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Volume XX, Number 32 |
Sports |
Wednesday, March 9, 2005 |
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Sports at a GlanceAll stories by Jean Schurman On to StateCorvallis heads to ButteTournament pairings2005 All-Valley Basketball selections namedAll Conference players selectedOn to StateThe Florence Falcons knew before they ever took to the floor for Saturday night's Western B championship game that they would be playing in the state tournament. They knew because Plains had defeated Thompson Falls in the consolation game and, after having beaten Plains in the semi finals game, there could be no challenge. At the very least, Florence would be the second place seed from the west. The Falcons' goal at the beginning of the season was to make it to Belgrade and the state tournament at the end of the season. With the win by the Plains Horsemen, the pressure was off because a trip to Belgrade was assured. Florence met Superior in the championship game for their fourth meeting of the season. Superior, who prefers to play a quick paced game, scored first on a short jumper. Florence came back and went into a very deliberately paced offense, working for the inside shot. Ryan Hansen and Mike Kirby, Florence's big guys in the paint, scored the first two field goals, matching Superior shot-for-shot. By the end of the quarter, the two teams had battled to an 8-8 tie. This slow, deliberate offense continued throughout the low-scoring game. Florence took a six-point lead with five minutes remaining in the third quarter. The Falcons then went to a four-corner offense, passing the ball in and out for two and a half minutes. But Superior came back to pull within two points at the end of the third quarter. With one quarter remaining and a trophy waiting, the two teams buckled down even further into a defensive mode. Bobcat Jeff Gaston sank a short jumper to tie the game at 24 seconds into the fourth quarter. Superior took a one point lead with 3:09 remaining in the game. They then went to a spread offense and ran the clock down a minute. Mike Kirby of Florence made the steal and the Falcons ran the clock down a little more before taking a time out to set up the last shot. However, Superior had other ideas and put the pressure on the Falcons. Another time out by the Falcons, with 8 seconds left. A shot by Ryan Hansen hit the edge of the backboard and caromed out of bounds with three seconds left, giving Superior the ball and a one-point lead. Florence had no choice but to foul Dustin Feasel of Superior. He sank the two shots and Superior had the championship, 31-28. After the game, coach John Parker of Florence commented, "Well, it's hard to beat somebody four times. The two teams know each other so well." Parker said his team was not aggressive enough. "I don't think I coached the game aggressively enough and I don't think the kids played aggressively enough. The good thing for us is we're still going to state, we're just playing a different team." Florence sank six of 13 shots from the free throw line while Superior was 4-of-7. Both teams had 14 fouls each on the night. Florence will meet Three Forks on Thursday at 2 p.m. in Belgrade in the opening round of the tournament. Florence defeated Plains, 60-49, on Friday night in semi final action. Plains' game is centered around two big players Brandon Thompson and Ryan Neiman who measure 6'8" and 6'7" respectively. With no player to physically match up to these two posts, Florence had to do what they do best, handle the ball and shoot. "We have five kids that can handle the ball and that's what we had them do," said Parker. After slowly building a lead, the Falcons then began to protect their lead. "We shot pretty well but anybody shoots pretty well three or four feet from the basket. We work, work, work until we get a good shot and then we take it." With the lead, Florence put Plains into a chase mode where the Horsemen had to chase down the ball. The Falcons moved the ball inside and back out, using the clock and using the floor space until suddenly a Falcon would be under the basket all alone and able to put easy points on the scoreboard. Plains came back a time or two and pulled within seven or eight points but the