Braves to play for state title
BOZEMAN — On Friday night, the Kalispell crosstown game with the greatest implications turned into the greatest game in the series.
Trailing twice by eight points, Flathead came back to stun Glacier 63-58 in the Class AA state boys basketball semifinals, in a game that outplayed its epic billing.
“I can’t be prouder of my kids,” Flathead coach Fred Febach said. “I couldn’t be happier. Really, I can’t find a lot of words.”
The game tipped with 1:36 remaining. With the score tied at 54 and the teams trading misses from the free-throw line, Flathead, who had missed its previous five, got to the line with senior Matt McLean shooting for the lead. McLean took a deep breath and rolled a shot short that bounced up off the back of the rim and into the net for a one-point cushion.
The next shot was nothing but net. Flathead never trailed again.
“I was just saying, ‘We need to make some free throws,’” McLean said. “Then some other guys started making them.”
Flathead trailed for most of the game, with Glacier twice jumping out to huge leads. The Wolfpack went on a 7-0 run to start the third quarter, vaulting it to a 30-22 advantage two minutes into the second half. Flathead slowly started to chip away, fueled by a hot streak from deep.
Shea Schroeder started the run, with an old-fashioned three-point play. The Braves began to trade baskets with the Pack, with theirs coming from deep and Glacier’s from down low. McLean and Chris Cronk each hit two 3-pointers in the third, countering a huge game by Glacier center Ryan Edwards, who scored eight of his game-high 23 points in the quarter.
“(Glacier’s) zone defense is so tough and so tight,” Febach said. “We were able to step up and knock down some big 3s for ourselves … Those were huge. That was the biggest key in the second half other than the free throws down the stretch.”
Cronk’s last 3-pointer cut the score to 42-41 with a minute left in the third, bringing the Braves to within a shot of the lead. Glacier closed the quarter up 44-41, but was unable to completely put the Braves away.
Wolfpack senior Colton Harkins opened the fourth with a pair of 3-pointers, extending the lead back to seven, but Flathead was there again with a run of its own.
George Sherwood scored in the post and McLean hit a 3, then added a free throw seconds later to tie the score at 50-50.
Flathead took its first lead in more than 20 minutes of play when Matt Tokarz hit a pair of free throws with 5:33 left to play, putting the Braves on top 52-51. After a pair of buckets by each team, Logan Iverson tied the game again for Glacier, hitting a free throw with 3:31 remaining. That evened the score at 54-54, leading to the frenetic ending.
“We missed some opportunities,” Glacier coach Mark Harkins said. “We missed some free throws. We were barely 50 percent. Those were the things that we didn’t do right, but the effort tonight was fantastic. I’m proud of my kids for battling.”
Glacier made just 4 of 11 free throws in the fourth quarter and turned the ball over late with a chance to tie. Flathead made 9 of 12 free throws in the final 1:36.
“They did the things they had to to get there,” Harkins said. “Those are the things that win ball games.”
Flathead had three players score in double-digits, led by Sherwood’s 18 points. McLean scored 17 and Schroeder had 12.
Both Edwards and Colton Harkins tallied double-doubles for the Pack, Edwards scoring 23 with 10 rebounds and Harkins scoring 10 with 11 boards. Evan Epperly also scored 10 points.
The Wolfpack shot 41 percent, but committed 23 turnovers and made just 13 free throws. Flathead shot only 29 percent, but made five 3s and hit 30 of 46 free throws.
“All year long we’ve battled,” Febach said. “We’ve had close games throughout the entire season and the kids time and time again continue to play through it.
“This particular group has taken it to a different level as far as what they want to do and what they want to accomplish as a team … They’re so fun to watch, they’re so fun to coach. I can’t say enough about the group of kids I have.”
The Braves will take on Billings West in the championship game tonight at 8:30. The Bears beat Helena Capital 56-50 in the other semifinal contest.
“Everybody has dreamed about that since we were little kids,” McLean said. “Our goal is to win the state championship. We’ve still got one more game. We want another banner hanging up that says 2012. This is going to be huge for us.”
The Wolfpack will open today with a loser-out game against Missoula Hellgate at 10:30 a.m. If Glacier wins that game they would play in the consolation final at 5 p.m against Billings Senior or Capital.
