Glacier boys shoot past Spartans, secure top seed
The Daily Inter Lake
MISSOULA — The Glacier boys secured the Western AA conference’s top seed at the state basketball tournament in dramatic fashion on Tuesday night, beating Missoula Sentinel 48-45 on a 3-pointer in the closing seconds.
Wolfpack senior Tadan Gilman got open from deep, nailing a 3-pointer with 14 seconds to play to give Glacier (17-2 overall, 10-1 Western AA) its first lead of the fourth quarter.
On the next trip down the floor, Sentinel’s Sam Beighle made a 3 to tie the score, however, the Spartans coaching staff called a timeout before the shot left his hands with eight seconds left. Another try at a 3 went off the rim and Glacier got possession with less than two seconds to play, riding out the win.
It is the most wins in school history, tied with the 2011-12 and 2012-13 teams that each won their 17th game in the state tournament. Glacier can set the mark on Thursday against Flathead.
The Wolfpack jumped out to a commanding lead in the first quarter, taking a 19-6 advantage after eight minutes of play.
That pace slowed down quickly, however, as Sentinel opened the second quarter on an 8-0 run and tied the game at 21-21 before Glacier was able to close the frame on a 5-1 run.
Glacier pulled out to a 37-32 lead in the third quarter, but struggled to close the frame with the Spartans closing on an 8-1 run to take a 40-38 lead entering the fourth quarter.
Sentinel hit an early 3-pointer to extend its lead, when confusion on the court ensued. Glacier’s Tadan Gilman drove the lane and made a layup, but was called for an offensive foul. The call was reversed, then reassessed, with the layup counting to cut the lead to 43-40. The result, however, left Gilman and Sentinel’s Mitch Roberts four fouls with four minutes to play.
Glacier tied the game at 45-45 and held that score until a timeout with 1:12 left in the game. Jack Desmul missed a shot out of the timeout and Glacier regained possession with 46 seconds to play. Sentinel poked the ball out of bounds on the next attempt to cut the clock to 32 seconds, leading to the Gilman game-winner.
Gilman had a game-high 16 points to lead the Wolfpack in the win, none bigger than his final shot. Glacier’s leading scorer this season, senior Jaxen Hashley, sat the game out.
Beighle led Sentinel (11-8, 8-3) with 13 points. With the loss, the Spartans lead for second place in the conference is just a half game. Sentinel plays Flathead on Saturday.
Glacier 19 7 12 10 — 48
Sentinel 6 16 18 5 — 45
GLACIER — Jack Desmul 3 0-0 6, Caden Harkins 0 2-3 2, Cody Hartsoch 0 1-2 1, Nick Whitman 1 0-0 2, Torin Bowden 1 0-0 2, Collin Kazmier 1 0-0 3, Brec Rademacher 4 0-0 9, Gilman 6 1-2 16, Pat O’Connell 2 1-1 5, Jeremiah Martin 1 0-0 2. Totals: 19 5-8 48.
SENTINEL — Mitch Roberts 1 4-6 7, Ethan Jones 4 0-0 8, Nick Germer 1 3-4 5, Elias DeWaters 0 1-2 1, Griffin Line 2 0-0 4, Sam Beighle 2 8-8 13, Will Mytty 1 0-1 2, Danny McKittrick 1 2-2 5. Totals: 12 18-23 45.
3-point goals—Glacier 5 (Gilman 3, Rademacher, Kazmier), Sentinel 3 (Roberts, Beighle, McKittrick). Rebounds—Glacier 25 (Desmul 6), Sentinel 29 (Mytty 7). Total fouls—Glacier 19, Sentinel 14. Fouled out—none.