Glacier stays poised late to beat Helena High, 55-49

HELENA — The Helena High boys basketball had its chances on Saturday night in The Jungle, but in the end Kody Jarvis’ 21 points and Glacier were too much.

The Wolfpack fended off Helena High, winning 55-49.

“We had some guys step up and make some big plays,” Glacier coach Mark Harkins said. “They got going and we had Kody Jarvis, I thought, made some really huge plays for us, driving to the rim. Brec Rademacher hit some nice shots for us down the stretch. We hit some nice post touches.”

 Heading into the fourth quarter, the Bengals trailed 35-33, which was an amazing result in itself after the red and white scored only two first quarter points and spent the next two quarters playing catch up.

The Bengals tied it immediately when Hayden Ferguson got a bucket, but almost immediately the tide shifted back in Glacier’s favor.

“We haven’t played in a lot of tight games,” Bengals coach Brandon Day said. “Our experience there showed tonight. We didn’t have the poise in key moments that we needed. That wasn’t just in the offensive end. It was also in the defensive end.”

Glacier (6-7, 4-3) went on an 8-0 run, fueled by a three from Rademacher and an and-one play from Drew Engellant.

The Bengals (3-10, 1-6) responded with a 7-0 run when Alex Johnson, Caleb Ferguson and Connor Murgel all contributed to the scoring flurry. But once again, the Wolfpack remained poised and counterpunched right back.

“We talked about it in the locker room,” Harkins said. “We knew they were going to make a run. They’re a good team. We had to withhold it and make our own. I thought the kids did well. They kept their composure very well.”

A 9-2 run gave the Wolfpack complete control in the fourth quarter, pushing the lead to eight points until Murgel scored with 32 seconds left. Day saw positives in his bunch’s effort on Saturday, too.

“We did some great things, too, that we haven’t done yet,” Day said. “We had some inside game.”

In the end, Jarvis’ athletic scoring – he was the highest of five Wolfpack members who scored on Saturday – gave the Wolfpack an edge and just what they needed to break a two-game losing skid.

The Bengals were paced by Murgel and Hayden Ferguson, who both scored 10 points.

Helena Independent Record