“We’ve got to get ready to go,” Harkins said. “We can still do some things that we’ve never done as a school.”
Semifinals
Flathead 63, Glacier 58
FLATHEAD — Matt Tokarz 0-2 3-5 3 Matt McLean 3-10 8-11 17, George Sherwood 4-13 10-13 18, Austin Jones 0-1 2-2 2, Shea Schroeder 3-7 6-9 12, Chris Cronk 2-6 1-4 7, Drew Crosby 0-2 0-0 0, Al Michael Olszewski 0-0 0-0 0, Nick James 2-4 0-2 4, Garth West 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 14-48 30-46 63.
GLACIER — Kyle Griffith 2-7 0-2 4, Evan Epperly 3-13 4-6 10, Colton Harkins 3-6 1-4 10, Sean Peters 1-3 2-2 4, Karl Hellwig 1-1 0-0 2, Andy Boyer 0-2 0-0 0, Bryan Michaels 1-3 0-0 2, Si’Cha Tallman 0-0 0-0 0, Logan Iverson 1-5 1-4 3, Matt Peters 0-0 0-0 0, Ryan Edwards 9-11 5-7 23. Totals 21-51 13-25 58.
Flathead 7 15 19 22 — 63
Glacier 8 15 21 14 — 58
3-point goals — KF 5-18 (Tokarz 0-2, McLean 3-8, Sherwood 0-4, Cronk 2-3, Crosby 0-1), KG 3-13 (Griffith 0-2, Epperly 0-4, Harkins 3-4, Boyer 0-1, Michaels 0-1, Iverson 0-1). Rebounds — KF 31 (Sherwood 6, Schroeder 6), KG 39 (Harkins 11, Edwards 10). Fouls — KF 23, KG 32. Fouled out — Harkins, S. Peters, Iverson. Technical fouls — none. Assists — KF 9, KG 17 (Epperly 9). Turnovers — KF 17, KG 23. Blocked shots — KF 1, KG 7 (Edwards 6). Steals — KF 13 (Tokarz 4, McLean 4), KG 9 (Harkins 3, S. Peters 3).
Billings West 56, Helena Capital 50
HELENA Capital (16-7) – Bryson Smith 3-6 5-5 13, Gunnar Brekke 2-4 0-0 5, David Lindgren 1-1 0-1 2, Cale Jacobsen 3-8 0-0 8, Kyle Harrington 1-2 0-0 2, AJ Wilson 1-4 2-3 4, Levi Dawes 3-4 2-3 8, Aaron Gilman 0-0 0-0 0, Slaten Long 1-10 0-0 2, Carson Dummer 1-1 0-2 2, Caleb Kidder 1-3 2-2 4. Totals: 17-43 FG 11-16 FT 50.
BILLINGS West (21-1) – Clay Compton 1-6 0-0 2, Nathan Smith 2-3 2-2 6, Andrew Campbell 3-6 0-0 6, Brandon McIver 2-6 4-4 8, Danny Robison 7-10 10-15 25, Brady Gustafson 1-4 0-0 2, Pat Barnett 0-3 2-2 2, Stewart Harris 2-6 2-2 6. Totals 18-44 FG 8-21 FT 56.
Capital 9 12 8 21 – 50
West 12 16 11 17 – 56
3-pointers – Capital 5-16 (Smith 2-4, Brekke 1-1, Jacobsen 2-6, Long 0-2, Wilson 0-1); West 1-8 (Robison 1-1, Campbell 0-1, Smith 0-1, Compton 0-2). Rebounds – Capital 22 (Kidder 6, Dawes 5); West 34 (Robison 9, Gustafson 7, Campbell 6). Assists – Capital 6 (Long 4); West 6 (Compton 2, Gustafson 2). Steals – Capital 12 (Wilson 4, Long 3); West 8 (Campbell 2, Comnpton 2, Smith 2). Blocks – Capital 2 (Long 2); West 0. Turnovers – Capital 15; West 17.
