Crosstown II promises another big crowd, more pressure defense

Crosstown II is Thursday at Glacier High School, and Wolfpack boys coach Mark Harkins expects another tough game despite Flathead’s winless record.

“It was incredibly tough,” he said of Glacier’s 60-50 win at Flathead on Jan. 19. “It was incredibly physical. They kept coming back, and were just relentless. Credit them, and credit our kids for withstanding it. There were just runs back and forth the whole second half.”

Liam Ells and Cohen Kastelitz had 15 points each to lead the Pack that night; Flathead got a game-high 21 points from Lyric Ersland and 12 more from Brody Thornsberry.

Jordan Griffin had nine and is coming off a 30-point game for the Braves, who had slow quarters in losses last week to Missoula Sentinel and Hellgate.

“We would have lapses for quarters where we just didn’t score,” Flathead coach Dan Trageser said. “Limiting those lapses has allowed us to be more competitive in games. 

I think the kids have really bought in, in terms of controlling what you can control, playing with energy every single day.

“If we can speed Glacier up like we did last time, get them in foul trouble we’ll be in pretty good position.”

Glacier’s girls beat the Flathead Bravettes’ 44-31; it was the Wolfpack’s second league win. 

Reese Ramey had 16 points and continues to lead the Pack offensive attack. It was their defense that bothered Flathead more than anything; Kenedee Moore had seven steals for the Pack.

“The big thing for us was taking care of the basketball,” Flathead coach Kaylee Fox said. “We just had a lot of turnovers and let their pressure kind of dictate the tone of the game. 

“Hopefully we can be more prepared for that this time, and value our possessions, offensively.”

Kennedy Moore leads Flathead’s offense, though Celie VandenBosch broke out with 12 points in last Saturday’s 45-37 loss at Hellgate.

That same night Sentinel rallied past Glacier in the fourth quarter.

“We played them well,” Glacier coach Amanda Cram said of the Spartans. “I would not say it was our best basketball, but for 30 minutes it was fairly solid. We have to do better executing down the stretch. Against Flathead, we did and we were able to pull away.”