Bengals tip Braves

When the Flathead Braves get hot, they can play with anybody.

Although they fell short of a victory in a grueling 54-53 Western AA loss to Helena High, Friday night’s home contest was another indication of just how dangerous the Braves can be.

Undersized and outmatched, the Braves (4-9 overall, 1-4 league) shot 61 percent from the 3-point line, draining eight shots from downtown, before falling to the Bengals (8-6, 4-2) in dramatic fashion.

Flathead trailed 53-52 with 18 seconds remaining in the contest as Braves junior guard Matt Marshall crossed half court. With the clock winding down, Helena’s Ragen Shein decided to try to trap Marshall with teammate Chase South. Shein was charged with a blocking foul, sending Marshall to the line for a double bonus with 11.4 seconds left.

Marshall, who finished with a team-high 16 points after shooting 75 percent from behind the arc, made the first free throw to tie the game, but missed the back end.

As the ball fell into Shein’s hands, Flathead’s Cade Smith fouled him under the Braves basket, putting the 6-foot-6-inch Helena junior at the free throw line for his chance at a double bonus with 9.8 seconds left, the score deadlocked at 53.

Like Marshall, Shein made the first and missed the second, and the Braves scrambled up the court in desperation. Freshman guard Tyler Johnson drove the lane and kicked out a pass to Marshall, who was open in the left corner. With under a second to go, Marshall’s only missed 3-pointer of the night was his final attempt of the game — a rushed shot that hit the rim and fell to the floor.

“We knew we were going to have a battle on our hands with the size that they had, but I was really impressed with our kids who stepped on the floor and played well for us,” Flathead coach Fred Febach said.

“Matt Marshall had a great game and Tyler Johnson really helped us in the second quarter. When you have to battle that kind of size, I thought my kids held their ground and did a super job. We had a chance to win it. It just didn’t happen.”

Johnson matched Marshall’s team-high 16-point effort with a superb second-quarter shooting display. Coming off the bench in the second, Johnson hit four triples in the period, several from well beyond the 3-point line and with plenty of hands in his face.

It was the freshman’s tear that led the Braves to a 22-point second quarter, erasing a 12-6 deficit, and Flathead took a 28-27 advantage into halftime.

“We know he’s certainly capable of scoring. If he’s open, I want him to shoot,” Febach said. “He was open and he was nailing them. I was hoping they would leave him open all night, but that didn’t happen.

“It just opened things up. It made the game more fun for us to play and put pressure on them to defend him.”

Shein led all scorers with 24 points while AJ Kanthack added eight for Helena, who was coming off a 34-33 overtime loss to Glacier on Thursday.

Despite battling 6-8 Henry Garrett and the 6-6 Shein, Flathead’s senior post Trae Habel led the Braves in rebounding, grabbing five boards to go along with his seven points and one block.

Alex Croymans had one of the Braves eight 3-pointers, finishing with nine points for Flathead.

The Braves host Helena Capital today at 2:30 p.m.

Helena High 12 15 16 11 — 54

Flathead 6 22 12 13 — 53

HELENA — Ragen Shein 6-16 6-19 24, Jackson Thennis 1-2 0-0 2, Derek Jenneskens 2-6 0-0 4, Chase Benson 1-1 0-0 2, Chase South 2-4 2-4 7, AJ Kanthack 3-8 2-6 8, Taylor England 3-5 1-1 7. Totals 18-42 14-29 54.

FLATHEAD — Matt Marhsall 6-8 1-2 16, Seth Adolph 0-1 1-2 1, Alex Croymans 4-8 0-0 9, Bridger Johnson 0-2 3-4 3, Cade White 0-2 1-2 1, Tyler Johnson 4-9 4-6 16, Trae Habel 2-3 3-3 7. 16-34 13-19 53.

3-point goals — Helena 3-12 (Shein 1-4, South 1-2, England 1-1), Flathead 8-13 (Johnson 4-5, Marshall 3-4, Croymans 1-3). Rebounds — Helena 28 (Shein 5, South 4,) Flathead 28 (Johnson 4, Habel 5). Blocks — Helena 2 (Henry Garrett 2), Flathead 2 (Johnson, Habel). Total fouls — Helena 18, Flathead 20. Fouled out — none.