“It wasn’t pretty, but an ugly win is better than an ugly loss,” Helena High coach John Hollow said with relief after his hoopsters pulled out a scrappy win over Glacier on Saturday, 42-35.
The victory in The Jungle moved league-leading Helena to 9-5 overall, and kept HHS undefeated in the Western AA at 6-0. It is the program’s best conference start since the Bengals went 12-0 in 2003.
Hellgate is in second place at 5-2. With the loss, Glacier slips to 4-10, 1-5.
The first half on Harper Court was one of the lowest-scoring affairs in quite a while, as the Wolfpack took a 16-13 advantage into the intermission.
Helena suffered a blow midway through the opening quarter when post Ragen Shein went down hard under the basket battling for the ball. He remained down on the court for several moments.
After regaining his feet, the 6-foot-7 senior was assisted to the trainer’s room on his own power with an apparent back injury. He did not return to the bench.
Junior guard Keair Adgerson lit up the scoreboard in the third, scoring 10 of the hosts’ 14 points — including a pair of long shots from 3-point land — as HHS took a narrow, 27-24 cushion heading into the final frame.
The lead changed hands three times and was tied three more to start out the fourth. Then a pair of A.J. Kanthack free throws made it 34-32 in favor of the Bengals, and they would never trail again.
When teammate Taylor England made both ends of a 1-and-1, it turned out to be the deciding markers, at 36-32 with 1:35 left.
The red-and-white netted 17 of 18 free throws in the second left, highlighted by Kanthack’s perfect 6-for-6 effort from the line down the stretch.
HHS put three players in double figures, including England with 12 points, Adgerson with 11 and Kanthack with 10, going 10-14 at the charity stripe. Derek Jenneskens passed for a game-high four assists.
“We don’t necessarily want A.J. to shoot free throws to close out a game like that,” Hollow said, when asked if the plan was to have Kanthack take the fouls during a stall. “But we do want the ball in his hands because he’s hard to trap, we trust his decisions and he doesn’t turn the ball over.
“In reality, he’s been struggling with free throws. But we tinkered with a few things in practice, and after he made a couple tonight he believed in himself.”
Glacier actually outshot Helena from the floor, 30 to 25 percent, but the local group’s success at the line was a huge difference, draining 21 of 29 free throws, compared to 6 of 10 for their counterparts.
Tadan Gilman was the Kalispell club’s top scorer, with nine points.
Helena out-rebounded the visitors 30-28, with England gathering the lion’s share with 10 boards, for his double-double.
“Not having Ragen made it difficult, since he’s piggy-backed us all year,” said Hollow of his post, who had been on a tear, averaging 26 points in his last four games. “And we really didn’t play that well … but the kids played gritty enough to get the win.”
NOTE: For complete and up to date statewide Class AA basketball stats and records, visit www.montanasportsmemories.net.
Helena High 42, Glacier 35
Helena High 42, Glacier 35
Glacier;8;8;8;11;–;35
Helena;5;8;14;15;–;42
GLACIER — Blayne Bailey 0-1 6-8 6, Noah Lindsey 3-11 0-0 6, Dylan Ruggles 0-3 0-0 0, John Learn 1-3 0-0 2, Tadan Gilman 3-7 0-0 9, Drake Dulin 1-1 0-0 3, Jake Willich 1-3 0-2 3, Pat O’Connell 0-3 0-0 0, Jake Norberg 2-3 0-0 6, Cody Hartsoch 0-1 0-0 0; Totals 11-36 6-10 35.
HELENA (9-5, 6-0) — Keair Adgerson 4-9 1-2 11, Taylor England 3-6 6-8 12, Derek Jenneskens 1-3 2-2 4, AJ Kanthack 0-4 10-14 10, Ragen Shein 0-4 0-0 0, Logan Teegarden 0-5 0-0 0, Connor Matthews 1-4 2-3 5, Kendall Johnson 0-0 0-0 0; Totals 8-32 21-29 42.
3-pointers — Gla 7-14 (Gilman 3-6), HHS 3-13 (Adgerson 2-4, Matthews 1-3); Rebounds – Gla 28 (three with 5), HHS 30 (England 10, Johnson 4); Assists – Gla 7 (Ruggles 3), HHS 7 (Jenneskens 4); Turnovers – Gla 13, HHS 11; Fouls – Gla 27, HHS 11; Fouled out – None.