T. Falls upends Trojans in 7-B battle

Standing 6-foot-6, Thompson Falls senior

center Challis Wilson obviously carries a major presence on the

Class B school’s roster.

In Friday night’s 49-45 victory over Troy in a

District 7-B meeting, Wilson represented a significant headache for

the Trojans through points, rebounds and blocked shots. In the

game’s final 3 minutes, Wilson scored two key baskets and protected

his team’s lead with 90 seconds left by blocking Troy’s big man,

Ryan Rayson.

“They played well and they made shots,” Troy

High School coach Cory Andersen said. “There were times when our

defense broke down. We just didn’t play the normal way we’ve played

in the past at times and made a lot of mental mistakes.”

The Trojans rolled to a 15-6 lead through the

game’s opening 5 minutes. Trent Cratty, returning from an injury he

suffered the previous week against Libby, was a thorn in the

Bluehawks’ side with seven of those points during the early

run.

Kody Hoffman recorded assists on the game’s

first two baskets – a Rayson jumper in the lane and a Cratty hoop.

Cody Orr stole the ball on a backcourt in-bounds pass and quickly

scored for an 8-2 lead as the Trojan press created problems.

Cratty hit a three, Cody Orr added another

basket and Cory Orr hit a pair of free throws for a 15-6 advantage.

Thompson Falls cut that lead down to four points by the end of the

first quarter.

“It just didn’t seem like we had the energy

tonight,” Andersen said. “I don’t know what it was, what the whole

situation was but yeah, energy, missed shots, opportunities we had

… we jumped out and played pretty well. Maybe the guys got a little

comfortable thinking it was going to be easier than it was, I don’t

know.”

Neither offense did much in the second quarter

although Wilson had a dunk to please the contingent of Bluehawk

fans in the stands. By halftime, the Trojans were clinging to a

23-21 lead.

Thompson Falls took its first lead of the game

on a free throw with 6:23 remaining in the third. The Bluehawks

continued to click and led by six points heading into the

fourth.

The Trojans opened the final period with a 6-0

run to knot the score at 38-38. Cratty got a steal, hoop and also

drew a foul. After sinking the free throw, he followed 10 seconds

later with a three-pointer.

Thompson Falls finally scored in the fourth at

the 5:53 mark but Troy responded with a three by Mikey Ormiston to

take a 41-40 lead with 4:22 left. Cratty then hit a pair of foul

shots for a 43-40 advantage with 3:08 on the clock.

The Bluehawks rallied, however, with a pair of

Wilson baskets – the latter after a Josh Hojem steal – and an A.J.

Pavlik hoop for a 46-43 lead. Thompson Falls hit a free throw with

36 seconds left for a 47-43 lead.

The Trojans countered to give themselves a

chance at the end. Cody Orr picked up an offensive rebound and

basket with 20 seconds left to cut the deficit to 47-45. But

Thompson Falls clinched the victory with a pair of free throws by

Garrett Reinschmidt. Troy was not able to score the rest of the

way.

“A loss like this is maybe good in the long

run,” Andersen said. “Sometimes we think we’re better than we are.

It might be a loss that can come back to help us in the

future.”

Cratty was on fire with 23 points on nine

field goals and 3-of-3 free throws. For the Bluehawks, Wilson

finished with 20 and Jaron Laws added 15.

Troy dropped to 4-2 in the district while the

Bluehawks improved to 2-4.

“It’s fine … I think we just need to keep

plugging away and try to get to that first or second spot if we can

in districts and we can still do that,” Andersen said.

To make it to state, Troy will need to advance

through the 7-B district tournament and then finish as one of the

top two teams at divisionals.

The Trojans followed up the agonizing loss

with a 43-38 victory on Saturday over Superior.

This time, Troy got off to a slow start with

just four points in the first quarter. The Bobcats led, 21-16, at

halftime.

But the Trojans came up big in the third

quarter with a 15-5 run to take a five-point lead into the fourth.

Troy then held off all Superior charges to nab the victory.

Cory Orr scored 11 and Ormiston added 10 to

lead Troy in the scoring department.

The Trojans (7-4 overall) heads to Noxon on

Friday and Plains on Saturday.

T. Falls 49, Troy 45

Friday at Troy Activity Center

Scoring by Quarters:

T. Falls                 

12                  9                 

17                  11—49

Troy                     

16                  7                   

9                  13—45

THOMPSON FALLS (49)

Reinschmidt 2 3-5 8, Pavlik 2 1-2 5, Wilson 10

0-0 20, Laws 6 1-1 15, Hojem 0 1-4 1. Totals 20 6-12 49.

TROY (45)

Cory Orr 0 2-3 2, Rayson 2 1-2 5, Cody Orr 3

1-3 7, Hoffman 1 0-0 2, Cratty 9 3-3 23, Ormiston 2 0-0 6. Totals

17 7-11 45.

Troy 43, Superior 38

Saturday at Superior

Scoring by Quarters:

Troy                        

4                  12                 

15                  12—43

Superior                 

6                  15                   

5                  12—38

TROY (43)

Cory Orr 11, Rayson 5, Cody Orr 6, Ormiston

10, Hoffman 6, Cratty 4, Garcia 1.

SUPERIOR (38)

Frederick 6, Coon 4, Lowman 9, Smith 8, Kay 5,

Boll 3, Benda 3.