Wolfpack runs sink Flathead

With a focus on containing Flathead’s strength in the paint, the Glacier boys (6-6 overall, 2-2 Western AA) held down their home court and shut down the Braves (5-6, 1-2) to win the first boys crosstown meeting of the season 64-44 on Thursday in a Western AA conference basketball game.

A series of long Wolfpack runs kept Flathead from ever really contending, the first coming three minutes into the game. Glacier held the Braves scoreless for five minutes in the first quarter, going on a 10-0 run to build a nine-point lead early. Even as Flathead closed within three midway through the second, Glacier closed the half on a 9-4 run for a 28-20 advantage at the break.

Glacier opened the third on a 14-6 run and began the fourth by outscoring Flathead 12-3, putting the game out of contention leading 57-34 with less than four minutes to play.

The long stretches of dominance were keyed by strong defense, something the Wolfpack emphasized before the game.

“It was a great defensive effort,” Glacier coach Mark Harkins said.

“We challenged them. We haven’t played as good of defense in the last couple games as we would have liked. That was the challenge in the locker room to come out with some intensity on defense. I thought they responded very well.”

The Wolfpack shared the ball well, picking up 18 assists on 21 field goals with 10 players scoring in the contest. The ball movement, in addition to an effective dribble drive and fast break offense, allowed Glacier to find holes in a normally stingy Braves defense.

“We need to get better at some things,” Flathead coach Fred Febach said. “ We need to do a better job of taking what we do in practice and applying that to the game floor.

“We’ve got to finish shots. We also need to get stops defensively. We failed to do that consistently in the second half, which gave them more opportunities. Then of course when a shot goes, we need to do a better job of rebounding. I thought they got too many second looks at times, and that hurt us.

“It’s a combination of things. There’s several things we need to work on.”

When Flathead was able score, it took advantage of its size inside, leaning on posts Adam Bradley and Matt Quist to get points in the paint. Bradley finished with a game-high 15 points and six rebounds and Quist had 14 points, including two thundering dunks.

Tanner Olsen led Glacer with 10 points.

“This is the style that fits us best,” Harkins said. “Hopefully we can continue to grow and get better with that. There’s a lot of things we can get better but tonight they did a good job.”

Flathead doesn’t have much time to regroup, hosting defending state champions Missoula Hellgate on Saturday. Glacier heads on the road next week to Helena High and No. 1 Capital.

Flathead 5 15 11 13 — 44

Glacier 14 14 17 19 — 64

FLATHEAD — Blaine Newman 1-11 0-0 3, Will Cronk 2-5 0-1 4, Chandler Escalante 0-7 2-2 2, Adam Bradley 6-7 2-2 15, Matt Quist 6-14 2-5 14, Matt Marshall 0-0 1-2 1, Trae Habel 1-2 0-0 2, Cody Norberg 1-5 1-2 3. Totals: 17-55 9-15 44.

GLACIER — Evan Epperly 2-9 3-4 8, Bryan Michaels 2-12 2-3 6, Kyler Harkins 2-6 4-4 9, Tanner Olsen 4-7 2-3 10, Kevin Malloy 3-6 1-2 7, Sam McCamley 1-1 4-4 7, Greg Jones 1-2 1-1 3, Cain Boschee 1-2 0-0 3, Jaxen Hashley 4-5 1-2 9, Truman Pisk 1-4 0-0 2. Totals: 21-54 18-23 64.

3-pointers — Flathead 1-14 (Newman 1), Glacier 4-13 (Epperly 1, Harkins 1, McCamley 1, Boschee 1). Rebounds — Flathead 34 (Bradley 6), Glacier 37 (Michaels 8). Assists — Flathead 13 (Cronk 4, Escalante 4), Glacier 18 (Epperly 5). Blocks — Flathead 1 (Quist 1), Glacier 3 (Malloy 2). Steals — Flathead 8 (Newman 2, Quist 2), Glacier 11 (Michaels 3, Harkins 3, Olsen 3). Fouls — Flathead 17, Glacier 17. Fouled out — none. Technical fouls — none.