Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Sports at a Glance

All stories by Jean Schurman

Falcons, Blue Devils battle in Corvallis

Florence ladies win again

Wrestling Wrap up

Victor game rescheduled

Falcons, Blue Devils battle in Corvallis Although it wasn’t a conference game, the battle of the Falcons and the Blue Devils did have a revenge factor in it. The Blue Devils handed Florence their only loss of the season in December and the Falcons wanted to avenge that loss. Corvallis came out playing the up-tempo game they are known for when Rodee Anderson got the game going with a steal and a lay-up and the Blue Devils were off and running. Riley Bradshaw added another bucket before Quinn Smith of Florence was able to drop in a basket and put the Falcons on the board. By the end of the first quarter, Corvallis had an eight-point lead. But Florence was creeping back. A couple of baskets by Alex Mitchell and another bucket by Smith pulled Florence back within three points midway through the quarter. However, for every surge by Florence, the Blue Devils changed the tempo, stole a pass and converted on the transition. They maintained a two-point lead at the end of the half. The third quarter was more of the same with Corvallis maintaining a seven-point lead at the buzzer after leading by as many as 12 points. With time running short, the Falcons’ Chris Benson opened the quarter with a trey but Bradshaw matched it. The Falcons slowly gained ground and pulled within a point when Adam Greger pulled down an offensive rebound and put it back for two.

Corvallis’ Rodee Anderson makes a lay-up as Florence’s Reid Baerlocher tries to defend him. Florence defeated Corvallis, 61-59, in non-conference action. Jean Schurman photo.

“We spent most of our week planning on how we were going to guard them,” said Florence’s Reid Baerlocher. “We got our big guys involved tonight.”

Corvallis doesn’t have anyone over 6’3” while Florence has Smith at 6’8” and Alex Mitchell at 6’7”. By spreading the defense, Florence took advantage of the height difference and made some points.

“It was a good game,” said Corvallis coach Dave Bradshaw. “We just give up so much size that it’s hard at times. We’re concentrating on keeping the ball out of the middle and then we give up those outside shots.”

Florence coach Sam Baerlocher told his team during a late time out that they would have another opportunity but they would have to be ready. “It was a hard-fought game but we had a chance to make it up.”

Corvallis had a couple of chances to extend their lead but a missed free throw shot by Bradshaw and a steal by Reid Baerlocher of Florence with a basket put the Falcons up by two when the buzzer sounded. Final score, Florence 61, Corvallis 59.

Baerlocher had 24 points for Florence. Rodee Anderson, who sprained his ankle right at the end of the game, finished with 24 points also. Riley Bradshaw finished with 18 points.

Florence 61, Corvallis 59.

Florence – Ross Mangun 3, Reid Baerlocher 24, Brandon Lorensen 10, Alex Mitchell 3, Chris Benson 4, Adam Greger 9, Quinn Smith 8.

Corvallis – Mahlone Jessup 4, Drew Zeiler 5, Tyler Tintzman 4, Colby Henderson 1, Rodee Anderson 24, Riley Bradshaw 18, Joel Connolly 3.

Florence took on the Powell County Wardens in Deer Lodge on Saturday. After a close first quarter, which had the Falcons on top by only one point, the 4th ranked Falcons went to work and cruised to 62-42 District 6B victory. Baerlocher finished with 14 points, Mitchell 13 points, Greger with 10 and Smith with 12 points.

Florence 62, Deer Lodge 42

Florence - Mangun 3, Baerlocher 14, Lorensen 2, Mitchell 13, Benson 4, Gregor 10, Collins 2, Smith 12, Finley 2.

Deer Lodge - Ryan 7, Doiron 3, Stone 1, Antilla 4, Thomas 16, Davenport 2, Forson 1, Herron 5, Pomeroy 3.

Corvallis played Butte Central on Saturday night. Riley Bradshaw had a stellar night, scoring 36 points but it wasn’t enough in the 65-54 loss. Anderson did not play due to an ankle injury.

Butte Central 65, Corvallis 54

Butte Central - Ritter 21, Hollow 1, Richards 10, Ferriter 2, Richards 20, Antonioli 3, Kasperick 6, Dunbar 2.

Corvallis – Zeiler 6, Tintzman 4, Colby Henderson 4, Bradshaw 36, Connolly 4.

Stevensville picked up a win in Anaconda on Friday night. The win propelled the Yellowjackets into a three-way tie for first in the Southwestern A Conference with Corvallis and Dillon. All three have league records of 4-1.

Stevensville opened strongly against the Copperheads and never looked back in the game. Josh Schultz led the scoring with 24 points. Tyler Gavlak finished with 14 points and Austin Kelling had nine points.

Hamilton defeated Frenchtown in more conference action. The Broncs from the south held the Frenchtown Broncs to only two points in the first quarter and went on to win, 70-38. Graham Silcher led Hamilton with 14 points. Brad Palin had finished with 13 points and Beau Maus had 11 points.

The Broncs lost to Sentinel, 83-46, on Saturday. Palin had 13 points to lead Hamilton. Tyler Pigman added points for the Broncs.

Darby lost a close game to Superior. The Tigers had the lead at the end of the first quarter but couldn’t overcome a 21 point fourth quarter by Superior. Superior won, 57-52. Sherman Smith’s 22 points led Darby. The Tigers lost to Plains on Saturday, 79-46. Devin Thomas led the Tigers with 13 points.

