Pirates pressure Blue Devils

CORVALLIS - Going into their matchup against Southwestern A

opponent Corvallis, the Polson Pirates knew it was going to be

anything but a walk in the park. The Blue Devils were 9-5 on the

season and had already defeated Polson at home by 17 points in

January.

CORVALLIS - Going into their matchup against Southwestern A opponent Corvallis, the Polson Pirates knew it was going to be anything but a walk in the park. The Blue Devils were 9-5 on the season and had already defeated Polson at home by 17 points in January.

But the Pirates showed up to play and took Corvallis the distance before falling 54-50 last Thursday night.

Without star post Tyler Krell, the Pirates leaned on Zach Camel and Vince DiGiallonardo to carry the load in scoring. Krell suffered a knee injury against Columbia Falls two weeks ago and had an MRI last Monday that showed he'll miss the rest of the season.

Polson jumped out to an 18-11 lead after the first quarter and led 26-20 at the break.

"We played well enough to win, we just fell a bit short," Polson head coach Brad Pluff said.

Corvallis went on a 15-6 run in the third quarter to take a 35-32 advantage going in the fourth and held on for victory. A large key to Corvallis' success was their star Riley Bradshaw, who notched 28 points, 22 of which came after halftime.

"In the fourth quarter, we kind of lost track of Bradshaw," Pluff said. "He would get deep into our zone defense and when he's that deep, he's going to make shots."

Camel led the Pirates with 17 points and DiGiallonardo pitched in nine. Riley Sampson also made a large contribution with eight points.

"I felt like the game was an improvement for our team," Pluff said. "I felt like we had gotten better."

Camel hit double digits for his sixth-straight game on Saturday against Libby, but Polson suffered a hiccup as they fell to the Loggers on the road, 70-58.

"It's always a tough road trip to Libby," Pluff said. "Then we have to sit through a few games before we play. For the last couple of years, we've struggled up there."

Pluff was not pleased with the defensive effort of his squad, which gave up its fourth-highest point total of the season. Pluff said that defense is an effort thing and that it's something that can be fixed.

"Defensively, it was our worst effort of the season," Pluff said. "We've talked to the team and said that we're going to have nights where we don't shoot the ball well but we can't have nights where we play bad defense."

It was a close game for most of the way. Polson trailed 25-24 at halftime and 38-35 going into the fourth quarter and that's when the track meet began. Both teams combined for 55 points and the Loggers finished the game on a 32-23 run for the win.

"They shot a pile of free throws," Pluff said, adding that the Loggers took 40 shots from the charity stripe.

Senior Cody Fischer led the way for the Pirates with 17 points while DiGiallonardo added 14. Camel had 13 and is currently second on the team in scoring with over 12 points per game, first on the team in steals with three a game and first in assists with four per game.

"He's played well, especially with Tyler out," Pluff said. "All around he's been a great player for us."

After playing Frenchtown Tuesday, Polson now turns its attention to Whitefish on Saturday night. Polson lost to the Bulldogs 61-46 earlier in January after a slow second quarter hampered them. Whitefish is currently 9-7 on the season and is averaging 63 points per game, but Polson isn't far behind them with 56 points per game.

If the standings stay where they are, the Bulldogs will play the Pirates in the opening game of the divisional tournament, meaning that this is an important game for momentum.

"Just for confidence alone, we want to know we can beat them," Pluff said. "And that would send them a message and hurt their confidence."

POLSON @ CORVALLIS

Polson - 18 - 8 - 6 - 18 - 50

Corvallis - 11 - 9 - 15 - 19 - 54

Pirates scoring - Vince DiGiallonardo 9, Will Davey 4, Ian Laimbeer 6, Zack Camel 17, Cody Fischer 6, Riley Sampson 8

POLSON @ LIBBY

Polson - 11 - 13 - 11 - 23 - 58

Libby - 13 - 12 - 13 - 32 - 70

Pirates scoring - Vince DiGiallonardo 14, Will Davey 2, Ian Laimbeer 5, Zach Camel 13, Cody Fischer 17, Brady Hislop 3, Riley Sampson 4