But it also meant Glacier would get another shot at the Braves, and an opportunity to get payback in the Class AA tournament that would, as a bonus, end Flathead’s suddenly promising season.

That was an opportunity they were not going to let pass by.

The Wolfpack smothered Flathead with a nearly impenetrable zone defense, dominated the Braves on the glass and kept its season alive with a 52-37 win at Flathead High School on Tuesday night in the first game of the state tournament.

“We spent a lot of time Monday going over film and talking about things we didn’t do well (on Friday),” Glacier coach Mark Harkins said. “We didn’t focus on anything but how to get better.”

Glacier (7-14) was definitively better Tuesday night. The Pack never again trailed after falling behind 5-3 in the early going and made just enough shots to help its relentless defensive effort hold up. The Wolfpack held Flathead to just 24.5 percent shooting from the field and forced the Braves to shoot a dismal 4 of 21 from 3-point range.

“We were tenacious on defense, we were flying around,” Glacier senior Dylan Ruggles said. “We came out, played a heck of a game, played a great team game.

“(Friday’s loss) didn’t bother us at all. We were focused on tonight.”

The Wolfpack focused its defense on Braves sophomore Tyler Johnson, who hit a trio of crucial triples in Friday’s game. Johnson was hounded from well beyond the 3-point line on Tuesday and, while he did finish with 10 points, made 2 of 8 attempts from beyond the arc.

“I thought their zone was really effective against us tonight,” Flathead coach Ross Gustafson said. “Packing it in, they were really keying on Tyler (Johnson) and, my fault, we were probably a little too guard dominant and didn’t get the ball inside enough.”

“Hat’s off to them.”

The handful of times when Flathead was able to poke a hole in the defense and find a good shot, Glacier usually had an answer.

The Braves (7-14) pulled within one point three times in the second and third quarters but never put together a second half run of more than two unanswered points.

Drake Dulin answered a Tyler Johnson 3-pointer late in the second quarter with one of his own, and Glacier led 22-18 at halftime.

Matt Marshall pulled the Braves within 24-23 early in the third quarter, but Ruggles answered immediately with a triple to re-extend the margin.

Glacier’s other big advantage came on the boards. The Wolfpack outrebounded Flathead 40-19 and secured the defensive rebound after 26 of the Braves’ 37 missed shots.

“Rebounding, we always say, that’s how you finish your defensive possession,” Harkins said. “I thought Noah (Lindsay) was a warrior tonight. The kids did a good job.”

Lindsay snagged a game-high 11 rebounds to go along with five points and four assists. Blayne Bailey, who transferred from Flathead to Glacier after his sophomore year, led the Wolfpack with 12 points.

Matt Marshall paced the Braves with 12 points in his final high school game. Until a Johnson layup with 1:03 remaining in the fourth quarter, Marshall had been the only Brave to make a field goal in the second half.

Flathead won three of its last four regular season games, including the win at Glacier last week.

“I’m really proud of them, especially the last three weeks or so where we’ve been playing some really great basketball,” Gustafson said of his team.

“I’m sad that it’s over, sad for the seniors, but the way we’ve been playing the last couple of weeks has got to make those younger guys feel pretty good.”

Glacier’s next test will come Friday at Helena Capital at 6 p.m. The Bruins beat the Wolfpack twice this year, including in overtime in Kalispell on Feb. 20. The winner of Friday’s game will advance to the state tournament, March 10-12 in Bozeman.

Glacier 10 12 10 20 — 52

Flathead 5 13 7 12 — 37

GLACIER (7-14) — Blayne Bailey 4 4-6 12, Noah Lindsay 1 3-4 5, Dylan Ruggles 3 1-3 9, Tadan Gilman 1 5-6 7, Jake Norberg 0 0-0 0, Caden Harkins 0 0-0 0, Drake Dulin 1 0-0 3, Brec Rademacher 0 0-0 0, Jake Willich 2 2-2 7, John Learn 1 2-4 4, Pat O’Connell 2 1-2 5, Torin Bowden 0 0-0 0. Totals — 15 18-27 52.

FLATHEAD (7-14) — Matt Marshall 5 0-1 12, Kye AuClaire 0 4-4 4, Bridger Johnson 4 1-2 9, Tyler Johnson 3 2-2 10, Sam Elliott 0 0-0 0, Seth Adolph 0 2-2 2, Cade White 0 0-0 0, Cooper Barrett 0 0-0 0, Wyatt Potter 0 0-0 0, Wyatt Smith 0 0-0 0, C.J. Dugan 0 0-0 0. Totals — 12 9-11 37.

3-point field goals — Glacier 4 (Ruggles 2, Dulin, Willich), Flathead 4 (Marshall 2, T. Johnson 2). Rebounds — Glacier 40 (Lindsay 11), Flathead 19 (B. Johnson 6). Assists — Glacier 8 (Lindsay 4), Flathead 7 (AuClaire 3). Turnovers — Glacier 12, Flathead 11. Total fouls — Glacier 15, Flathead 21. Fouled out — None. Technical fouls — None.