Gordon's free throw lifts Bulldogs over Polson

Leader Staff

ST IGNATIUS — After the St. Ignatius Bulldogs lost their undefeated record last week with losses to both Charlo and Thompson Falls, they immediately bounced back to upset the Polson Pirates Friday night, 60-59, after Logan Gordon made one of two free throws with 12 seconds left to help his team to victory.

"It was one of the finest games I've seen. It was incredible. No one really lost — someone just had to win. The ball just bounced our way at the end," head coach Steve Woll said.

Gus McDonald hit a 3-pointer to get the team on the board, and both he and Tyler Trudeau had a hot hand early, with Trudeau draining a trey to bring the team to within three at the end of the first period.

Mission pressed in the first and second quarters, and although Polson didn't turn the ball over much, it clearly gave them trouble. Trudeau drained two more 3-pointers in the second, and the team trailed by three again at the half. Trudeau had 14 points at halftime.

McDonald opened the second half with a 3-pointer, and another trey by Trudeau tied at at 37. Another 3-pointer by McDonald put the team ahead, 41-39, for the next few minutes.

Meanwhile, Cory Gies, Avery Old Coyote and Gordon were all having great games on offense and defense, and the team was moving the ball well, but Polson came back to take a 45-43 lead after three.

Polson led by as much as nine early in the fourth, but the Bulldogs kept hitting their foul shots. McDonald stole the ball and hit another 3-pointer with two minutes left in the game to give the team a 57-55 lead, but Polson tied it up again 30 seconds later. Polson took a two-point lead with two free throws with 35 seconds left, but Old Coyote hit a shot to tie it, 59-59, with 15 seconds to go.

A bad throw by Polson led to a turnover, and Gordon was fouled while shooting. Polson called timeout to ice him, as he was faced with a tie game and two shots with 12.7 seconds left. When a Leader reporter asked him after the game if he was nervous prior to the shots, Gordon said the last 12 seconds weren't much different than the first 12.

"I was kind of nervous the whole game, so that [Polson calling timeout] didn't really matter," he said. "My teammates said 'Just put the second one down and it will be good.'"

Gordon missed the first free throw, which really put the pressure on him, but the second one fell through.

"I wasn't thinking about the outcome — just shooting the ball. It's always a negative result if you think about the outcome," Gordon said.

The Bulldogs have defined the word team and worked together all season, according to Woll.

"Other guys are just getting more comfortable and stepping up. Avery Old Coyote is coming into his own,' Woll said.

That teamwork has been confusing to the competition and helped lead the Bulldogs to one of their best seasons.

"We've got four or five guys that could be the leading scorers and no one knows who to defend at game time," Woll said.

The Bulldogs proved that it takes a team effort as Tyler Trudeau came out to score 23 points, Gus McDonald scored 18 points, Avery Old Coyote scored 12 points, Logan Gordan scored three points, and Cory Gies and Riley McCollum each scored two points.

Thursday is the big rivalry game, at home, against Arlee. Woll said "It'll be a barnburner."

The Bulldogs will travel to Drummond on Saturday.