Volume XXI, Number 26

Wednesday, February 1, 2005

Sports at a Glance

All stories by Jean Schurman

Blue Devils tame Frenchtown Broncs

Lady Falcons clip Darby

Lady Pirates net win, gain confidence

Wrestling Divisionals this weekend

Basketball fans had a real treat Thursday in Frenchtown when Corvallis came to town. Frenchtown won the first game in December and so Corvallis was looking to avenge the loss. Through four quarters and an overtime, the two teams battled but when the final buzzer sounded, it was Corvallis on top, 67-60.

Corvallis scored the first basket when Trevor Fehr dropped in a lay up and then extended the lead when Cameron Bowles hit a trey. Frenchtown retaliated and came back to take the lead when Stephen Pfahler capitalized on a Blue Devil turnover and slammed down a dunk. The two teams battled but Corvallis couldn't close the gap and trailed by four points at the end of the first quarter.

Bowles got hot in the second quarter and sank three three-point baskets to help pull the Blue Devils to within a point at the half. He finished the game with 22 points, a season high. His shot at the end of regulation play from four feet behind the three-point line tied the game and sent it into overtime.

"He's kind of been struggling this year," said coach Dave Bradshaw. "But we knew he could do it."

With three minutes remaining in the game, Corvallis was down by nine points. Collin Fehr, who had only scored two field goals in the first half, stepped up and sank three treys, the final one tying the game at 51 all with 1:50 remaining.

"Our defense kicked in," said Bradshaw. "We only had three fouls there at the end and we were allowed to get aggressive."

By fouling, the Blue Devils were able to slow down Frenchtown's offense and keep them from scoring until Brian Lebsock passed to his brother Nathan who drained a long three to put Frenchtown up, 54-51. The shot didn't faze Collin Fehr, who grabbed the inbound pass and raced down to just beyond the three-point line and launched a shot which swished the net just as the clock ran out. But, the Corvallis bench had other ideas.

"Brett (Tintzman, assistant coach) thought I wanted one so he called a time out," said Bradshaw. Two seconds were put back on the clock during the time out with Corvallis having possession. Enter Bowles and his last second shot.

Bowles was so confident about the game against Frenchtown, he even told his mother it would be a break out night for him.

"I've been having a struggle this year getting going and I just wanted to come and and start shooting like I did last year. This is where I broke out last year and where I did this year," said Bowles. "Things are looking good now, our team is finally coming together."

But it wasn't all Bowles. The Fehr boys had great games, too, according to Bradshaw. Collin Fehr was battling the flu most of the night but still had key shots in the fourth quarter and finished with 20 points. Trevor Fehr had his work cut out for him. The 6'9" senior had Josh Volinkaty (6'9") on one side of him and Stephen Pfahler, a future Grizzly football player, on the other side, roughing him up and pushing him around all night.

"It was pretty tough," said Trevor Fehr. "The two of them (Volinkaty and Pfahler) are pretty strong."

In spite of the physical Broncs, Trevor Fehr finished the night with eight rebounds, six blocked shots ­ which he says is the best part of basketball ­ and 10 points.

With the game in overtime, Corvallis got aggressive and pushed the ball up the floor forcing the Broncs to foul. The Blue Devils sank nine of ten free throws en route to the 67-60 victory.

"These two teams match up pretty well together," said Bradshaw. "I just hope we'll see each other on championship night over there."

Corvallis 67, Frenchtown 60
Corvallis - Collin Fehr 20, Cory Tintzman 6, Trevor Fehr 10, Justin Tintzman 5, Cameron Bowles 22, Ryan Irby 4.
Frenchtown - Steven Pfahler 9, Kyle Amundson 10, Josh Volinkaty 12, Nathan Lebsock 18, Brian Lebsock 8, Tom Davis 3.

Stevensville defeated Hamilton, 75-67. The 'Jackets held Hamilton to only nine points in the third quarter while scoring 15 themselves. They held off a late game surge by the Broncs to take the victory. Hamilton was led by Jack Richter's 22 points. Ryan Mickelson, Tony Anderson and Bridger Chambers scored 19, 18, and 17 points respectively for the 'Jackets.