Victor defeated Philipsburg, 65-33, in 13C action. Matt McClintick had 14 points for the Pirates and Dennis Mitcham and Dustin Harris each added 10 points. The Victor/Seeley-Swan game on Saturday was postponed and will be replayed at a later date.

Florence ladies win again The Lady Falcons of Florence are on a roll but it has not been easy putting up eight wins in a row. The team has struggled with losing players to injuries and so have had to adjust to new roles, changing defenses and making better ball handling decisions. Coach Bryan Neuman says his team has traditionally been a man-to-man defensive team primarily because he’s only playing six players for most of the game. “You do whatever it takes,” he said. The Florence girls jumped out to a sizable lead against Corvallis on Thursday but then saw that lead dwindle in the late minutes of the game. Corvallis came out in the third quarter and out-scored the Lady Falcons by three points and was closing the gap before Florence regained their composure and went on to win, 56-45. “We have to make good decisions,” said Neuman. “We didn’t handle their pressure very well.” Korie Conder sparked the Blue Devils with a couple of baskets and rebounds early in the third quarter. And then Coral Higuera picked up the momentum and pressured Odessa Conley and Kayla Johnson for rebounds. Megan Auch nailed a three-point basket to pull the Blue Devils within five points but that was the closest they came. Conley had 18 points for Florence. Brittany Heinz added 11 points and Johnson 10 in the non-conference win. Higuera had 19 points for Corvallis. Florence 56, Corvallis 45 Florence – Brittany Heinz 11, Abby Mytty 6, Odessa Conley 18, Courtney Burn 4, Rosie O’Brien 7, Kayla Johnson 10.

Florence’s Brittany Heinz keeps an eye on Corvallis’ Whitney Cranmore while bringing the ball up the court in Corvallis on Thursday night while Gracie Zeiler brings up the rear for Florence. Florence defeated Corvallis and Deer Lodge this weekend. Jean Schurman photo. Blaire Brookshire of Stevensville works to keep the ball away from Anaconda’s Lisa Laslovich Saturday night. Jean Schurman photo.

Corvallis – Kelsey Lemon 4, Whitney Cranmore 2, Coral Higuera 19, Megan Auch 6, Korie Conder 14.

Florence defeated Deer Lodge in 6B action on Saturday night. After trailing by 11 points at the end of the first quarter, the Lady Falcons came back to top the Wardens, 41-34. The Lady Falcons trailed by one point at the end of three quarters and relied on Conley and Heinz who combined for nine points in the fourth quarter. The two tallied 14 points each in the game.

Florence 41, Deer Lodge 34.

Deer Lodge - McKee 7, Applegate 10, Schalk 7, Lambert 4, Johnson 6.

Florence - Heinz 14, Mytty 8, Conley 14, Courtney Byrne 3, Johnson 2.

Last week was not been kind to the Stevensville girls’ team. They lost two starters in the game against Big Sky on Tuesday. Brekka Johnston went down with a sprained ankle and then Alycia Simms injured her knee. Johnston will return but Simms’ status was unknown at press time.

With those injuries, the Stevensville team had to regroup in a hurry to take on the defending Class A champs, the Anaconda Copperheads on Saturday. After all, it was bad enough to have to battle the ‘Heads, but then to not have your regular team on the floor even worse. Anaconda’s Torry Hill had the hot hand and dropped in 20 points by the end of the first half. She went on to score 33 points in the 58-34 victory.

Anaconda 58, Stevensville 34.

Anaconda - McNeil 4, Hill 33, Laslovich 12, Krumm 4, Brunell 1, Stanberry 2, Wagner 2.

Stevensville - McKenzie Sebastian 2, Lindsey Thorstad 4, Alexa Omlid 6, Maddie Jones 3, Blaire Brookshire 8, Lakyn Connors 2, Jessi Brunett 5, Britney Chilcott 4.

Hamilton came away with a win over Frenchtown, the only team to defeat Anaconda this year, on Friday night. The Lady Broncs, playing tough defense, held Frenchtown to only 11 points in the first half and went on to win, 43-30. Meghan Kratofill had 18 points for Hamilton.

Hamilton 43, Frenchtown 30

Frenchtown – Garrison 2, Lester 12, Jutila 2, Fallis 4, Belker 8, Indreland 2.

Hamilton – Misha Trotter 6, Kaurie Albert 2, Jill Harmon 3, Meghan Kratofill 18, Anne Shultz 14.

The Lady Broncs lost to Sentinel on Saturday, 61-30. Annie Schultz had 13 points for the Lady Broncs.

Darby defeated Superior, 46-39, on Friday. The Lady Tigers jumped out to an early lead and never looked back in the 6B conference win. Sarah Jakober had 12 points. Mindy Ruby finished with 10 and Halie Rennaker had nine.

Darby lost to Plains, 42-34, on Saturday. After leading at the end of the first quarter, the Lady Tigers lost their momentum in the second quarter. Rachel Wetzsteon had 13 points and Julie Abrahamsen finished with 11 points.

Butte Central defeated Corvallis, 45-32. Auch and Conder each had eight points and Higuera added seven points.

Victor lost to Phillipsburg, 45-27. Rachel Borowiec had nine points and Kaylene Munson added eight points.