'Pack prevails, cinches Western AA title
After the excitement settled and the thousands of fans began filing home, after coach told the team how proud he was, that's when it all sank in for Glacier senior Trey Griffith. And tears streamed down his face.
For the first time ever, the Wolfpack is Western AA champions.
The 'Pack prevailed in another crosstown classic, defeating Flathead 56-49 on Friday night in front of over 3,000 fans crammed inside the Glacier High gymnasium.
The victory cinched up the conference title and the No. 1 seed from the West for the Class AA state basketball tournament. Winners of 11 straight, Glacier (10-2 in conference, 14-6 overall) advances to state for the third year in a row, but this time earns an automatic bid to Butte for the March 10-12 tournament.
"I'm just proud of them," Glacier head coach Mark Harkins said of the team afterward.
After starting out the season 3-6 overall, the preseason favorites are all smiles.
"Just to go from that five-game losing streak (earlier this season) and to have it all clicking now. And to be the top team. It's crazy," said Griffith, who had a game-high 17 points and 11 rebounds and sparked Glacier's momentous third quarter.
That third quarter is one that Griffith won't ever forget. With Glacier trailing 26-25 in the opening minutes of the frame, the 5-foot-9 guard took over. Jump shot, back-to-back 3-pointers, another jump shot followed by a backwards layup followed by two free throws - in roughly five minutes of gametime, Griffith scored 14 points.
Suddenly, Flathead looked shellshocked and Glacier looked revitalized. After outscoring the Braves 22-7, the Wolfpack rolled into the fourth quarter with a 44-33 lead that did shrink but still survived.
"That first half I thought (the Braves) were wanting it more than we did and that's what we said at halftime, ‘Flathead is coming after you and they're basically kicking your butt. And they're not going to give it to us and you're going to have to go take it,'" Harkins said. "And I thought the third quarter we came out and responded very well to that."
No overtime this time. After edging the Braves in a thriller earlier this month, the Wolfpack exchanged leads with Flathead six times on Friday but not after midway through the third quarter.
"It belongs to Glacier. They did a great job. They deserve everything they got," Flathead head coach Fred Febach said. "They played awfully well. They were the preseason No. 1 pick and you can see why."
Kyle Griffith chipped in 14 points and Bryan Chery had 12 for Glacier, which held off Flathead's comeback attempt late in the fourth quarter thanks to calm demeanor and impressive free throw shooting (8-for-11 in the final quarter). Evan Epperly and Colter Hanson each scored four, Brandon Doty had three and Ryan Edwards added two.
"Every team is different but this team is so unique," Harkins said. "They're all different personalities and I think that's why the team really came together and maybe that's why it took so long to get there, because they're all so different. It took awhile to put the pieces together .. This is unlike any group of kids that I've ever been associated with."
George Sherwood led the Braves with 12 points, six coming in the fourth when Flathead cut the lead to four with 50 seconds left. Matt McLean fueled the energetic defense for Flathead and chipped in six points along with Joe Pistorese. Ian Gillespie had eight points.
"My guys will play you hard and they will play you tough," Febach said. "They won't give up on anything. Certainly they did a good job of that tonight."
The Braves (4-7, 8-10) finish the regular season today at home against Missoula Hellgate at 4:30 p.m.
"We're still alive," Febach said. "We're still breathing and that's what we want to be."
Although Glacier's offense has scored more before, the defense on Friday once again appeared to be the stalwart for this historic group as they roll into the postseason.
"We want to do something at the state tournament," Harkins said. "We now have to raise our game to the next level."
Flathead 13 13 7 16 - 49
Glacier 17 5 22 12 - 56
FLATHEAD - Mike VanArendonk 4 0-1 10, Ian Gillespie 2 3-3 8, Matt McLean 2 0-0 6, Joe Pistorese 2 0-0 6, George Sherwood 4 4-7 12, Shea Schroeder 2 0-0 4, Scotty Keller 1 1-4 3, Matt Torkatz 0 0-0 0, Nick James 0 0-0 0. Totals 17 8-15 49.
GLACIER - Bryan Chery 3 6-8 12, Trey Griffith 6 3-4 17, Kyle Griffith 5 4-4 14, Evan Epperly 1 1-2 4, Colter Hanson 2 0-0 4, Brandon Doty 1 1-2 3, Ryan Edwards 0 2-4 2, Colton Harkins 0 0-0 0, Jacob Leininger 0 0-0 0, Marshall 0 0-0 0, Sean Peters 0 0-0 0, Brandon Doty 0 0-0 0. Totals 18 17-24 56
3-pointers - Flathead 7 (VanArendonk 2, McLean 2, Pistorese 2, Gillespie), Glacier 3 (T.Griffith 2, Epperly); Rebounds - Flathead 21 (Sherwood 6, Gillespie 5, VanArendonk 4), Glacier 41 (T. Griffith 11, Edwards 7, Hanson 6, Brandon Doty 4); Turnovers - Flathead 21, Glacier 16; Steals - Flathead 4 (Sherwood 2), Glacier 13 (Edwards 4, T. Griffith 3, Hanson 2); Fouls - Flathead 14, Glacier 20; Fouled out - Edwards, McLean.