The Victor Pirates lost a close game against the Seeley-Swan Blackhawks on Saturday. On the line was a part of the lead for the conference. The two teams matched up pretty well and played a close game.
One point separated the two at the half with Victor having the advantage. Seeley tied it up midway through the third quarter but Victor then stretched the lead out by four points. The momentum swung back in Seeley’s favor and by the middle of the fourth quarter, the Blackhawks had a five-point lead. A trey by Michael O’Leary put Victor within two points and the Pirates took the lead when he sank another trey with 1:37 remaining in the game.
That was the last time Victor scored. They had their chances though in the last 90 seconds of the game. GP Monta took a charge and gave Victor a chance to extend their lead but they were unable to capitalize on the chance. Seeley’s Justin Cahoon hit a bucket to take the lead with 30 seconds left. Then, with just under 15 seconds remaining in the game and down by one point, the Pirates had another chance to tie the game with a free throw. Brady Tuttle missed the shot and the rebound shot. The Pirates tried once more but couldn’t make the shot and fell, 41-39. It was the second loss of the season for Victor who fell to 5-2 in conference play and 8-2 overall.
Seeley-Swan 41, Victor 39
Seeley-Swan – Tylen Dial 15, Jacob Morse 4, Cole Henrekin 4, Justin Cahoon 11, Justin Grimes 5, Matt Teague 2.
Victor – Austin Lewis 5, Nate Bishop 6, Brady Tuttle 10, Michael O’Leary 10, Jack Pederson 5, GP Monta 3.
On Friday night, the Pirates were in hostile territory at the Philipsburg gym. The play is always tough and physical there. Victor jumped out to a nine-point lead in the first quarter while holding the Prospectors to only three points. They went on to win, 54-40. Matt Kittel made his return after injuring his knee in preseason practice and scored 15 points. (He re-injured the knee on Saturday.) Nate Bishop added 13 points for the Pirates.
Victor 54, Philipsburg 40
Victor – Lewis 2, Kolton Benish 2, Bishop 13,Terrell Sherrill 3, Brady Tuttle 3, Matt Kittel 15, O’Leary 7, Pederson 3, Ryan Lewis 4, Monta 2.
Philipsburg – Jerry Metesh 14, Bob Immenschuh 8, Ethan Stephenson 6, Eric Bohrnsen 4, Chase Comings 8.
Darby fell to Seeley-Swan on Friday. The Tigers played right with the Blackhawks in the first quarter but Seeley pulled away in the second and that proved to be the difference in the 51-43 win. Darby outscored Seeley in the final quarter but couldn’t close the gap. Rope Rennaker led the Tiger scoring with 14 points and Zach McCrossin added 10.
Seeley-Swan 51, Darby 43
Darby – Zach McCrossin 10, Rope Rennaker 14, Druex Kuntz 3, Joe Caicedo 9, William Westfall 7.
Seeley-Swan –Dial 15, Morse 5, Henrekin 12, Cahoon 2, Grimes 14, Nicholas 3.
Darby powered their way to a 71-33 win over Alberton on Saturday. The Tigers jumped out to an early lead and built upon that every quarter. McCrossin led with 20 points and Joe Caicedo added 18. They now have a record of 3-4 in conference play and 5-5 overall.
Darby 71, Alberton 33
Darby–McCrossin 20, JJ Horvath 6, Rennaker 5, Zack McCollaum 8, Caicedo 18, Westfall 6, Dawson Jakober 8.
Alberton – Creighton Callison 8, Keir Sanzano 7, David Stafford 7, Miles Vaillencourt 1, Andrew Lommen 10.
The Florence and Loyola rivalry is one of the fiercest around. While some years it’s more intense than others, the drive to defeat one another never really loses ground. In the first match up of the season between these two powerhouses, Loyola prevailed, 39-31.
Usually these games are fast and furious with the two teams racing up and down the court but not this game. They played a more deliberate style in the low scoring game. At the end of the first quarter, a total of nine points had been scored with Florence up by one. Loyola outscored the Falcons by eight in the second period and that proved to be the difference. Travern Smith and Ryan Mangun each had eight points for Florence.
Loyola 39, Florence 31
Florence– Brandon Johnson 3, Tynan Heck 3, Levi Clagett 3, Travern Smith 8, Ryan Mangun 8, Brad Schaff 6.
Loyola – Tony Madsen 9, Kevin Swanson 3, Zach Hollenback 4, Matt McHugh 5, JJ Anderson 8, Danner Linhart 8, Forestt Cooper 2.
Saturday night was a match up between the two teams that battled for third at the state tournament last year. Like Florence, Bigfork has a new coach and a slew of new players. The two battled with Bigfork taking a seven-point lead into the half. However Florence came back in the second half. They scored 10 points in the third quarter and then 13 in the fourth quarter while holding the Vikings to only six and tied the game at the end of regulation. In overtime, Florence held a one-point lead after Travern Smith sank a free throw with under 20 seconds remaining. But Christian Evans of Bigfork sank a trey with five seconds left to give Bigfork the 48-46 non-conferences win.
Bigfork 48, Florence 46 OT
Bigfork– Isaac Martel 8, John Landon 5, Josh Sandry 7, Ryder Trent 9, Cam Nissen 6, Christian Evans 13.
Florence – Johnson 5, Brady Pickering 10, Clagett 10, Smith 5, Mangun 10, Schaff 6.