There was another ‘battle of the Bitterroot’ only Class C style. The Victor Pirates traveled to Darby for a District 13C match up. Darby has had success this year even though they lost a tough match against Drummond on Friday night. Although rivals on the floor, these two teams are pretty good friends and it showed throughout the night. Darby came away with the 57-38 victory.
Victor had perhaps their strongest quarter of the year in the first quarter and had a one point lead going into the second quarter. Coach Matt Warren said he felt like his team found some confidence in their shooting.
“We talked about structure, structure, structure. Sometimes when I say that, they listen so well that what happens is they go with the structure and then they don’t score. They go like ‘well coach said run the offense. We need to touch the ball, swing it around and score.”
Darby coach Crystal Smith was pleased that her team rallied and came back for the win.
“Victor came out pretty strong. I’ve been telling the boys all week. Victor is kind of our rival and they’re going to bring it to the table. Carson (Varner) and Preston (Smith) are really good friends and they like to pound each other and have fun. That first half had us a little, we were scared.”
But the Tigers came back in the second half and found their range. Smith sank three treys to get the momentum goings. Cullen Duggan had nine of his 14 points in the second half as well. “It was a good one, especially after last night. Our boys really needed that.”
Darby 57, Victor 38.
Victor – Carson Varner 18, Canyon Parks 9, Brandon Bowen 3, Jordan McLane 5, Rivyr Lyman 3,
Darby – Cullan Duggan 14, Brendan Leavens 2, Preston Smith 26, Jackson Hundley 3, Will Martin 6, Hooper Reed 6.
Drummond defeated Darby, 36-27, in District 13C action on Friday night. Smith had nine points, Martin had eight, Reed had 6, and Duggan finished with four points.