(Photo: TRIBUNE PHOTO/JULIA MOSS)
Great Falls High head boys’ basketball coach Bob Howard called Friday night’s 22-point loss an “eye opener, a wake-up call.”
“We just didn’t come out with enough energy and we didn’t hustle enough,” junior guard Kody Torgerson said of the game against Missoula Hellgate. “They just wanted it more.”
The Bison bounced back in a big way Saturday evening at the Old Gymnasium, limiting the Kalispell Glacier Wolfpack to one third-quarter field goal en route to an 83-59 triumph before several hundred tightly packed fans.
“Adversity hit us and we took it right back,” Torgerson said. “We got the W tonight, and it was a big win.”
Star forward Brendan Howard overcame a slow start – the 6-6 junior didn’t make his first field goal until 3:06 left in the half – to score a game-high 21 points, surpassing the 1,000-point mark for his career.
The Bison (3-1) built a 22-14 advantage after the first quarter by way of Daniel Silverstein and Reece Green. The pair combined for 16 markers in the first eight minutes as the Bison got in the bonus quickly, making 9 of 12 free throws; they made 18 of 28 for the game.
“When you put them in the bonus in the first quarter and every time you foul then they’re going to have a chance to score points, that’s a killer,” Glacier head coach Mark Harkins said. “It’s hard to maintain contact with that team when you are putting them on the free throw line that much.”
Silverstein scored 16 points for the game, while Green came off the bench to add 11. Ten Bison names tallied at least four points or more. Great Falls received 35 points from its reserves.
“We move it around a lot,” Green said of the scoring. “We’ve pretty much always had guys that could put it in there, but when Brendan’s not feeling it or when he feels it late, we all have to produce in some way. But Brendan picked it up later.”
Junior Kellan Romsa, who chipped in eight off the bench, added two triples in the first half as the Bison built a 40-34 lead at intermission after Howard leaked out behind the Wolfpack (1-2) defense to score a transition layup with three seconds left.
“The third quarter, we got killed when we came out,” Harkins said. “I was really proud of the boys, I thought they had a great first half. I thought they executed our game plan very, very well. And then the third quarter started and we struggled to score points and we let them get on a run.”
The Bison defense tightened, holding Glacier to just five points in that third quarter. The Wolfpack made just one field goal. Great Falls High opened the third stanza with the first eight points to stretch the lead out to 48-34 and the margin swelled to as many as 25 at the end of three.
“We didn’t have a great start but we finally dug in,” Bob Howard said. “We played some man, got some stops. Danny Silverstein had a nice first half. That helped bail us out. We had other guys score early and kept us in the game and we got a lead and hung on to it.”
Tadan Gilman led the Wolfpack in scoring with 16.
The Bison travel to Havre to for an out-of-league game against the Blue Ponies on Monday.
Great Falls High 83, Kalispell Glacier 59
Glacier…14 20 5 20 – 59
GFH…22 18 24 19 – 83
Glacier – Caden Harkins 0 1-2 1, Drake Dulin 2 2-2 8, Noah Lindsay 2 2-4 6, Jake Willich 2 2-5 7, Dylan Ruggles 1 3-4 5, John Learn 2 5-5 9, Pat O’Connell 1 0-1 2, Tadan Gilman 5 5-6 16, Jake Norberg 2 0-0 4, Torin Bowden 0 1-1 1. Totals: 17 21-31.
GFH – Daniel Silverstein 5 5-8 16, Blake Thelen 2 0-0 4, Kody Torgerson 1 4-5 6, Kellan Romsa 3 0-0 8, Kyle Winkler 2 0-0 4, Reece Green 4 3-4 11, Riley Watt 1 3-6 5, Brendan Howard 8 3-5 21, KeAndre Hairston 2 0-0 4, Keaton Burcham 2 0-0 4. Totals: 30 18-28.
Team fouls – GFH 23, Glacier 18. Fouled out – Romsa. 3-pointers – Dulin 1, Willich 1, Gilman 1, Silverstein 1, Romsa 2, Howard 2.