Basketball: Wolfpack upends CMR in season opener
<p>Glacier junior Cain Boschee (15) pushes his way past a Great Falls C.M. Russell defender on his way to the basket during Friday’s Class AA basketball season opener at Glacier High School.</p>
Glacier showed its youth in its season opener, but also showed potential, beating Great Falls C.M. Russell 60-49 at home on Friday in a nonconference Class AA basketball game.
The Wolfpack’s (1-0) returning starters, senior guards Evan Epperly and Bryan Michaels, combined for the team’s first 17 points and kept the young team on track as it struggled against an ultra-athletic Rustlers (0-1) squad.
“It’s kind of nice to have senior guards out there that have started and help us get through those things,” Glacier coach Mark Harkins said.
Epperly had 19 points, including 12 in the first four minutes, to build a huge lead for the Wolfpack. Glacier led by as many as 15 points in the second quarter but showed its inexperience as CMR threw wrinkles in its gameplan.
The Rustlers switched to a zone defense midway through the second quarter and confused the Glacier team as it tried to adjust to the change. The lapse, and Glacier’s struggle to get into the open court, allowed CMR to climb back into the contest, cutting the Wolfpack lead to 12 at halftime and six by the end of the third quarter.
CMR forward Jayse McLean, who finished with a game-high 20 points, powered through the Glacier defense in the post and cut the lead to three points after two buckets to start the fourth. With five minutes left in the game, CMR trailed by only two points, and seemingly had Glacier on its heels.
But, the home team found its form again, started by a baseline drive by Michaels through the CMR defense that gave the Wolfpack a boost. A 3-pointer from Kyler Harkins with 3:45 to play gave Glacier enough of a lead to ice the game away on free throws.
“Some of our inexperience did show tonight,” coach Harkins said.
“Shot selection, I thought at times we forced some shots in situations where we needed a bucket. They had a couple buckets in a row and we forced some shots. That’s learning. That’s watching film and saying, ‘That’s a tough shot to take in that situation.’ We’ll get better.
“The little things, the rebounds. I was really proud of Kyler tonight. He had eight boards. That’s huge. He likes to shoot the basketball, but we’ve got to have guys that can rebound. We’re not real big ... Those are huge things for us. We’ve got to keep working on those and getting better.”
Glacier toyed with lineups throughout the game as it tries to find its productive matchups with nearly all new players. Nine players saw time on the court, seven in their first significant time on the varsity squad.
“The one thing, last year’s team, we were pretty consistent in the starting lineup,” coach Harkins said. “I think this year’s team is very flexible. We can adjust lineups based on the opponents we’re playing ... I thought it worked out pretty well.”
Michaels finished with 12 points and Epperly had a game-high six assists. McLean finished with a double-double for CMR, pulling in 15 rebounds to add to his big scoring night.
Glacier is on the road for its next contest, playing at Whitefish on Friday.
CMR 11 9 16 13 — 49
Glacier 17 15 11 17 — 60
CMR — Karl Tucker 2-6 2-6 6, Jayse McLean 10-19 0-0 20, Daekwon Carter 1-4 0-2 2, Andrew Langhorne 4-11 0-0 8, Eric Dawson 1-6 2-4 4, Daryl Williams 0-5 0-0 0, Gabe Kundz 2-3 2-4 7, Dillon Halverson 0-4 2-2 2. Totals: 20-58 8-18 49.
GLACIER — Evan Epperly 7-22 4-7 19, Bryan Michaels 6-12 3-4 17, Kyler Harkins 2-7 1-2 7, Tanner Olsen 1-5 4-6 6, Cain Boschee 0-5 1-2 1, Jaxen Hashley 0-2 2-2 2, Truman Pisk 3-6 2-3 8.
3-pointers — CMR 1-15 (Kundz), Glacier 5-17 (Michaels 2, Harkins 2). Rebounds — CMR 43 (McLean 15), Glacier 44 (Harkins 8). Assists — CMR 9 (Carter 2, Dawson 2, Williams 2), Glacier 12 (Epperly 6). Blocks — CMR 0, Glacier 1 (Pisk). Steals — CMR 4 (Tucker 2), Glacier 7 (Boschee 3). Total fouls — CMR 21, Glacier 16. Fouled out — CMR, Tucker. Technical fouls — none.