Falcons continued to patiently move the ball until an easy shot was theirs. Mark Ward led the Falcon scoring with 20 points. Ryan Hansen added 16. Florence defeated St. Ignatius, 59-53, in the opening round of the Western B tournament at Polson. Florence took a one point lead into the half and held on to claim victory number 19 for the team. Hansen finished with 24 points, including 9-of-11 from the free throw line. Championship Semi final Opening round Darby took on Thompson Falls in their opening round of the Western B tournament. The Tigers had a four-point lead going into the second quarter but the Blue Hawks came back with two strong quarters and led by three at the end of the third quarter. They held on to the lead in spite of tenacious play by the Tigers to win, 69-65. Darby was led by Cody Ralsonıs 21 points. Also scoring in double figures was Philip Caicedo with 16 points and Scott Theissen with 11 points. The Tigers then took on Arlee in loser out action on Friday. Darby left everything they had on the court, trying to hold off the surging Warriors. After leading by three points at the half and five points at the end of three quarters, the Tigers were done in by the combination of Levi Hendrickson and Billy Hitchcock of Arlee. The Warriors held Darby to 13 points in the final stanza while scoring 24. Final score, Arlee 71, Darby 65. Darby finished the season with a 5-19 record. Thompson Falls 69, Darby 65 Loser out Corvallis heads to ButteThe Butte Civic Center will be the site of the Class A boys basketball tournament this weekend. The Corvallis Blue Devils will enter the tournament as the number two seed from the Southwest Division. The Blue Devils earned the berth after defeating Frenchtown in a challenge game on February 28. During that game, senior wing Jordan Mousley went down with a sprained ankle. Although he came back to finish the game, he was obviously in pain. "This week off really did help us," said coach Dave Bradshaw. "We've been battling to get healthy. Jordan's ankle was pretty bad and Trevor (Fehr) has sore ankles too." The Blue Devils open up against the Sidney Eagles, the number one seed from the east. According to Bradshaw, that team sports a 6'8" senior center, Terran Hillesland, who weighs about 330 pounds. "He signed to play football for the Grizzlies and although he's a force in there, I think Parks from Anaconda is tougher to defend." The Blue Devils lost to Anaconda twice but did defeat them in the regular season. "Our goal is to be there Saturday night," said Bradshaw. "We're legitimate, we can do it." Tournament pairingsBoys Class A, Butte Civic Center Boys Class B, Belgrade Activity Center 2005 All-Valley Basketball selections namedGirls -- Jenna Blue, Jr. Darby; Linda Hall, Sr. Darby; Whitney Banks, Sr, Darby; Amy Hamilton, Sr. Darby; Jessica Huseby, Soph, Hamilton; Whitney Melton, Sr. Hamilton; Claire Schultz, Jr. Hamilton; Katie Jolley, Soph. Victor; BreeAnna Hochhalter, Jr. Victor; Jenna Tintzman, Jr. Corvallis; Shanda Bradshaw, Sr. Corvallis; Tisha Smith, Jr. Corvallis; Jodie Brown, Jr. Stevensville; Athena Bradshaw, Jr. Stevensville; Erin Dean, Sr, Florence; Liz Ashworth, Sr. Florence; Heather Martin, Sr. Florence; Kristin Person, Sr. Florence; Aly Henderson, Jr. Florence; Janelle Hilton, Jr. Darby. Three-point shooters Jenna Tintzman, Whitney Melton, Shanda Bradshaw, Erin Dean Boys -- Cody Ralston, Sr., Darby; Scott Theissen, Sr. Darby; Travis Schallenberger, Jr. Darby; Caleb Brewer, Sr. Hamilton; James Bennett, Sr. Hamilton; Mike Wilson, Sr. Victor; Eric Paulsen, Jr. Victor; Chad Jensen, Jr. Victor; Collin Fehr, Jr. Corvallis; Cameron Bowles, Jr. Corvallis; Trevor Fehr, Jr. Corvallis; Jordan Mousley, Sr. Corvallis; Travis Browne, Sr. Stevensville; Brandon Johnson, Sr. Stevensville; Tony Anderson, Jr. Stevensville; Tyler LeClaire, Sr. Stevensville; Ryan Hansen, Sr. Florence; Mark Ward, Sr. Florence; Mike Kirby, Sr. Florence; Justin Moe, Sr. Florence; Three-point shooters --Caleb Brewer, Cody Ralston, Cameron Bowles, Travis Browne All Conference players selectedThe All-Conference and All-State selections from the Southwest Conference have been named. They are: 1st Team 2nd Team Honorable Mention All-State |
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