Loser-Out Games
Missoula Hellgate 62,
Great Falls CMR 47
MISSOULA Hellgate (13-10) – Brady Henthorn 2-3 7-8 13, Brendan Jones 1-4 5-7 8, Jake Arledge 2-4 2-6 7, Zach Peevey 8-13 0-0 18, Lucas Wittkopp 3-6 0-0 6, Dylan Harvala 1-1 1-2 4, Luke Bewley 0-2 0-0 0, Andy Nemec 0-0 0-0 0, Kyle Booi 0-2 1-2 1, Kagen Khameneh 1-1 0-0 2, Pat Colberg 1-3 0-0 3. Totals – 19-39 16-25.
CM Russell (10-12) – Cam Oswood 0-1 0-0 0, Joey Marzion 9-16 1-1 21, Colton Carter 1-6 0-0 3, Russ Morin 3-9 3-6 9, Josh Horner 2-6 0-0 4, Jayse McLean 1-6 0-0 2, Luke Stenzel 0-2 2-2 2, Andre Langhorne 0-3 0-0 0, Anthony Bonilla 1-3 0-0 3, Mason Strom 0-0 0-0 0, Tyler Pfennings 0-0 0-0 0, Gabe Kuntz 0-0 0-0 0, Eric Dawson 1-3 0-0 3. Totals – 18-55 6-9 62.
Hellgate 19 12 13 18 – 62
CMR 19 9 9 10 – 47
3-pointers – Hellgate 8-15 (Henthorn 2-3, Peevey 2-5, Jones 1-3, Arledge 1-1, Harvala 1-1, Colberg 1-1) CMR 5-18 (Oswood 0-1, Marzion 2-4, Carter 1-4, McLean 0-2, Stenzel 0-2, Langhorne 0-2, Bonilla 1-2, Dawson 1-1). Rebounds – Hellgate 38 (Arledge 8, Wittkopp 6) CMR 25 (Horner 7, Morin 7). Assists – Hellgate 14 (Henthorn 4, Jones 4) CMR 6 (Horner 2). Blocks – Hellgate 2 (Bewley, Peevey) CMR 4 (Horner 2). Steals – Hellgate 9 (Peevey 4) CMR 10 (three with 2). Turnovers – Hellgate 14, CMR 12.
Billings Senior 58, Great Falls High 44
Great Falls (8-15) – Lukas Vining 2-8 0-0 5, Dalton Cook 0-1 0-0 0, Dylan Tatarka 4-10 0-1 9, Larance Racine 4-10 0-0 10, Kolby Sukut 0-1 0-0 0, Shyke Smalls 2-10 2-4 6, Tre Keels 0-3 0-0 0, Dylan Swandal 1-1 0-0 2, Layne Beyl 1-3 0-0 3, Jace Anderegg 4-4 1-1 9. Totals: 18-51 FG 3-6 FT 44.
BILLINGS Senior (12-11) – Luke Reinschmidt 3-10 0-0 6, Randy Karls 0-2 0-0 0, Trevin McNeil 0-0 0-0 0, Cooper Kouwenhoven 7-11 4-7 22, Trae Dolan 1-1 2-3 4, Skyler Scheetz 1-2 0-5 6, Chad Newell 4-7 3-6 11, Tad Rose 3-8 2-3 9. Totals: 19-41 FG 14-15 FT 58.
Great Falls 10 18 16 0 – 44
Senior 16 17 16 9 – 58
3-pointers – GFH 5-21 (Racine 2-6, Tatarka 1-2, Beyl 1-3, Vining 1-4, Smalls 0-4); Senior 5-14 (Kouwenhoven 4-6, Rose 1-3, Karls 0-1, Reinschmidt 0-3). Rebounds – GFH 21 (Tatarka 6, Beyl 3,Keels 3); Senior 38 (Newell 12, Rose 7, Kouwenhoven 6). Assists – GFH 13 (Tatarka 4, Keels 3); Senior 15 (Karls 5, Rose 3). Steals – GFH 8 (Tatarka 3, Smalls 2); Senior 6 (Reinschmidt 3, Kouwenhoven 2, Karls). Blocks – GFH 2 (Anderegg, Beyl); Senior 1 (Newell). Turnovers – GFH 10; Senior 17.