Boys Basketball: Wolfpack all over Libby boys

Early on, the Libby boys basketball team appeared as though it might give Class AA Glacier a pretty good fight in a nonconference high school basketball meeting on Tuesday.

The Loggers came out of the locker room aggressively and held the visiting Wolfpack to just eight points over the opening frame. But Libby could never break out of its shooting funk and ended up losing by a wide margin, 65-24.

“We had some chances to make plays and we didn’t,” Libby coach Wally Winslow said. “You have to maintain contact … they’re going to make plays and if you don’t, things get away from you.”

Things started to get away from Libby in the opening couple of minutes of the second quarter. The Loggers had led 6-2 in the first quarter after baskets from Nate Broden, Alex Cislo and Colton Cannon. But the offense wouldn’t score again for another 4:22 of game clock time and in the meantime, Glacier began to build an insurmountable lead.

Over that cold shooting stretch by the Loggers, the visitors went on a 13-0 run and held a 26-11 lead at intermission. A lot of 3-pointers started to fall and the Wolfpack ended up with 11 for the game.

“The reason they got those 3’s – a lot of it was dribble penetration … dribble and kick,” Winslow said. “That is fatigue – mentally and physically.”

Libby’s shooting percentage ended up at a dismal 17 percent on the night. Even the free-throw percentage was below par at 41 percent.

“For us to be successful in the future, we need to make plays when opportunities present themselves, which means you can’t shoot 17 percent,” Winslow said. “And we have to stop the dribble penetration.”

Cannon’s six points led the team with Garrett Craig adding five. Cislo had a good night on the boards with 11 – nine of those in the first half.

“It’s a work in progress. We have to work to get better,” Winslow said. “We’re not going to be world-beaters right now.”

Bryan Chery scored 13 points to lead a trio of Glacier players in double figures.

The Loggers (1-2) head to Kalispell on Saturday for a meeting against the city’s other high school, Flathead.

Glacier 65, Libby 24

Tuesday at Libby

GLACIER (65)

Chery 4 1-2 13, Blodnick 1 4-4 6, Hanson 3 3-4 10, Smithwick-Hann 3 0-0 8, Quay 2 0-0 4, Schmaltz 1 0-0 3, T. Griffith 4 0-0 10, Ventuini 0 1-2 1, Doty 1 0-0 3, Cavigli 2 0-2 4, Edwards 0 0-0 0, Fusaro 0 3-4 3. Totals 21 12-18 65.

LIBBY (24)

Benson 0 1-2 1, May 0 1-2 1, Cannon 2 2-2 6, Broden 2 0-1 4, Cislo 2 0-3 4, Nelson 0 0-1 0, Craig 1 2-4 5, Maloney 1 0-0 2, Hare 0 1-2 1, Troy 0 0-0 0. Totals 8 7-17 24.

Three-Pointers–Glacier 11 (Chery 4, T. Griffith 2, Smithwick-Hann 2, Hanson, Schmaltz, Doty), Libby 1 (Craig). Rebounds–Glacier 33 (Hanson 6), Libby 35 (Cislo 11). Assists–Glacier 14 (Blodnick 6), Libby 3 (Benson 2). Total Fouls–Glacier 21, Libby 12. Fouled Out—None. Technical Fouls–None.