Glacier shines in win over Capital
Almost 20 minutes after the fact, Bryan Chery still had his dark blue Glacier Wolfpack jersey on as he walked out of the locker room smiling into a crowd of exalted fans and family.
He wasn't in any hurry to put Saturday behind him. No one in the Glacier locker room was. Not after this game.
Sixteen steals, 16 assists, three career-best scoring performances - the Wolfpack was in top form.
Chery scored 22 points, Ryan Edwards had 17, Kyle Griffith added 16 - all three career highs - and the Glacier boys won their third game in a row and second straight Western AA contest, cruising past Helena Capital 71-49 Saturday afternoon at Glacier.
The Wolfpack (6-6 overall, 2-2 in conference) earned its biggest margin of victory against a Class AA opponent since Feb. 6, 2009, when the Wolfpack beat Missoula Hellgate 66-37 at home. Glacier, which pulled starters with 3:40 left on Saturday, had its best offensive output since Feb. 9 of last season when the Wolfpack beat Missoula Sentinel 72-71 at home in double overtime.
"We played good on offense, finally," Chery said. "Long time coming."
After falling into a five-game losing streak earlier this season with an 0-2 conference record and then losing senior starter Marshall Boyland to injury, Glacier has reemerged stronger than before. The team has now scored in double figures in 10 of the last 11 quarters while the imposing defense has forced 103 turnovers in the last four games, an average of roughly 25 per game.
"I'm thrilled," Glacier head coach Mark Harkins said. "We've had some adversity and the guys didn't let that get to them. They've come through the adversity and now we're starting to see them play together as a team."
The Griffith brothers, Trey and Kyle, showcased Glacier's front-court pressure with Chery and pestered Helena Capital beyond frustration. The three guards amounted for 10 steals, led by Kyle's four, and senior post Brandon Doty picked up three as well down low.
"I thought Glacier played very well," Capital head coach Guy Almquist said. "They did a good job with their defensive pressure and forced a lot of turnovers and turned them into points, and that was the story of the game right there."
"That was a big emphasis for coach today. He told us to pressure the ball and it worked out perfect," Trey Griffith, a senior who scored six points, said. "We got a lot of offense off our defense today."
Capital (4-8, 1-4) never could get comfortable among Glacier's quick-trap defensive mentality and fell behind for good after the opening minutes.
"We're finally rolling and getting it together," Chery said.
The Wolfpack got quality minutes from the bench and found that familiar shooting touch that has lived on season after season.
"It felt good to come out and shoot well," Griffith said. "We've been in kind of a slump lately. But we just shared the ball well today and scored. To get a couple conference wins this weekend is more than anything I could ask for."
Doty had four points and a team-high six rebounds, Jacob Leininger had two points and five rebounds and Colter Hanson added two points and four rebounds. Sean Peters and Evan Epperly each chipped in a basket for Glacier, which plays at Missoula Hellgate on Tuesday.
"We told them to be proud of themselves and enjoy this one today and tomorrow. But Monday it's time to get back to work," Harkins said of his postgame talk with the team. "We can't be satisfied. There's still a lot to do."
Helena Capital 13 11 11 14 - 49
Glacier 22 17 19 13 - 71
CAPITAL - Bryson Smith 2 2-4 7, Quinn Chamberlain 1 0-0 2, Beau Berg 1 2-4 4, AJ Wilson 2 2-3 8, Levi Dawes 3 4-4 10, Riley Sampson 2 1-2 5, Slaten Long 1 0-0 3, Caleb Kidder 3 2-2 8, Carson Dummer 0 1-2 1, Gunnar Brekke 0 1-2 1. Totals 15 15-23 49.
GLACIER - Bryan Chery 8 3-4 22, Trey Griffith 2 1-2 6, Kyle Griffith 8 0-0 16, Evan Epperly 0 0-2 0, Jacob Leininger 1 0-0 2, Colter Hanson 1 0-0 2, Sean Peters 1 0-0 2, Logan Iverson 0 0-1 0, Brandon Doty 2 0-0 4, Ryan Edwards 7 3-4 17. Totals 30 7-13 71.
3-pointers - Capital 4 (Wilson 2, Long, Smith), Glacier 4 (Chery 3, T. Griffith); Rebounds - Capital 39 (Dawes 8, Long 6, Kidder 5, Berg 4), Glacier 30 (Doty 6, Leininger 5, Edwards 5, Hanson 4, K. Griffith 3); Turnovers - Capital 28, Glacier 11; Steals - Capital 7 (Brekke 2, Smith 2, Wilson 2), Glacier 16 (K. Griffith 4, Doty 3, T. Griffith 3, Chery 3); Fouls - Capital 13, Glacier 16; Fouled out - None. Technical - Capital bench.