Flathead rally falls short at G. Falls High
The Daily Inter Lake
GREAT FALLS - Flathead rallied in the final quarter, but fell short in losing 73-70 Saturday afternoon to Great Falls High School in nonconference boys basketball action.
The Braves came into the contest ranked No. 3 in the state. Great Falls is No. 5.
Flathead, 12-4, almost wiped out a 12-point deficit to start the fourth period, closing the gap to two points. But the Bison, 12-4, held on.
"A good showing (for us) on the road in a tough place to play against good AA competition," said FHS coach Fred Febach. "Basically, they shot the ball very well. The (Bobby) Howard kid hit a number of threes (three) against us."
Howard finished with 31 points to lead all scorers.
Febach said the Braves made several adjustments in the fourth quarter, which helped trim the deficit.
"The kids did a good job," he said. "Two other kids who really picked it up tonight were Beau Watkins with 18 (points) and Jeremy DeHerrea with 20 (points)."
Brock Osweiler joined those two in double figures scoring with 16. He also pulled down nine rebounds.
Flathead held an 18-17 edge after eight minutes of play, but trailed 34-28 at the half.
Flathead is back on the court Thursday, 7:30 p.m., for a key Western AA home game with Missoula Sentinel.
BISON 73, BRAVES 70
Flathead 18 10 19 23 - 70
Great Falls 17 17 25 14 - 73
Flathead - Beau Watkins 6-11 3-6 18, Jeremy DeHerrera 7-11 4-7 20, Brock Osweiler 5-8 6-9 16, Geoff Hogan 3-8 0-0 6, Mack Andrews 1-4 0-0 3, Richard Boggs 0-0 0-0 0, Jason Russell 2-3 2-2 6, Ryan Gregg 0-0 1-2 1, Gary Rivers 0-1 0-0 0, Burk Schaible 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 24-46 16-26 70.
Great Falls High - Eric Chaon 4-6 2-4 10, Shaun Tatarka 3-11 6-8 14, Kody Swartz 4-7 1-1 9, Bobby Howard 10-22 8-9 31, Jerry Schmitz 1-2 1-2 3, Kevin Corwin 1-1 0-1 2, Kurt Bosley 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 24-54 18-25 73.
Total fouls: Flathead 22, GFH 17. Fouled out: Osweiler, Andrews. Three-point goals: Flathead 6 (Andrews, DeHerrera 2, Watkins 3), GFH 7 (Schmitz, McKittrick, Tatarka 2, Howard 3). Rebounds: Flathead 27 (Osweiler 9), GFH 32 (Howard 10, Tatarka 6, Chaon 6). Dead-ball rebounds: 10. Turnovers: Flathead 20, GFH 13.
Polson 76, Ronan 35
POLSON - James Langston scored 16 of his game-high 24 points in the first half as Polson coasted to an easy victory Saturday over Ronan in boys Northwestern A play.
Polson (7-2 and 12-5) led 31-6 at one point before finishing the first half with a 43-12 lead.
The Pirates, winners of five straight, play at Libby Friday.
PIRATES 76, CHIEFS 35
Ronan 4 8 10 13 - 35
Polson 28 15 23 10 - 76
Ronan - Bud Collicott 3 1-5 7, Alan Skogen 0 1-4 1, Ian Erwell 1 1-2 3, Gene Adams 3 0-0 8, Cameron Barber 4 4-5 12, Cody Metzger 2 0-3 4. Totals: 13 7-19 35.
Polson - Craig Bagnell 2 0-0 4, John Rausch 0 2-2 2, Chris Ogle 3 0-0 6, Colton Woods 5 1-4 11, Andy Nelson 1 0-1 2, Gabe Caye 4 0-0 10, Bubba Michel 4 2-2 13, James Langston 11 2-6 24, Zach Langston 1 0-0 2, P.J. Auld 1 0-0 2. Totals: 32 7-15 76.
3-point goals: Adams (2), Caye (2), Michel (3). Team fouls: Ronan 16, Polson 15. Fouled out: None.
Columbia Falls 72, Frenchtown 67
COLUMBIA FALLS - Greg Macijunas scored a career high 20 points and pulled down 12 rebounds helping Columbia Falls upend Frenchtown in overtime Saturday.
The Wildcats, 14-3 overall, tied the game with 16 seconds left on a trey by Kevin Boyer.
Nick Beckwith blocked a shot by Frenchtown at the end of regulation to force overtime.
Macijunas was 4-for-4 at the free throw line in extended play.
"Our defense kept us in the game tonight," said Columbia Falls coach Cary Finberg.
"We struggled offensively this week, but at least our defense showed up and kept us in the game."
WILDCATS 72, BRONCS 67
Frenchtown 17 16 8 17 9 - 67
Columbia Falls 10 16 16 16 14 - 72
Frenchtown - Nate Lebsock 5 3-5 15, Tom Davis 3 0-0 9, Steve Pfahler 6 5-7 17, Kyle Amundson 2 4-5 8, Caleb DeGroot 1 0-0 2, Brian Lebsock 1 8-9 11, Josh Volinkety 1 3-4 5. Totals: 19 23-30 67.
Columbia Falls - Kevin Boyer 6 5-8 19, Robbie Dakin 3 1-2 7, Steffen Anderson 0 4-10, Guy Smith 8 0-5 16, Greg Macijunas 6 8-15 20, Nick Beckwith 1 4-7 6. Totals: 24 22-47 72.
3-point goals: Davis (3), N. Lebsock (2), B. Lebsock; Boyer (2). Team fouls: Frenchtown 30, Columbia Falls 25. Fouled out: N. Lebsock; Boyer.
