Loggers fall in nail-biting home opener to Flathead

The Loggers fought hard for three and a half quarters against Flathead in the Ralph Tate Memorial Gym on Friday evening. But, as head coach Josh Bean said just before the game, “it’s going to take a consistent, four-quarter effort.” The Loggers fell short, losing 80-77 in overtime.

The boys fought hard from the outset, playing tough defense in a foul-plagued game. Starting guard Jonny Cielak was limited to just 12 minutes of playing time as he quickly fell into foul trouble, but still managed to score 16 points and make two steals.

The first quarter ended in a 16-16 tie, but the Loggers showed their grit and fought to a four-point lead at the half. They continued the strong effort, outscoring Flathead 23-17 in the third quarter, taking a 55-45 lead into the final period.

That’s when the wheels started coming off. With a two-point lead and 17.9 seconds remaining Libby gambled on a long inbounds pass. Cielak committed his fifth foul on Flathead’s Cooper Barrett, who hit both free throws to tie the game with just 14.4 seconds left in regulation.

Libby coach Josh Bean called a time-out and brought his boys to the sidelines to plan out the final seconds of the game.

Going with a plan that had worked for them all game long, the Loggers worked the ball inside to the big man, senior Michael Curtiss. With just 1.1 seconds left, he took it strong to the basket and drew a two-shot foul on the miss.

After a Flathead timeout, Curtiss took to the line for the first of two free throw attempts. The shot left his hands and went wide, leaving him one shot to secure the win. After another Flathead timeout, Curtiss missed the mark a second time and the game went into overtime.

The game went back and forth during the first three minutes of the overtime period as the teams exchanged baskets and free throws.

With the game tied at 73, Flathead’s Kye AuClaire drove the lane and was fouled while scoring. He hit the free throw to give Flathead a 76-73 lead. After fouls and free throws from both teams, Flathead’s Seth Adolph had the opportunity to put the game away. Going to the line for two with just seconds left and a three-point lead, Adolph missed them both and gave the Loggers a chance to fight back.

Collin Johnson was fouled on a three-point attempt, sending him to the line with the chance to tie the game as the overtime period was coming to a close. He hit the first shot, but a lane violation was called against Libby, resulting in one of the free throws being taken away by the officials. Johnson hit the second, leaving the Loggers trailing by just one.

Flathead’s Tyler Johnson was quickly fouled by Libby, but hit both free throws to push the game to 80-77. Libby’s Isaak Jones missed a buzzer-beater deep three and the Loggers fell, 80-77 in overtime.

Coach Bean highlighted the team’s aggressive offense during the game, “I really liked the way we attacked the basket all night. Our kids gave a great effort for 31/2 quarters. We need to learn how to finish.”

Libby had four players score in double figures, Collin Johnson with 25, Michael Curtiss with 18, Jonny Cielak with 16, and Erik Lauer with 11. Curtiss also added 12 rebounds and two blocks.

The story of the game was written in the shooting percentages. Libby managed 52 percent shooting from the field, going 24 for 46. The Loggers were just 56 percent from the free throw line, hitting only 25 of 44 attempts.

Flathead shot 71 percent from the free-throw line, hitting 23 of 32 attempts. In a game in which 76 free throws were attempted, accuracy from the charity stripe made a huge difference.

Statistically, this game was an anomaly for the Loggers who rank as the Northwest Conference’s top team for free throw percentage, making 64.37% of their shots from the line this season.

The Loggers also out-hustled the Braves on the boards, pulling down 29 compared to Flathead’s 20. Eight of those boards were offensive, giving the Loggers extra attempts to score.

The Loggers return home on Thursday, Jan. 8 for a game against the Troy Trojans at 7 p.m.