by Scott Sacry
The Corvallis boys basketball team made the short trip south to face Hamilton in front of a spirited Bitterroot crowd last Tuesday. For the first three quarters of the game it looked like Corvallis was going to upset the No. 4 ranked Broncs. They led after every quarter, and going into the fourth they held a 43-42 lead. But Hamilton found their stride in the final frame, outscoring Corvallis 17-7 to secure a hard fought 59-50 victory.
With 4:34 left in the game, Corvallis senior David Broch hit a three to give Corvallis a 50-48 lead. But from then on it was all Hamilton. The Broncs scored the game’s final 11 points to seal the victory. Hamilton’s team defense shut Corvallis down and Hamilton senior Eli Taylor came up big down the stretch, hitting a huge three-pointer and going six for six from the free-throw line, all in one and one free-throw situations.
The game seesawed back and forth throughout and neither team was able to gain an advantage. Corvallis was able to handle Hamilton’s full court press, and hot shooting by Corvallis’s Donovan Potter sparked the Blue Devils early. Corvallis led 13-12 after the first quarter as Donovan Potter banked in a shot to beat the buzzer. The second quarter also ended in a flurry as Corvallis’s Leif Jessop made a layup, then Corvallis stole the inbound pass, and Potter beat the buzzer again with a three-pointer to give Corvallis a 28-26 halftime lead. Not to be outdone, Hamilton ended the third quarter with a buzzer beater of their own as Tyson Rostad put in a shot as the horn sounded to pull Hamilton within one point, 43-42, going into the fourth quarter.
Donovan Potter led Corvallis with 19 points, followed by Aaron Powell and Dillon Potter with nine, and Leif Jessop with seven. Hamilton was paced by Asher Magness with 19, Eli Taylor with 17, Tyson Rostad with 12, and Max Cianflone with seven.
The Hamilton boys went to Butte on Saturday to face No. 2 ranked Butte Central. The Broncs started slow and trailed 16-1 after the first quarter. They outscored the Maroons in the next two quarters, but ran out of steam in the fourth, getting outscored 12-2 and losing the game, 46-28. Eli Taylor led with nine points and Max Cianflone added five. The Corvallis boys traveled to Polson on Thursday and were defeated 79-43. They fell behind 2-20 after the first quarter and were never able to catch up.