State tournaments, day 2

Jesse Pfau handles the ball in the district championship game against Charlo.

The Arlee boys’ basketball team advanced with a 59-56 win over Culbertson, who had topped the polls for much of the year.
Arlee started out down 22-14 after the first quarter and down five points at the half. That lead was cut to two after the third quarter. With a 16-point fourth quarter, Arlee upset Culberson.
Junior Jesse Pfau led with 17 poins and senior Kody Morigeau added 12. Junior Kasey Bridgewater drained both of his three-point attempts and senior Kyle Felsman led with six rebounds.
The Warriors play at 8 p.m. tonight in Billings against St. Labre, who has been ranked No. 11 entering state.
They beat Power last night 79-52 in the opening round.

Senior Derrick Rathe blocks the ball during the Northwestern A divisional challenge game.

Stats for Polson:
In Polson’s upset over Billings Central, junior Louis Mohr led with 19 and was one of five players to score double digits. Senior Tim Rausch had 13, junior Kyle Bagnell had 12, sophomore Tyler Krell had 11 and sophomore Vince DiGiallonardo had 10.
Polson worked for nine steals, Bagnell had three while turning the ball over 14 times.
The Pirates face Butte Central at 6:30 p.m. today in Butte.

Polson boys basketball, game one

Polson's Louis Mohr drives around Ronan's Marcus Hungerford in the challenge game Monday.

The Polson boys basketball team won its opening game of the Class A boys state basketball tournament by beating Billings Central 65-53.
Polson, the second seed from the Northwest, over took the Rams, the first seed from the east.
Up next, the Pirates will face the winner of the Butte Central/Corvallis game 6:30 p.m. tomorrow in Butte where the winner will make the title game.

The big show

The last two weeks have been so crazy. I had to keep up with the Olympics as well as all 12 Lake County basketball teams during the end-of-the season runs each made.
Polson and Arlee boys basketball teams are competing at the state tournament as I type.
Polson has the height and speed to make a good statement this year. Seniors Tim Rausch and Derrick Rathe seemed pumped when I talked to them after the challenge game against Ronan. They might be an underdog, but a strong one at that. Louis Mohr is just hitting his stride, back from academic ineligibility, and put him next to Kyle Bagnell for a deadly combination.
Speaking of the Chiefs, the first –half of the challenge game was so exciting. Plus, Ronan has so much speed and grit that it showed when they kept going after the Pirates time-and-time again. They forced Polson to take shots and be on their toes.
They play Billings Central in the first round and are in a bracket with Butte Central, ranked No. 5, and Corvallis. Laurel and Columbia Falls, arguably the first and second-best teams in the state, square off in an opening match.
Arlee, on the other hand, is a strong team with depth on its bench.

Many nights during the regular season, upwards of seven players would score a solid-amount of points. Kyle Felsman might be listed at 6-foot on the roster, but the kid can jump. He beat Charlo’s Houston Blevins a couple times to start two games that I saw. He and Jesse Pfau also have speed. The Warriors have been ranked in the top-10 coaches poll all year long and face No.3 Culbertson in the first round. The only other teams to be ranked are Big Sandy and Drummond, both in the other bracket.

Stats and analyzing games can only go so far, though. It is impossible to factor in the will and want both of these teams have. Both battled back from losses to take second in their respective conferences for berths to the big show. The state tournament may be new to both teams, but don’t count them out.

Olympics
WOW. That’s really all I can say. Between all of the exciting hockey, I tried to find time to keep up with the other sports. I know the hockey subjects have been talked close to death, but c’mon. It was good. You couldn’t have asked for a more exciting gold-medal game. Tied by USA with under 25 seconds left IN THE GAME, only to have the NHL’s golden child win the gold for his team.
Such a story book game, minus the USA losing.
I need time to recover, but won’t be afforded it as the NHL didn’t stop and started games the day after the championship game.

I need a nap.