Crosstown preview: Glacier in hunt for first conference title
TODAY: Crosstown basketball, Flathead vs. Glacier
TIPOFF: At Glacier, Girls, 6 p.m.; Boys, 8 p.m.
SERIES HISTORY: The Glacier boys tied the crosstown series at four wins apiece earlier this month with an exciting, come-from-behind overtime victory at Flathead. After trailing by as many as 18 points, the Wolfpack rallied back to win 77-74, making it the second game in the previous three crosstown meetings that went into overtime. In the girls game, a fast start for the Wolfpack and a slow one for the Bravettes led to Glacier pulling out a 61-42 victory and taking the lead in the history books, four wins to Flathead's three.
STILL STREAKING: The best description of the Glacier boys right now is red-hot. The Wolfpack winning has reached 10 straight games and has Glacier (9-2 in conference, 13-6 overall) in position to win the Western AA with a victory tonight. A win would seal the first conference title in the program's history and send the boys to Butte with a bye to the Class AA state tournament. In a fitting finale, Flathead stands in the way of that certainty. The Braves (4-6, 8-9) can dash their crosstown rival's hopes and put themselves in good position to host a home playoff game with wins today and Saturday against Hellgate. As it stands, Flathead is tied for fourth place and final home-game rights with Helena Capital.
On the girls side, Glacier is within reach of a home playoff game, but it will take victories in the final two contests. The Wolfpack (4-7, 10-9) is in fifth place with fourth-place Helena Capital only one game ahead. Flathead (2-8, 7-1) is in position to travel for a playoff game with hopes of making the state tournament in Butte.
LEADERS: Flathead senior Joe Pistorese has become a bonafide scorer, earning the second best scoring average in Western AA. The lefty point guard is scoring just under 13 points-per-game. Teammate George Sherwood is up there, too, averaging 12.6 ppg. Glacier senior Bryan Chery is leading the 'Pack with 12.4 ppg. For the girls, freshman center Cassidy Hashley is the lone Kalispell AA athlete to score in double figures on average, earning 10.3 ppg.