VIEW FROM THE TOP

by Brandon Hansen & Sports Editor
| March 8, 2012 8:00 AM

Polson lost its two top scorers from last year’s team, ended up losing their star post player midway through the season and had a five-game losing streak heading into the Northwestern A Divisional Tournament.

But after everything was said and done, the Pirates accomplished something that had never been done before in school history: they advanced to the Class A State Tournament for the third year in a row.

“We talked about it and said that everybody outside of the locker room didn’t expect us to be in the state tournament, but the kids continued to work hard,” Polson head coach Brad Pluff said. “We told them they can hold their heads high and they can be proud of what they accomplished.”

Last week in Butte wasn’t the ending that the three active seniors and the injured Tyler Krell were looking for to wrap up their season, going 0-2 in tournament play, but nothing can take away their contributions. Krell and guard Vince DiGiallonardo have been key cogs in Polson’s state tournament streak as three-year starters for the Pirates.

“For a Class A school, that’s rare,” Pluff said. “And we had two of them on our team.”

Pluff said that Ian Laimbeer and Cody Fischer have worked very hard in the Polson basketball program, improving and making huge contributions to the team this year.

Fischer was a strong scoring threat for the Pirates, especially in the second half of the season while Laimbeer was the team’s leading rebounder.

“He worked hard and got himself into position for rebounds,” Pluff said of Laimbeer.

With these seniors in the program, its no wonder the Pirates have been so successful.

DILLON 47, POLSON 27

The eventual state champions had their hands full against the Pirates in the first round of the Class A Boys Basketball State Tournament on Thursday. After a close first half, Polson’s offense stalled and the Beavers were able to pull away for the 47-27 victory. It was the lowest point total that Dillon would have en route to the 2012 title, another indicator of just how far Polson’s defense had come from the beginning of the season.

“Up until the last game of the state tournament, we got better at defense every week,” Pluff said. “We were more deliberate on offense and limited possession for the other team. At divisionals, we really showed up with this.”

Both teams battled to a 9-9 tie in the first quarter. Dillon was able to get an advantage by implementing their zone defense in the second quarter but the Pirates weren’t intimidated.

Thanks to a DiGiallonardo three-pointer, scores from junior Riley Sampson and Zack Camel free-throws, the Pirates grabbed a 16-14 lead with 3:41 to play in the half. It would be the last lead for the Pirates though, they were held to just a pair of free throws for the rest of the second quarter and Dillon hit two three-pointers to lead 24-18 at the half.

Polson’s shooting, which has been their Achilles heel all season long, dropped off in the second half. They hit just two buckets after halftime and had an 11-minute scoring drought.

“Dillon runs a 1-3-1 defense that’s near impossible to simulate in practice with the athletes they have,” Pluff said.

Polson committed eight turnovers after halftime, and Dillon outscored them 13-6 in the third quarter and held the Pirates to three points in the fourth.

Fischer and Camel led the team with seven points apiece, while Sampson wasn’t far behind with six. While the rebounding battle was fairly even, with Dillon holding the slim 33-28 edge, Polson’s 16 turnovers from Dillon’s 12 steals hurt.

The Pirates returned the favor though, and had 13 steals themselves. It ultimately came down to their shooting, with Polson going just 8-for-38 from the field.

PARK 70, POLSON 48

On Friday, the Pirates matched up in a loser-out game against Park but were hamstrung again by poor offensive production in a 70-48 loss to end the season.

While Pluff didn’t think it was the best effort by his team this year, Polson hung with the Rangers in the first and fourth quarters but the middle stanzas proved to be their downfall.

The game was tied 4-4 after the first six minutes thanks to scores by Camel and Fischer. After Park took a lead on free throws, DiGiallonardo drove in traffic and tied it up again.

After another Park bucket, Will Davey used his speed and registered a breakway layin to knot it up at 8-8 with two minutes to go in the first quarter.

Park scored the last five points of the stanza for a 13-8 lead headed into the second. During that stanza, the Rangers had two separate 7-0 runs to take a 37-20 lead into halftime.

Park had another big quarter in the third, and by the time Polson outscored the Rangers 14-10 in the fourth quarter, the game’s outcome was set. In the second and third quarters, Polson was outscored 47-26.

The cold shooting continued, Polson was 3-for-16 from three-point land and shot 28 percent from the field. However, the seniors still had their say, with Fischer and DiGiallonardo leading the team in scoring with 11 points apiece in their final high school game.

“I’ve coached Vince, Cody and Ian since fourth grade little guy football,” Pluff said. “I’ve kind of seen these guys grow up athletically.”

Sampson had a game-high 12 rebounds. Polson finished the season 10-13.

BUILDING FOR THE FUTURE

The later part of the season showed that the Pirates should have plenty of returning talent for next season. The most impressive underclassman was sophomore point guard Cedrick Smith, who should give Pirates fans plenty of bright memories before his high school career is done.

“I think it was kind of a passing of the guard between Vince and Cedrick,” Pluff said. “I think that anyone that saw him play knows that the point guard position will be in good hands next year.”

Junior guard Zach Camel will return after an impressive season as one of the top scorers in the Northwestern A Conference. Junior post Riley Sampson, who’s a beast in the post, will give the Pirates a strong presence in the paint and the athletic junior guard Will Davey will continue to play tough defense and make coast-to-coast fast break plays for Polson.

Sophomore Brady Hislop should also be one of the best shooters for the Pirates next year and Hayden Congdon will be a presence at the forward position.

“For the run we’ve had, that says a lot about the kids,” Pluff said. “They’re going to work hard next year to get back to the state tournament again.”

ACCOLADES FOR THE PIRATES

Three different players received honors for their play this season. Senior post Tyler Krell was named all-state and first-team all-conference. Junior Zach Camel was named second-team all-conference and senior Cody Fischer was an all-conference honorable mention.

POLSON VS DILLON

Dillon - 9 - 15 - 13 - 10 - 47

Polson - 9 - 9 - 6 - 3 - 27

Pirates scoring - Cody Fischer 7, Riley Sampson 6, Vince DiGiallonardo 3, Zack Camel 7, Will Davey 2, Cedrick Smith 2

Shooting totals: 8-38 FG, 9-17 FT

POLSON VS PARK

Polson - 8 - 12 - 14 - 14 - 48

Park - 13 - 24 - 23 - 10 - 70

Pirates scoring - Ian Laimbeer 3, Cody Fischer 11, Riley Sampson 6, Vince DiGiallonardo 11, Zack Camel 7, Will Davey 6, Cedrick Smith 4

Shooting totals: 18-65 FG, 9-22 FT