The Powell County Wardens came to town on Friday to try and stop Florence from winning the District 6B championship. The two teams were pretty evenly matched with both teams having size and speed. Both the Falcons and the Wardens matched each other basket for basket in the first half. Florence had a one point lead at the break.
Deer Lodge edged ahead in the third quartered took a three point lead into the final quarter. They continued to build on that lead behind the play of Ozzie King and Aidan Thompson underneath the basket. With three and a half minutes remaining in the game, Florence trailed by nine points.
“We knew it was going to be a tough game,” said Florence coach Jordan Wittmier.” They bring that 1-3-1 defense. You have to be mentally tough to keep fighting it. We have a couple of special sets that we run and then just our regular offense. We do a lot of ball fakes, and bounce passes. We did a pretty good job of that.”
JP Briney was assigned to defend Deer Lodge’s all state player Logan Nicholson. “ I can’t say enough about his defense this year. Last year he was a great shooter. I challenged him this summer and he’s become a fantastic defender,” according to Wittmier.
With time running out, Florence settled down and began making baskets.Beau Neal started the Falcons’ run. With little more than two minutes remaining, Eli Pederson dropped a long three point shot to close the gap to two points. Deer Lodge lost the ball out of bounds, but then Florence missed a shot and a free throw. With little more than a minute remaining, Briney stole the ball and dished to Levi Posey who tied the game up with a lay up. The Wardens again lost the ball out of bounds and with 19 seconds remaining, Pederson got the ball and drained a trey for the 55-52 win.
“I told them we’re going to get a stop,” said Wittmier.”We had to keep up the pressure defense. Somehow we’ll get the ball back and we’ll get a basket. I’m glad they (Florence) believed me.”
Florence-Carlton 55, Deer Lodge 52
Deer Lodge – Ozzie King 22; Aidan Thompson 17; Logan Nicholson 10; Brodey Freeman 3.
Florence – Beau Neal 20; Eli Pedersen 13; JP Briney 11; Levi Posey 5; Caden Zaluski 4; Blake Shoupe 2.
The Lady Falcons defeated Deer Lodge, 37-19, in the final game of the night. Deer Lodge was hobbled by injuries but tried hard to keep up with Florence. Florence played a tough defense with Kolbi Wood and Kasidy Yeoman leading the way. Yeoman matched Deer Lodge’s points, making 19 points by herself.
“We have to be ready to play every night,” said coach Duane Zeiler “We’re third in our district. I honestly think there’s six teams from this division that could go to state. Just who plays well that weekend because everybody has beaten everybody.”
Florence-Carlton 37, Deer Lodge 19
Deer Lodge – Taryn Lamb 7; Mary Hansen 5; Courtney Boese 3; Natalie Spring 2; Emma Johnson 2.
Florence – Kasidy Yeoman 19; Kylie Kovatch 7; Josie Lewis 4; Kolbi Wood 2; Carina McCollum 2; Trista Williams 2; Kelsen Zahn 1.