Wolfpack rips Braves
<p>Glacier’s Ryan Edwards (floor) battles Flathead’s George Sherwood for a loose ball during Friday’s crosstown matchup at Glacier High School.</p>
<p>The Glacier boys celebrate after their victory over Flathead in the second crosstown matchup of the season at Glacier High School Friday night.</p>
There was doubt early but the Glacier boys made sure to put a stamp on their second straight conference championship, blowing by Flathead in the final three quarters to win 57-33.
The Wolfpack was slow to start, with Flathead blanketing on defense early in the first. The Braves scored the game’s first six points and held the Pack without a field goal for the first seven minutes.
But when Glacier started to score, it took awhile to cool it down. Junior guard Logan Iverson proved to be the spark. Following a pair of Pack free-throws, Iverson streaked coast to coast to score Glacier’s first basket of the night and edge the Pack back to within two, down 6-4. He hit a pair of free throws to close the first with Glacier down 8-6.
“I really thought Logan Iverson came in and gave us a huge spark,” Glacier coach Mark Harkins said. “Logan is a very intense individual. He brings that intensity and he kind of got our energy up in the first going into the second. He was a huge key to us getting rolling tonight for sure.”
Glacier kept rolling in the second, opening the quarter on a 16-3 run, fueled by the quick hands and fast feet of backcourt duo Kyle Griffith and Evan Epperly. The two combined for six straight points in the run, all on the fast break.
“They play so well together,” Harkins said. “Kyle and Evan really have a connection, Andy (Boyer) came in and gave us great minutes. I was pleased with all of the kids out there.”
The big quarter put the Pack up 24-14 at half, and put the Braves on the defensive to open the third. Senior forward George Sherwood tried to put the team on his back and narrowed a once 14-point lead to just nine after sinking a pair of free throws with 2:48 left in the quarter.
Griffith sunk that hope, hitting a 3-pointer the next trip down the court, and after Flathead missed a pair of free throws, the momentum swung back to the home team.
Glacier finished the third quarter with a 39-25 lead and scored the first nine points of the fourth to put the game out of question. Flathead had its chances to narrow the core from the free-throw line but hit just 4 of 10 to close the game.
“We were looking to score and they did a nice job defensively,” Flathead coach Fred Febach said. “We couldn’t find a rhythm on offense and we got real tentative. When shots don’t drop you have a tendency to become less confident. Credit goes to Glacier, they played a very fine game. That’s a team I expect to play on Saturday night in Bozeman.”
Epperly led the Wolfpack with 15 points, one of four players for Glacier to score in double figures. Griffith and Ryan Edwards both scored 11 points and Iverson added 10. Edwards also had 20 rebounds and five blocks.
Sherwood finished with a double-double leading the Braves with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
The win, coupled with Glacier’s two wins over Helena Capital this season, clinched the Western AA title for the Wolfpack, who finished 10-2 in the league, tied with the Bruins. The win also earns them a bye into the state tournament, where they’ll open with the East’s four seed.
“It’s really neat for the kids,” Harkins said. “We have kids that put a lot of time in. It’s neat for our guys to have that success and that was our goal for the season. Now it’s on to our next goal and that’s to make a run at state.”
The Braves finished the season 6-6 in conference and will host Missoula Sentinel, 5-7, in next week’s play in. Flathead won both previous meetings this season, though by a total of five points.
“We need to bounce back,” Febach said. “We’ll have a playoff game, we certainly have to put this one in the rear-view mirror and concentrate on our next game because the winner goes to the state tournament.”
Flathead 8 6 11 8 — 33
Glacier 6 18 15 18 — 57
FLATHEAD — Matt Tokarz 0 1-2 1, Matt McLean 1 0-1 2, George Sherwood 3 4-9 10, Austin Jones 3 0-0 6, Shae Schroeder 1 5-10 7, Matt Quist 0 0-2 0, Nick James 1 0-0 2, Garth West 2 1-3 5. Totals: 11 11-27 33.
GLACIER — Kyle Griffith 5 0-0 11, Evan Epperly 4 6-8 15, Colton Harkins 2 1-1 5, Sean Peters 1 0-0 2, Ryan Edwards 4 3-3 11, Andy Boyer 0 1-2 1, Si’Cha Tallman 1 0-0 2, Logan Iverson 3 4-4 10. Totals: 20 15-18 57.
3-point goals - Flathead 0-10, Glacier 2-10; Rebounds - Flathead 25 (Sherwood 10), Glacier 45 (Edwards 20); Fouls - Flathead 20, Glacier 19. Fouled out: none.