MISSION BB RECAP: Facing the top

ST. IGNATIUS - Two of the state's top teams came to Mission last

week and left with victories, though they had to fight extremely

had to earn them.

The Bulldogs opened their week on Tuesday, Jan. 24 with a 63-37

loss at home against Bigfork.

ST. IGNATIUS - Two of the state's top teams came to Mission last week and left with victories, though they had to fight extremely had to earn them.

The Bulldogs opened their week on Tuesday, Jan. 24 with a 63-37 loss at home against Bigfork.

Even in the loss, head coach Patrick Irvin was happy with his team's effort in the contest.

"Bigfork is a very deep team with guards that can really shoot the ball," Irvin said. "We did a good job keeping their big guys from hurting us and worked hard to rebound."

Jarred Smith-Brown and Austin Durglo paced Mission's offense with 10 points apiece, while Dylan Evans and Nikko Alexander each added six.

The Bulldogs did a good job hanging with the Vikings throughout, trailing by only five after one and by 11, 31-20, at halftime. Bigfork kept the pressure on in the third, expanding its lead to 45-31 before finishing the job in the fourth quarter to earn the win.

Florence then came to town on Saturday, Jan. 28 and was able to rally from a hot start by Mission to earn a 54-44 victory.

The Bulldogs raced out to a 19-9 lead after the first quarter, but the Falcons rallied in the second and third quarters to take a 38-34 advantage. Florence was able to stave off the Mission rally in the fourth to escape with the win.

"We played our best all around game of the year against Florence," Irvin said. "They were just able to finish in the paint at the end of the game and we struggled to finish in the last few minutes."

Stuart Grant led the Bulldogs against Florence with 15 points, while Alexander also hit double digits with 12.

Despite the tough week, Irvin was pleased with his team.

"Overall I was very happy how we performed against two of the top teams in the state last week," Irvin said.

This week, Mission will head to Arlee on Thursday, Feb. 2 before hosting Loyola on Saturday.

BIGFORK @ MISSION

Bigfork - 14 - 17 - 14 - 18 - 63

Mission - 9 - 11 - 11 - 6 - 37

Bulldogs scoring - Jarred Smith-Brown 10, Austin Durglo 10, Dylan Evans 6, Nikko Alexander 6, Stuart Grant 4, Will Powell 1

FLOR. @ MISSION

Florence - 9 - 13 - 16 - 16 - 54

Mission - 19 - 6 - 9 - 10 - 44

Bulldogs scoring - Stuart Grant 15, Nikko Alexander 12, Jarred Smith-Brown 9, Austin Durglo 6, Dylan Evans 2