks — BC 3 (A. Richards 2, Ritter), Corvall9is 2 (Anderson, Connolly). Turnovers — BC 14, Corvallis 15. Fouls — BC 19, Corvallis 21. Fouled out — A. Richards, Anderson. Technicals — none.

Browning 68, DIllon 63

BUTTE — Cody Edwards scored 23 points and pulled down 13 rebounds to help third-ranked Browning down fourth-ranked Dillon 68-63 on Thursday in quarterfinal play at the Class A boys state basketball tournament.

Browning jumped out to a 19-9 first-quarter lead and led 32-27 at the half. The second half was played on even terms.

The victory sends Browning (16-5) on to the tonight’s semifinal contest with Laurel at 8. Dillon (17-4) drops into loser-out play versus Columbia Falls at 2 p.m. in a rematch of last year’s state championship game.

Dillon 9 18 17 19 — 63

Browning 19 13 19 17 — 68

DILLON (17-4) - Garrett Banning 0-1 0-0 0, Wes Knox 3-5 0-0 7, Toby Shepherd 5-6 2-5 15, Pete Walde 1-1 3-4 5, Trevor Rehm 11-21 1-4 23, Austin Williams 0-0 0-0 0, Will Stoker 4-8 0-0 8, J.T. Linder 0-1 0-0 0, Monte Folsom 1-4 3-7 5. Totals 25-47 9-20 63.

BROWNING (16-5) - Lyle St. Goddard 4-12 0-0 9, Chuck Pappan 5-9 0-0 13, Derek DesRosier 3-8 3-4 9, Jeff St. Goddard 3-6 1-3 8, Cody Edwards 11-15 1-2 23, Giles Eagle Feathers 1-6 4-8 8, Charles Old Chief 0-0 0-0 0, Josiah Davis 0-2 0-0 0, Jonathan Hall 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 27-59 9-17 68.

3-point goals — Dillon 4-8 (Shepherd 3-4, Knox 1-1, Rehm 0-2, Stoker 0-1), Browning 5-18 (Pappan 3-5, L. St. Goddard 1-6, J. St. Goddard 1-3, Hall 0-1). Fouled out — Edwards. Total fouls — Dillon 13, Browning 18. Technicals — none. Rebounds — Dillon 29 (Rehm 10), Browning 34 (Edwards 13, Eagle Feathers 8). Blocks — Dillon 1 (Knox), Browning 6 (Edwards 5). Assists — Dillon 4 (four with one), Browning 11 (DesRosier 4). Steals — Dillon 9 (Rehm 3), Browning 8 (Eagle Feathers 2). Turnovers — Dillon 19, Browning 19.