Loggers fall to Whitefish, 63-54

The Libby Loggers varsity boys team dropped a hard-fought game in Whitefish on Friday night.

Trailing by six at the half, the Loggers scored 23 in the third to take a two-point lead, but were outscored 18 to 7 in the final stanza. The final score was 63-54 for Whitefish.

“The kids played really hard, they played with a lot of energy,” said coach Josh Bean.

The third and fourth quarters saw a number of lead changes as the teams fought to put each other away. In the end, though, Whitefish outlasted the Loggers as Libby’s boys struggled to score with the clock winding down.

Libby was led by Jonny Cielak with 18 points, two rebounds, two steals and one assist. Michael Curtiss added 17 points and 12 boards, as well as two assists. Collin Johnson rounded out the double-digit scorers with 14, also contributing a rebound, an assist and three steals.

“There were a lot of lead changes,” Bean said, “we just struggled to score in the fourth.”

The Loggers shot 50 percent from the field, making 20 of 40 attempts, as well as 41 percent from beyond the three-point line and 64 percent on 9-of-14 shooting from the free throw line.

Libby’s schedule showed the home opener happening on Saturday, with Bonner’s Ferry coming to town, but due to a scheduling mishap that game did not take place.

“There was some sort of mess-up in the scheduling,” Bean said. “We weren’t on their schedule for the 20th.”

The missed game is a non-conference matchup, so it doesn’t have any real impact on the season standings. Bean said the two schools are working together to try to reschedule the game, but there’s no guarantee it will happen.

“We’re going to try to reschedule,” he said. “But we have to find a date that works for both teams. It has to be good for everyone.”

The Loggers are struggling so far this season, having dropped both games in the Tip-Off Classic in Missoula before dropping their third game on the road in Whitefish.

They’ll be looking to turn it around as they play host to Flathead after the holiday break, on Jan. 2. Consistency and hard effort will be the keys to victory in the coming game.

“We need to have a consistent effort for all four quarters,” Bean said. “Against Whitefish we had good effort until the last three minutes and that’s when the game got away from us. If we’re going to be successful, we need to play hard for a full 32 minutes.”