FLATHEAD BASKETBALL: Braves, Bravettes roll Whitefish in pair of runaway wins

Tyler Johnson scored 13 points in his first game of the season and Flathead forced 21 turnovers en route to a comfortable 55-38 nonconference basketball win at home against Whitefish Friday night.

Johnson, who missed the first three games of the season with an ankle injury, came off the bench to knock home three 3-pointers in a game that was decided by halftime.

“(Missing games) was one of the worst things I’ve ever done,” Johnson said. “I was wanting to play so bad, I worked super hard over the summer and it was great to get back out there.”

Johnson had a breakout season as a freshman a year ago but watched from the bench as the Braves sputtered to a 1-2 start. Friday, he showed both his rust and the deft shooting touch that makes him one of Flathead’s most dynamic offensive players.

“He’s got a ways to go defensively and he had a couple turnovers where the other guys have been playing at that speed for a couple of weeks and Tyler’s still trying to catch up,” Flathead coach Ross Gustafson said.

“But he’ll get there. It was really fun to see him back out on the floor tonight.”

The Braves’ (2-2) full-court defense forced a flood of first half turnovers and helped the hosts build a 28-10 lead at halftime. Flathead used 13 different players in the game, limiting minutes in the second half with the team facing a quick turnaround in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, today.

Johnson’s 13 points led the way with Kye AuClaire adding 12. Matt Marshall, the Braves’ leading scorer this season, hit a pair of first quarter baskets for his only four points.

The Braves could have been forgiven for being a bit distracted, as the team coped with the untimely death of Flathead student Taylon Cogar, who passed away Thursday night after a lengthy battle with cancer.

“It’s been a tough couple of days,” Gustafson said.

“Some of the boys were pretty close with Taylon, so maybe their hearts and minds were someplace else, but they came in and they got the job done.”

Whitefish (1-4) outscored Flathead 28-27 in the second half, getting a game-high 14 points from Derek Kastella, 12 of which came after halftime.

Jacob Henry added 10 in the loss.

Ten different Braves scored in the win, with Seth Adolph adding a season-high eight off the bench.

Flathead will battle Coeur d’Alene High School today at 5:30 p.m. MST.

Whitefish 6 4 11 17 — 38

Flathead 16 12 15 12 — 55

WHITEFISH — Jansen Anderson 0 0-0 0, Derek Kastella 4 5-6 14, Zander Wold 1 2-2 4, Luke May 2 1-2 6, Sawyer Silliker 1 1-2 3, James Sampson 0 0-0 0, Jacob Henry 3 3-4 10, Matt Brewer 0 1-1 1, Ryan Kemm 0 0-0 0. Totals — 11 13-17 38.

FLATHEAD — Matt Marshall 2 0-0 4, Cade White 1 0-0 2, Kye AuClaire 4 3-7 12, Bridger Johnson 2 1-3 5, C.J. Dugan 1 0-0 2, Seth Adolph 2 4-6 8, Cooper Barrett 1 0-0 3, Wyatt Potter 0 0-0 0, Wyatt Smith 1 0-1 2, Eric Seaman 0 0-0 0, Tyler Johnson 4 2-2 13, Sam Elliott 0 0-0 0, Micah Bucy 1 2-4 4. Totals — 19 12-23 55.

3-point field goals — Whitefish 3 (Kastella, Henry, May), Flathead 5 (T. Johnson 3, Barrett, AuClaire). Total fouls — Whitefish 16, Flathead 16. Fouled out — Whitefish (Henry, Wold). Technical fouls — None. Records — Whitefish (1-4), Flathead (2-2).

Girls

Flathead 56, Whitefish 35

Hot-shooting Flathead pulled away for a nonconference win at home against, making it back-to-back wins for the Bravettes for the first time since February 2013.

The Bravettes (2-2) followed up Tuesday’s blowout at Polson with a balanced team effort Friday, placing three in double-figures seeing nine get in the scoring column.

“Energy is definitely up and more positive,” Bravettes coach Lisa Hendrickson said.

“To be .500 right now is really good, and going into our season we wanted to (finish at) .500. This is a good start for us.”

Flathead made eight 3-pointers in the game, four in the first quarter. Kelsey Gillespie and Tiana Johnson each made three triples in the win.

“Those girls shot the lights out, what are you going to do?” Whitefish coach Ben Johnson said.

“It’s not like we gave up every one open. It’s one of those nights you don’t want somebody to have against you but they did.”

The Bulldogs (2-3) managed to stay within 27-17 at the half, but Flathead slowly built its lead after the break and was able to play all of its reserves in the final quarter.

Johnson finished with 14 points and eight rebounds to lead the way. Gillespie added 13 and Kylee Meredith chipped in 10.

Cadelyn Nunn made a pair of first half 3-pointers off the bench.

Dani Douglas paced Whitefish with 10 points. Coral Schulz added nine. The Bulldogs finished 5-for-12 from 3-point range.

Flathead hits the road today to take on Coeur d’Alene High School at 3 p.m. MST.

Whitefish 8 9 9 9 — 35

Flathead 18 9 15 14 — 56

WHITEFISH — Dani Douglas 3 2-2 10, Coral Schulz 3 1-2 9, Allie Schulz 1 2-4 4, Mariah Drown 0 0-0 0, Haley Nicholson 1 0-0 2, Anissa Brown 0 1-2 1, Katy Dolan 0 0-0 0, Makenna Benbrook 0 1-2 1, Allix Larsen 1 0-0 2, Cailyn Ross 2 0-2 4, Becca Catina 0 2-4 2, Diana Vasquez 0 0-4 0. Totals — 11 9-22 35.

FLATHEAD — Kylee Meredith 5 0-0 10, Sierra Siblerud 1 2-2 4, Kelsey Gillespie 5 0-0 13, Tiana Johnson 5 1-1 14, Liz Lorentz 0 1-3 1, Averie Olson 0 0-1 0, Mary Heaton 0 0-0 0, Sara Clarin 0 0-0 0, Cadelyn Nunn 2 0-0 6, Allison Gagnon 0 0-0 0, Taylor Henley 0 2-4 2, Kylee Beccari 1 0-0 2, Taryn Gutierez 2 0-0 4. Totals — 21 6-11 56.

3-point field goals — Whitefish 4 (Douglas 2, C.Schulz 2), Flathead 8 (Gillespie 3, Johnson 3, Nunn 2). Total fouls — Whitefish 12, Flathead 19. Fouled out — None. Technical fouls — None. Records — Whitefish (2-3), Flathead (2-2).