BASKETBALL: Braves can't get over hump against Bozeman, fall 54-47

If this was not a moral victory, there are no moral victories.

But don’t tell that to the Flathead Braves.

In the first game under head coach Ross Gustafson, Flathead played point-for-point with Bozeman and had chances to tie late in the final quarter, ultimately succumbing to the Hawks, 54-47 on Saturday night.

So, coach, it’s a moral victory, right?

“I came into the locker room afterwards and the guys were quiet, disappointed,” Gustafson said. “That tells me they thought they should have won the game, and that might be something new for this group of kids.”

“Losing by seven is an improvement, but we wanted to win,” senior Matt Marshall added.

The result was a dramatic turnaround from a year ago, when Bozeman ran the Braves out of the gym in a 76-35 laugher. Flathead finished last year with a 4-17 record, while Bozeman was fourth at the state tournament.

Saturday’s game was tight from the get-go, with neither team building a double-digit advantage, but the Hawks never relinquished the lead after the game’s first few minutes. Bozeman led 23-18 at halftime, 40-34 after three and, after the Braves cut the deficit to three, finished off the win with a trio of clutch late free throws.

“I’m really proud of my guys and how hard they played,” Gustafson said. “I knew it was going to be a defensive battle and I thought we’d be right there in the end, and the game played out pretty much how I thought it was going to play out.”

The Braves played an aggressive, trapping full-court press throughout, disrupting Bozeman’s offense and leading to clean opportunities on the offensive end. In the first half, however, Flathead created open perimeter shots only to miss all eight of their three-point attempts before halftime.

“Sometimes that’s going to happen,” Gustafson said of his team’s early shooting woes. “It’s a good thing the guys stuck with it and kept battling through the second half.”

Marshall struggled as badly as anyone in the first half, but found his touch after halftime. The Braves’ point guard finished with a game-high 17 points and knocked in three second half three-pointers.

“You’ve got to keep shooting to get back into rhythm and I luckily found it a little bit in the second half,” Marshall said.

“He’s tough as nails,” Gustafson said of Marshall. “He’s a kid that might miss his first couple but he’s not going to get down on himself. I knew he’d come around, and we needed him to hit some big shots for us.”

The game was tightly officiated, with the teams combining to commit 49 fouls and attempt 55 free throws. Bozeman shot 70 percent at the charity stripe, while Flathead was just 14-for-25 in the game.

“Yeah, we probably need to shoot our free throws a little bit better,” Gustafson said. “There are four of five points that were left off the board and those make a difference.”

Both teams had to dig deep into their benches because of foul trouble, particularly on the inside. Flathead’s Bridger Johnson and Bozeman’s Aaron Weidenaar and Trace Bradshaw all fouled out after playing limited minutes.

“I know there were a lot of fouls called, but they were fouls,” Gustafson said. “It’s hard early in the year because guys just haven’t had the experience of playing in the games and knowing what’s a foul and what’s not.”

Drew Huse led Bozeman (1-0) with 11 points, including a pair of big third quarter triples. Charlie Carr added 10 points and eight rebounds.

Kye AuClaire joined Marshall in double-figures for the Braves with 10 points — eight in the first half. Micah Bucy added seven off the bench.

The Braves (1-0) return to their home court Saturday at 4:30 p.m. against Great Falls High School.

Bozeman 54, Flathead 47

Bozeman 14 9 17 14 — 54

Flathead 10 8 16 13 — 47

BOZEMAN — Drew Huse 4 0-0 11, Charlie Carr 5 0-0 10, Bennett Hostetler 1 1-2 3, Aaron Weidenaar 2 5-6 9, Trace Bradshaw 1 6-7 8, Lance McCutcheon 2 4-7 8, Bryce Dawkins 0 2-2 2, Callahan O’Reilly 0 0-0 0, Cade Wessel 0 3-6 3. Totals — 15 21-30 54.

FLATHEAD — Matt Marshall 7 0-1 17, Cade White 1 1-2 3, Kye AuClaire 4 2-5 10, Bridger Johnson 1 3-4 5, C.J. Dugan 0 5-6 5, Seth Adolph 0 0-0 0, Cooper Barrett 0 0-1 0, Wyatt Potter 0 0-0 0, Wyatt Smith 0 0-0 0, Sam Elliott 0 0-0 0, Micah Bucy 2 3-6 7. Totals — 15 14-25 47.

3-point field goals — Bozeman 3 (Huse 3), Flathead 3 (Marshall 3). Total fouls — Bozeman 27, Flathead 22. Fouled out — Bozeman 2 (Weidenaar, Bradshaw) Flathead 1 (Johnson). Technical fouls — None. Records — Bozeman (1-0), Flathead (0-1).