by Scott Sacry
The Florence boys took 4th in the Western B Divisionals in Hamilton on March 1. Florence played a lot of basketball in the four days. They opened the tournament with a 70-36 win over Eureka, then lost to Thompson Falls 41-53 in the semifinals. This sent them to the loser’s side of the bracket where they defeated Troy 54-48. This win sent them to the consolation game where they lost to Anaconda 39-52.
Florence 70, Eureka 36
The Florence boys played Eureka in the first round on Thursday. Florence led 16-13 after an even first quarter, then started to distance themselves, leading 38-15 at halftime and rolling to a 70-36 victory.
For Florence, Brody Duchien led the scoring with 20 points. Mason Arlington had 13, Mose Smith had 10, Jake Schneiter had 7, Levi Winters had 6, Caleb Katen had 5, Bridger Alexander had 4, Wes Potter had 3, and Laasch Makoa added 2.
Florence 41, Thompson Falls 53
The win against Eureka sent the Falcons to the semifinal game where they faced the top-seeded team out of the 7B conference, Thompson Falls, on Friday night. Thompson Falls jumped out to a 21-12 first quarter lead, but Florence cut the lead in the second quarter and trailed 29-33 at halftime. The second half was a defensive battle. Florence tied the game 38-38 on a Brody Duchien three-pointer with 5 minutes left in the game. But the Falcons went cold from that point on, and were outscored 3-15 in the final five minutes and lost 41-53.
This loss effectively eliminated the Falcons from a state berth, as only two teams go to state from this year’s divisionals. Thompson Falls took second, so Florence couldn’t play them in a challenge game.
Florence senior Mose Smith (#23) fights for position at the Western B Divisional tournament in Hamilton. The Florence boys took 4th place. Photo by Scott Sacry.
For Florence, Brody Duchien led the scoring with 14 points. Bridger Alexander and Jake Schneiter each had 8, Mose Smith had 7, Levi Winters had 3, and Wes Potter added 1.
Florence 54, Troy 48
The loss against Thompson Falls sent the Falcons to the loser-out side of the bracket where they faced Troy on Saturday morning. This is always a hard game to play. They were a couple plays away from making the championship game the night before. The team had to deal with the disappointment and regroup to play the following morning.
This was a back and forth game, but the Falcons persevered in the end and won 54-48.
For Florence, Brody Duchien had one of his best games of the season, scoring 30 points, which included 8 three pointers. Jake Schneiter had 7 points, Mason Arlington had 5, Bridger Alexander had 4, Caleb Katen, Levi Winters, Mose Smith and Kade Anderson each added 2.
Florence 39, Anaconda 52
On Saturday, March 1, Florence played Anaconda in the consolation game. The game was close throughout, but Florence ran out of steam in the second half. They were behind 30-36 to start the fourth quarter and were never able to get back in the game and lost 39-52. They finished in 4th place and ended their season.
For Florence, Bridger Alexander had 13 points, Jake Schneiter had 10 points, Brody Duchien had 7 points, Levi Winters and Mason Arlington each had 4 points, and Mose Smith added 1 point.