Polson grabs second place

COLUMBIA FALLS — The Polson boys’ basketball team finished the regular season in second place.

The Pirates sit behind Columbia Falls and ahead of Libby after winning one and losing one last week.

Against the second-ranked team in the state, Columbia Falls, the Pirates didn’t shoot the ball well, head coach Brad Pluff said. Polson went 17-for-65 on the floor in the 67-55 loss. Polson opened up with eight points in the first and increased for 21 points in the second to be down by two at the half.

“We felt like we were in the game,” Pluff said.

The second quarter was the Pirate’s best of the night, but Columbia Falls went on a six point run to start the third quarter to take the wind out of Polson’s sails.

“It’s going to take more than one good quarter to beat them,” Pluff said. “It was an uphill battle from there.”

Junior Louis Mohr led with 16 points and junior Kyle Bagnell added 13. He leads the conference in points.

Bagnell and sophomore Vince DiGiallonardo each shot two three-point baskets. Bagnell leads the conference in three-point baskets, making 42 this season and DiGiallonardo is second with 40 made.

Columbia Falls also threw a 1-3-1 zone defense at the Pirates, who had never seen that before.

“We tried to adjust on the fly,” Pluff said.

Two nights later, Polson hosted Ronan in a quicker game.

“It was more up-tempo, more our style,” Pluff said.

The Pirates jumped out to a quick 27-14 lead after the first and coasted to double-digit scoring all four quarters in the 88-50 win.

Five Pirates scored double-digit points: sophomore Tyler Krell with 22, Bagnell had 21, Mohr had 14, DiGiallonardo had 12 and junior Sheldon Fisher had 11.

As a team, Polson ended the season leading the conference in free throw percentage, making 62 percent.

Up next, Polson heads north to Kalispell for the divisional tournament, facing Libby at 8 p.m. tomorrow night. The Pirates lost to Libby early in the season by one point while missing Rausch. Polson turned around and beat the Loggers by 30 two weeks ago.

Pluff said he expects to move on and play Columbia Falls. After seeing them last week, the team will watch a lot of film and make adjustments as needed.