Flathead fades down the stretch

It was shaping up to be a night to remember for Flathead.

Beau Watkins and Jeremy DeHerrera nailed 3-pointers on the Braves' first two possessions, giving the team an early cushion.

Then Brock Osweiler and Geoff Hogan went to work, combining for 23 first-half points as Flathead went into the locker room up 31-24.

But it soon became a night to forget.

Missoula Sentinel sank 12 of 16 foul shots in the fourth quarter, and outscored the Braves 18-6 down the stretch in a 61-52 win Thursday night in Kalispell.

The loss was Flathead's first at home this season and also marked the first time the team has lost consecutive games. It also gives the Spartans sole possession of first place in Western AA at 7-2.

Despite the stinging loss, the Braves still sit in second place in the conference at 6-3.

"Everyone might be down after tonight, but we're still in great position for state, which is our No. 1 goal," Hogan said. "We still control our own destiny."

Hogan did his best to will his team to victory, scoring 17 points. He also helped contain Sentinel sophomore Andy Garland, who scored 36 points in last month's loss in Missoula but managed only 12 on Thursday.

"Our kids understand how good (Garland) is and Geoff did a good job defending him," Flathead coach Fred Febach said. "I think Geoff had his best game of the year tonight, at both ends of the floor."

Osweiler also came through with one of the best performances of his young career. He had a career-high 27 points and also hauled in 11 rebounds.

However, the Flathead duo were the only ones to score in the second half.

"We came out ready to play and did a real nice job early," Febach said. "But we couldn't buy a shot in the second half. Sentinel really got after us defensively."

Osweiler also got wrapped up in a decisive call in the game's final minute.

Flathead was down 55-52 with less than 20 seconds remaining when Osweiler was whistled for his fifth foul. He then was hit with a technical foul for arguing the call, and Brant Beaudry's free throws put the game out of reach. Beaudry finished with a team-high 16 points.

DeHerrera was also saddled with a technical earlier in the quarter, giving him his fifth foul and a seat on the bench.

The Flathead faithful voiced its displeasure with the calls.

"When the refs make a call we disagree with, there's nothing we can do about it," Hogan said.

"Jeremy and Brock just need to walk away, because we need them out there."

The Braves have little time to fume, because they're in action tonight at 7:30 at Missoula Big Sky.

"We have to think about this loss tonight and let it fuel us tomorrow," Hogan said. "You'll see a motivated team out there against Big Sky."