Marshall's free throw lifts Flathead over Rustlers

As the shot went up, a silence fell over Flathead gymnasium. The ball rattled around the rim, finally falling through the net as pandemonium ensued.

Matt Marshall’s free throw with 0.2 seconds left broke a 64-64 tie and gave Flathead its first victory over Great Falls C.M. Russell in five years — a 65-64 nonconference home victory on Friday night.

It was the highlight of a wild finish that nearly saw CMR leave Kalispell with a road victory on the previous possession.

Trailing 64-63, the clocking winding down, CMR junior Karl Tucker II pulled up in the lane for a mid-range jumper. It missed, but was boarded by CMR and kicked out to junior Andrew Grinde, who took an open 3-point look with five seconds left. His shot fell short and was rebounded by senior Yancy Gange, who was fouled on his putback attempt which fell through the bottom of the net, giving the Rustlers the lead.

Or so Gange thought.

The refs waved off the shot and called the foul on the floor. With both teams in the double bonus, Gange went to the line with 1.3 seconds remaining. He missed the first attempt before tying the game up on the back end, prompting Flathead to call a timeout.

Marshall took the inbound pass and looked to head up the court but he never got there.

Rustler’s Jarrod Simmons tried to cut off Marshall near the right sideline while reaching in for the steal, fouling the Braves leading scorer.

“We drew up a screen for me to get the ball. They trapped me but (Cade White) still passed it to me. I don’t know why they fouled me, but they did,” Marshall said.

“I don’t know what he was doing. It felt like an intentional foul, but I don’t know.

“That was probably the most nervous I’ve ever been,” Marshall said of his game-winning free throw.

In a game featuring 55 fouls, the teams combined to shoot 36 free throws in the first half. Flathead, who had 25 of those attempts, was in the bonus at the 3:46 mark of the first quarter.

Despite the advantage at the line, there were seven lead changes in the first half. The Braves started to separate from the Rustlers by navigating a 9-2 run in the final 2:34 of the second quarter.

“In regard to the officiating, it’s a point of emphasis that they have to call a lot of the hand checking. Honestly, they have a tough job because it slows the pace of the game and it’s difficult for the kids to adjust to,” Flathead head coach Fred Febach said. “Fortunately for us it was working in our favor. We were able to get to the free-throw line, something you have to do. We needed to cash in on those. It turned out to be a physical game for all 32 minutes and that’s something we expected, but it turned in our favor. We scored 23 points from the free-throw line.”

Marshall finished with a game-high 22 points, shooting 4 for 6 from behind the arc, and had three assists. Trae Habel poured in eight points to go along with his eight rebounds. Seth Adolph added eight points off the bench.

The Braves host Columbia Falls on Friday at 7:30 p.m.

C.M. Russell 16 16 16 16 — 64

Flathead 17 21 13 14 — 65

C.M. RUSSELL — Chris Moore 1-1 0-0 2, Andrew Grinde 5-11 0-3 10, Jarrod Simmons 2-6 0-0 6, David Gillespie 0-0 2-2 2, Yancy Gange 2-9 8-11 12, Karl Tucker II 6-12 7-9 20, Sam Vining 1-7 0-0 3, Zach Harper 2-2 0-2 2. Totals 19-50 21-31 64.

FLATHEAD — Matt Marshall 8-11 2-4 22, Seth Adolph 2-2 4-4 8, Alex Croymans 1-7 4-8 6, Bridger Johnson 3-6 4-6 10, Cade White 0-0 2-2 2, Wyatt Smith 0-0 1-2 1, Keaton Krantz 0-2 2-2 2, Blake Wilson 2-2 2-3 5, Trae Habel 3-7 2-4 8. Totals 19-41 23-35 65.

3-point goals — CMR 5-18 (Simmons 2-5, Tucker II 1-1 Vining 1-6, Harper 1-1), Flathead 4-11 (Marshall 4-6). Rebounds — CMR 28 (Gange 8) Flathead 39 (Krantz 6). Assists — CMR 17 (Simmons 3, Gange 3). Flathead 18 (Marshall 3, White 3, Krantz 3). Fouls — CMR 27, Flathead 28. Fouled out —None.