A romp and a rally
One Flathead team had a rally in mind and the other fell off the pace Friday as Glacier again swept the crosstown basketball games, this time at the Glacier gym.
Drew Engellant’s 21 points led the boys to a 70-64 victory that got tight after the Wolfpack had run out to a 22-2 lead on the Braves.
In the opener Aubrie Rademacher scored 16 points and a second-quarter blitz carried the Wolfpack girls to a 59-39 win over the Bravettes.
Boys
Glacier 70, Flathead 64
The game couldn’t have started much better for the hosts, who got a 3-pointer from Gatlin Bruner to lead 25-7 after one quarter, and another from Engellant to open the second and make it 28-7.
It only set the stage for a wild second half in which Flathead (3-13, 2-10 in the Western AA) poured in 46 points. The Braves started the third quarter fast, with Ethan Vandenbosch’s 3-pointer capping a 12-0 run that pared the gap to 38-34.
After Anthony Heath hit a couple free throws for Glacier, Vandenbosch banked in a three to cut it to 40-37 with a little over a minute left.
Glacier (8-8, 5-7 in league) responded with a three-point play by Engellant and a 3-pointer from Michael Schwarz and led 48-38 going into the final quarter.
But Flathead kept the pressure on – by which we mean they hit 9 of 12 shots from the floor in the final eight minutes, including six 3-pointers. It kept the near-capacity crowd in the game.
“They played tough,” Glacier coach Mark Harkins said of the Braves. “You’ve got to respond offensively and that was where I was proud of my kids. We’ve had games we were haven’t responded and tonight I thought we were matching them pretty well.
“They made a great run to start the half and then I thought our kids kind of steadied themselves and made some plays that were huge.”
Engellant had one – a layup with 1:10 left, off a full-court pass by Weston Price after Flathead had drawn to 64-58 on a Hunter Hickey three.
“I have trust in Drew,” said Price, who had 17 points and four rebounds. “I knew it was going to work. I just had to make the throw.
“I thought we just had to stay calm and keep pushing through it.”
Heath, starting in place of the injured KJ Johnson, scored 13 points.
Gabe Adams had 17 points for Flathead, including a pair of fourth-quarter bombs. Hickey and Joston Cripe scored 12 each and Vandenbosch added 11 for the Braves. Cripe had four steals.
Girls
Glacier 59, Flathead 39
The Wolfpack (8-8, 7-5 in league) took command with a 12-0 burst to start the second quarter, helped by a couple quick steals and buckets out of full-court pressure.
Rademacher converted one steal and added another basket that made it 20-8 at the 5:00 mark; Kaylee Fritz and Ellie Keller added threes to the surge.
The gap grew to 30-16 at halftime, though the Bravettes (5-11, 3-9) trailed just 34-24 after Rademacher went to the bench with her third foul at 5:01 of the third.
By then she’d already had a big game: 12 points, nine rebounds and four steals.
The Pack responded with a 10-3 run, sparked by two Sidney Gulick buckets. Two Emma Anderson free throws made it 44-27, Glacier, to start the third quarter.
There would be no comeback: The Bravettes were getting decent looks at the hoop but getting almost nothing to fall.
“We missed a ton of bunnies, especially in the first half,” Flathead coach Tricia Dean said. “We didn’t handle their pressure well and I thought overall it was not a great game for us. Full credit to Glacier, they played to win. I just don’t think we were quite on their level tonight.”
Rademacher said the team was reminded of the first crosstown, when Glacier had to rally late.
“We know we can’t overlook a team – we knew we had to jump out there right away,” she said. “And my teammates always do a great job. I have full confidence in what everybody can do. We always pick each other up.”
Kenzie Williams added 11 points for the Pack. Jenna Johnson scored 13 to lead Flathead.
Boys
Flathead 7 11 20 26 - 64
Glacier 25 11 12 22 - 70
FLATHEAD – Tannen Beyl 2-62-4 6, Cooper Smith 0-0 1-2 1, Gabe Adams 7-9 1-2 17, Hunter Hickey 4-8 1-3 14, Joston Cripe 3-7 4-7 12, Max Anderson 0-0 0-0 0, Ethan Vandenbosch 4-6 1-2 11, Gatlin Bruner 2-2 0-0 5, Ezra Epperly 0-0 0-0 0, Brian Wells 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-38 10-20 64.
GLACIER – Michael Schwarz 1-2 4-6 7, Weston Price 6-12 2-5 17, Drew Engellant 78-10 6-8 21, Keifer Spohnhauer 1-6 0-0 2, Anthony Heath 3-6 6-6 13, Jaxson Olsen 2-4 1-2 67, JT Allen 2-2 0-0 4, Jonah Pate 0-0 0-0 0, Dillon Riffle 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-42 19-25 70.
3-point goals – Flathead 10-17 (Hickey 3-4, Adams 2-2, Cripe 2-4, Vandenbosch 2-3, Bruner 1-1, Beyl 0-3), Glacier 7-17 (Pricxe 3-6, Heath 1-2, Olsen 1-2, Schwarz 1-2, Engellant 1-1, Spohnhauer 0-4). Rebounds – Flathead 16 (Adams 7), Glacier 28 (Olsen 6). Fouls – Flathead 22, Glacier 16. Fouled out – Cripe, Vandenbosch, Spohnhauer. Steals – Flathead 8 (Cripe 3), Glacier 3 (Heath 2). Turnovers – Flathead 11, Glacier 15.
Girls
Flathead 6 10 11 12 - 39
Glacier 8 22 14 15 - 59
FLATHEAD – Maddy Moy 2 0-2 4, Jenna Johnson 4 3-3 13, Molly Winters 1 0-0 2, Clare Converse 3 3-8 9, Akilah Kubi 4 1-4 9, Kuyra Siegel 1 0-0 2, Kennedy Kanter 0 0-2 0, Bridget Crowley 0 0-0 0, Rebecca Eacker 0 0-0 0, Myah Attard 0 0-0 0. Totals 15 7-15 39.
GLACIER – Ellie Keller 2 2-2 7, Aubrie Rademacher 6 4-4 16, Emma Anderson 2 2-2 6, Kenzie Williams 5 0-1 11, Kaylee Fritz 3 0-0 7, Sidney Gulick 2 0-0 4, Aubry Grame 0 1-2 1, Blayke Foppiano 0 1-2 1, Allee Meyer 1 0-0 2, Janessa Henson 0 0-0 0, Madeline Bishop 2 0-0 4. Totals 23 10-12 59.
3-point goals – Flathead 2 (Johnson 2), Glacier 3 (Keller, Williams, Fritz). Fouls – Flathead 15, Glacier 13. Rebounds – Flathead 38 (Converse 11, Kubi 8), Glacier 31 (Rademacher 11). Steals – Flathead 5 (Converse 3), Glacier 13 (Rademacher 4). Turnovers – Flathead 17, Glacier 9.