Mission rebounds with OT win

ST. IGNATIUS — Mission senior Jorren Gies took matters into his own hands last Saturday.

After watching Seeley score with 8 seconds left in overtime for a 59-58 lead, Gies stepped up.

He went coast-to-coast for a lay-up, two points and the 60-59 win.

The night before, things weren’t as exciting.

On Friday night, the Bulldogs lost 53-33 to Troy in a game that featured 17 Bulldog turnovers in the first quarter.

“That was not what we drew up for the game plan,” head coach Lloyd Phillips said. “This was by far our worst game of the year taking care of the ball on offense and defending three-point shots on defense.”

Last time Mission faced Troy, the Bulldogs scored 27 points total, with single digits all four quarters.

This time, the Bulldogs managed double-digit scoring in the third.

The Bulldogs went four-for-seven in the field in the first quarter and three-for-six in the second, leading to a 13-point deficit at the half.

In the fourth quarter, Mission cut the lead to seven with 6 minutes left but the “run ended there and so did our effort,” Rice said.

Freshman Dylan Evans made his first varsity start for the Bulldogs and logged four points and three rebounds.

Senior Jake Durglo led with 17 points and seven rebounds, playing well at both ends, Rice said. Senior Jorren Gies nabbed five steals.

“We weren’t ready to play and it came back to haunt us,” Rice said. “They hurt us with full-court pressure and our press was weak at best.”

The next night, things turned around.

In a 60-59 win, in overtime, against Seeley, the Bulldog’s goal was to play well all four quarters at both ends and win.

“What a game and what a finish,” Rice said. “This is exactly what we needed. We beat a good team by playing well at crunch time.”

In the first quarter, Mission made two three-pointers, after blanking the night before.

Entering the second quarter down by one, Mission managed four points in the second and went scoreless in the last six minutes, finishing the first half down by  seven.

A 27-point third quarter, the highest point total in a quarter all year, brought Mission back into the game and a four-point lead.

“They must’ve actually listened to what we said at halftime,” Rice said.

In the fourth quarter, after many lead changes, Evans hit his free throws for a 53-50 lead with 12 seconds to go. Seeley got the ball and hit a three-point shot from the volleyball line at the nine second mark.

After a time out, Mission missed a lay-up with “a tick or two” left, Rice said, that send the game to extra time, where the Bulldogs won on Gies’ lay up. Gies ended with 24 points, eight rebounds and three steals.

“Jorren played to the level he is capable of,” Rice said.

Evans added 13 points, five rebounds and three steals.

“Dylan was the leader on the floor as a freshman,” Rice said.

The Bulldogs traveled to Arlee on Tuesday, scores were unavailable at press time. Mission hosts Plains on Friday for Senior night and travels to Thompson Falls on Saturday in the last weekend of regular-season play.