Florence defeated Darby, 79-54, on Friday. Five players scored double figures for the Falcons. Kris Person had 13 points and Levi Barham had 11 points and Kiel Hansen, Tel Harris and Joe Redfern each had 10 points. Scott Langford had 21 points for Darby.

In other weekend action, Loyola defeated Darby, 75-51. Dillon Oliver scored 24 points for the Tigers. Seeley-Swan defeated Florence, 67-52. Kris Person had 26 points for the Falcons. Alberton, with a perfect 15-0 record, stopped Victor, 51-41. Eric Paulsen had 12 points for the Pirates. Saturday, Victor topped Lincoln, 49-39. Paulsen netted 26 points.

The Lady Falcons of Florence held off a late surge by Darby to claim a 51-40 7B victory. After being up by as many as 12 points midway through the fourth quarter, Florencešs cold shooting at the free throw line almost cost them the game.

"I don't know that I'm necessarily the best person to keep things under control in the last couple of minutes of a game like that," said Bryan Neuman, coach of the Lady Falcons. "I just want to go out there and make their free throws for them."

Darby went on a 13-point run while allowing Florence only three points in the first half of the fourth quarter. But Amber Wahl of Florence stepped up and made two free throws to spur Florence on for the win.

Both teams experimented early in the game with defense. Florence settled on a pressure defense in the second period which resulted in four turnovers and four baskets for the Lady Falcons. That was the margin that Darby battled for the rest of the game.

"Our press in the second quarter is something we've been working on for the last couple of weeks," said Neuman. "We tried it the first time we played them but we didn't really work the trap out of it."

Florence was led by Brooke Zeiler's 15 points. Kelsey Salmela added 11 points. Darby was led by Tara Ray with 13 points and Missy DeWalt's 11 points.

Florence 51, Darby 40
Florence - Liz Miller 8, Brooke Zeiler 15, Nikki Stoos 2, Amber Wahl 7, Aly Henderson 5, Kelsey Salmela 11, Cortney Reynolds 3
Darby - Celia Baird 2, Janelle Hilton 4, Missy DeWalt 11, Tara Ray 13, Jenna Blue 10

Florence lost to Seeley-Swan on Saturday night in a squeaker. The Blackhawks won, 46-45. Florence was led by Salmela's 13 points.

With the combining of District 13C and 14C this year, each and every game is a conference game. Saturday night, Lincoln came to Victor to take on the Lady Pirates. Lincoln came in fourth place with a record of 12-3 and Victor in fifth with a record of 10-4, setting the stage for a great game.

No one was disappointed. The taller Lady Lynx have three players 5'9" and above. Victor's tallest player, Katie Jolley, is 5'11" but their next player is 5'8" and the tape measure shrinks from there. The difference in height didn't seem to bother the Lady Pirates, however.

After battling to an 8-8 tie at the end of the first quarter, Victor's BreeAnna Hochhalter dropped a basket from beyond the arc and Victor took the lead. Lincoln battled back but Victor's tough zone defense kept the taller team playing catch up for the rest of the half.

Victor switched to a man-to-man defense in the third quarter and at first it was somewhat rough for the Lady Pirates. But a turnover by Lincoln led to a three-point basket by Jolley and the Lady Pirates had a cushion.

"We went in at half time," said coach Brett Morehouse. "I told the players, if we're going to win this game, if we are going to go to Butte (site of the Western C Divisionals) then we have to be able to play a tough team man-to-man."

Morehouse said that his two post players, Kelly Berk and Jessica Pederson, are usually on a two and a half minute rotation but went a full five and a half minutes in the third quarter playing man defense and extended the lead by 12 points. By the end of the third quarter, Victor had a nine-point lead.

But Lincoln is a tough team and they didn't give up. A trey by Shelby Grantier pulled the Lady Lynx to within two points. But every run by Lincoln was met by tough defense and a shot by Victor. When the final buzzer sounded, Victor had a 45-39 victory.

