BOYS BASKETBALL: Polson survives scare, stays alive at Class A tournament

MISSOULA — With less than a second on the clock and the score tied, Polson senior Payton Lefthand rose up from beyond the arc and Pirates coach Randy Kelley thought his team was moving on in the Class A state tournament.

He was right, just not the way he expected.

“The shot that Payton took, it looked like it was right on the money,” Kelley said.

It wasn’t, skipping off the back of the rim, but as Lefthand was coming back to earth he was bumped to the ground by a charging Bronc defender and the referee’s whistle blew, calling a foul and giving Lefthand three chances from the free-throw line with 0.3 seconds on the clock.

Lefthand missed the first but hit the second, giving the Pirates a 51-50 win Friday afternoon at Dahlberg Arena on the campus of the University of Montana in a loser-out game.

Polson (17-6) will play Hardin today at 11 a.m. in another loser-out game. If the Pirates win that one, they will hit the court again at 6:30 p.m. in a battle for third place.

Friday’s Pirates win may have been dramatic in the final minute — Hamilton’s Hunter Omlid hit a tying 3-pointer with 10 seconds left — but it was far from a complete effort. Polson struggled mightily to shoot the ball, making just one 3-pointer and going 16 for 33 from the free-throw line.

The Broncs (13-11) controlled the action in the early going, leading by double-digits in the first quarter and remaining in front, 28-21, at halftime.

“We came out sluggish,” Kelley said. “I don’t think I’ve called a timeout that fast all year.

The Polson coach brought his team to the bench just a minute into the game.

“We were fortunate,” he added. “We missed 17 free throws. We were 1 for 9 from 3-point. Usually when you look at something like that you’re not in the game.”

Matthew Rensvold put the Pirates on his back in the second half, scoring 17 of his game-high 27 points. Rensvold also finished with nine rebounds, all on the offensive end.

“I thought the kids did a much better job of looking for him (in the second half),” Kelley said of Rensvold. “He played big. He’s a workhorse.”

Julian Jones added 12 points in the win.

Omlid scored 12 points and snagged nine boards to lead Hamilton.

Polson 11 10 15 15 — 51

Hamilton 17 11 6 16 — 50

POLSON — Tanner Wilson 1-7 0-2 2, Matthew Rensvold 9-13 9-11 27, Julian Jones 3-8 6-13 12, Wyatt Ducharme 0-0 0-0 0, Payton Lefthand 3-9 1-3 8, J’Von Niemeyer 1-4 0-2 2, Shade Main 0-2 0-2 0, Hudson Smith 0-1 0-0 0, Jeremiah North Piegan 0-0 0-0 0. Totals — 17-44 16-33 51.

HAMILTON — Bret Huxtable 3-8 0-0 8, Hunter Omlid 4-8 3-4 12, Carter Kearns 2-6 4-4 9, Josh Heath 2-4 0-0 4, Ky Burch 1-5 4-4 7, Bridger Bauder 0-0 2-2 2, Tyler Chouinard 1-2 0-0 2, Jaylen Taggart 2-6 2-3 6, Tanner Goligoski 0-0 0-0 0. Totals — 15-39 15-17 50.

3-point field goals — Polson 1 (Lefthand), Hamilton 5 (Huxtable 2, Omlid, Kearns, Burch). Rebounds — Polson 35 (Rensvold 9, Jones 7), Hamilton 26 (Omlid 9). Assists — Polson 9 (Jones 3), Hamilton 11 (Kearns 4). Turnovers — Polson 13, Hamilton 14. Total fouls — Polson 16, Hamilton 22. Fouled out — Huxtable.