Bigfork 59, Whitefish 58
WHITEFISH - Nathan Roessmann hit a baseline runner from 10 feet with 1.3 seconds left to lift Bigfork past Whitefish in Northwestern A basketball play Saturday.
Whitefish got off a desperation shot from halfcourt at the buzzer, but it was off the mark.
Whitefish, 3-6 and 6-11, led the entire second half until Roessmann's basket.
Roessmann led all scorers with 21 points.
Mike McCracken had 17 to pace Whitefish.
Whitefish plays at Ronan on Tuesday.
Bigfork, 5-3 and 7-9, visits Libby on Thursday.
VIKINGS 59, BULLDOGS 58
Bigfork 18 11 13 17 - 59
Whitefish 14 16 18 10 - 58
Bigfork - Nathan Roessmann 7 6-7 21, Joe Wolstein 1 4-4 6, Eric Wehrman 1 0-0 3, Trevor Thurman 3 2-2 9, David Holst 1 1-2 3, Robert Walters 2 1-2 5, Isaiah Welch 5 2-4 12. Totals: 20 16-21 59.
Whitefish - Sam Penzi 3 0-1 6, Jake Cummings 1 2-3 5, Luke Fennelly 2 0-1 5, Byron Whitcomb 3 0-0 7, Cody Idol 3 1-6 7, Colt Idol 3 0-0 7, Mike McCracken 7 3-4 17, Dane Sjoden 2 0-0 4. Totals: 24 6-15 58.
3-point goals: Roessmann, Wehrman, Thurman; Cummings, Fennelly, Whitcomb, Colt Idol. Team fouls: Bigfork 17, Whitefish 15. Fouled out: Holst.
Plains 52, Eureka 50
PLAINS - Ryan Dawson's 3-pointer with 25 seconds left helped Plains (4-6 and 11-7) finish the regular season on a good note with a victory over Eureka (5-5 and 10-8) on Saturday in District 8-B play.
Dawson's hoop gave Plains a three-point edge, but Eureka's Isiah Linnell was fouled by Dawson attempting a 3-pointer on the ensuing possession. Linnell hit 2-of-3 from the line.
Tanner Colombo added a foul shot in the final seconds for Plains.
Brandon Thompson's 27 points topped Plains. Nick Zarnowski and Linnell scored 12 apiece for Eureka.
HORSEMEN 52, LIONS 50
Eureka 11 10 16 13 - 50
Plains 11 20 5 16 - 52
Eureka - Zach Richter 1, Danny Cameron 5, Zach White 8, Nick Zarnowski 12, Isiah Linnell 12, Jay Roberts 3, Jordan Lundberg 2, John Davis 7.
Plains - Kenny Carpenter 6, Ryan Dawson 11, Mitch Thompson 3, Brandon Thompson 27, Jess Dicken 2, Tanner Colombo 1, Nate Cole 2..
Girls Basketball
Columbia Falls 55, Frenchtown 44
FRENCHTOWN - Columbia Falls jumped on Frenchtown early, leading 19-13, en route to a non-conference girls basketball victory Saturday.
The Wildkats, 7-9, scored in double digits in three of the fourth quarters.
Kate Marcille finished with 12 points and six rebounds for Columbia Falls and Callie Spencer scored 16 points. Amber Lampman had seven points and eight rebounds.
"The difference tonight, we got things going offensively," said Columbia Falls coach Kris Salonen.
"We finally took it at them."
WILDKATS 55, BRONCS 44
Columbia Falls 19 9 16 11 - 55
Frenchtown 13 5 8 16 - 44
Columbia Falls - Callie Spencer 7 2-2 16, Amber Lampman 2 2-6 7, Jessica Boyer 2 1-3 5, Alyssa Ladenburg 0 1-2 1, Beth Karper 1 3-8 5, Jessica Davis 2 0-2 5, Kate Marcille 5 2-2 12, Alona Raymond 1 0-0 2, Sam Ladenburg 1 0-0 2. Totals: 21 11-25 55.
Frenchtown - Erin Clark 6 1-2 18, Deni Scheffer 3 1-1 7, Noellel Lebsock 3 0-2 8, Courtney Hendrick 1 1-2 3, Lacey Lovell 1 0-0 2, Laura Geif 2 0-0 4, Jenna V. 1 0-0 2. Totals: 17 3-9 44.
3-point goals: Lampman, Davis; Clark (3), Lebsock (2). Team fouls: Columbia Falls 12, Frenchtown 17. Fouled out: None.
Eureka 50, Plains 23
EUREKA - Eureka used a balanced attack to whip Plains and finish regular-season action perfect in District 8-B play, 10-0, on Saturday. Overall, the Lions are 16-2.
Sarah Flanary finished with a double-double, 16 points and 11 rebounds, while Jessica Marek had 12 points and Chelsea Workman 10.
Workman also totalled eight assists and seven steals.
LIONS 50, TROTTERS 23
Plains 2 11 6 4 - 23
Eureka 14 15 12 9 - 50
Plains - J. Holland 0 2-2 2, J. Stewart 1 1-2 3, K. Anderson 1 0-0 2, M. French 1 3-4 5, A. Bulles 1 0-0 2, B. Mount 1 3-4 5, B. Catanello 1 2-3 4. Totals: 6 11-15 23.
Eureka - Jessica Marek 5 2-2 12, Melanie Finch 1 1-2 3, Amy Roberts 3 1-1 7, Krista Kakuk 1 0-1 2, Sarah Flanary 8 0-1 16, Chelsea Workman 4 2-2 10. Totals: 22 6-9 50.
3-point goals: None. Team fouls: Plains 9, Eureka 15. Fouled out: None.