"That's the best victory this program has had in five years. We needed this one," said Morehouse. "I told the girls, when you have confidence the shots will go down and they did. Lincoln is a very good team, they might be the best offensive team in our conference."

Victor was led by BreeAnna Hochhalter and Katie Jolley who each scored 16 points. They improved their record to 11-4.

Victor 45, Lincoln 39
Lincoln - Ross 5, Feeback 2, Grantier 8, Tams 8, Richards 20, Clark 6.
Victor - Kat Coorough 4, BreeAnna Hochhalter 16, Amanda Burrington 5, Katie Jolley 16, Shandel Weeks 2, Jessica Pederson 2.

Friday night, the Lady Pirates defeated Alberton, 30-28.

In other girls basketball games, Corvallis defeated Frenchtown, 50-38. Sunni Bleibtrey had 13 points to lead the 'Devils. Hamilton defeated Stevensville, 67-59. Jessica Huseby had 17 points and Cierra Smith and Rachel Wood each added 12 for the Lady Broncs. Tandi Kazeck netted 17 points for Stevensville.

The wrestling mats will be the center of attention this weekend with divisional tournaments happening in Hamilton for the Southwestern A Conference and in Superior for the Western B-C tournament.

Hamilton and Corvallis will face tough competition against Anaconda, Dillon and Frenchtown but both teams have experienced wrestlers who should move on to the state tournament next weekend.

Hamilton's Mike Lewis recently won the 100th match of his high school career and is looking to extend that record. He is wrestling well and goes into this weekend with major victories this weekend over Corvallis' Dan DuBose and Columbia Falls' Michael Clark. He was third last year at state at 140 but has moved up to 145. Other Broncs to watch for are Brock Anderson at 152, Orrin Stephens at 189, David Love at 130 and Nathan Curdy at 125.

Corvallis, as always, has a full stable of wrestlers to watch for. Blake Cranmore at the heavyweight division is a tough, experienced contender. Landon DellaSilva finished 4th at the Metra last year and will be tough. Jaris Bierer at 130 and Taylor Nagel at 145 are strong in the mid weights as is Bo Davenport at 160. Nagel finished sixth last year at the state tournament at 125. Josh Woods at 189 and Kelly Birmingham at 215 should not be overlooked either.

Darby will rely on Patrick Evers at 171 and Michael Richie at 145. Evers pinned Florence's Fred Craun at the B-C duals this weekend in Superior in what could be a preview of the championship match at that weight division. Other Falcons who should do well are Logan Person at 189 and Sam Fernandez at 152.

Corvallis defeated Hamilton Friday night at the annual Rock the Gym event. Saturday, Hamilton lost to Columbia Falls.

Corvallis 49, Hamilton 27
112 - Danny Powers, C, tech fall Leif Holm 15-0. 125 - Landon DellaSilva, C, pinned Nathan Curdy 5:04. 130 - David Love, H, dec, Jaris Bierer, 3-2, 2 OT. 135 - Chase Jessop, C, dec. Allen McCarty, 11-7. 140 - Taylor Nagel, C, pinned Robbie Durbin, 3:55. 145- Mike Lewis, H, pinned Da DuBose, 2:20. 152 - Brock Anderson, H, pinned Danny Gates, 1:52. 160 - Bo Davenport, C, tech fall Colton Weigle, 18-3. 171 - Brady Anderson, H, dec Cody Cousins, 8-3. 189 - Orrin Stephens, H, dec. Josh Wood, 12-11. 215 - Kelly Birmingham, C, pinned Jacob Reinschmidt, 1:21.

Hamilton won a forfeit at 98. Corvallis won forfeits at 1-5, 119, HWT.

Florence and Darby were at the B-C Duals in Superior for their divisional warm up where they matched up against Thompson Falls, Arlee, and Plains-Hot Springs.

Falcons who won matches were Sam Fernandez, Logan Person, Josh Topp and Fred Craun. Darby had wins from Patrick Evers who defeated Craun and Leon Wieder of Arlee, Michael Richie and Justin Richie.