Bobcats falter against Arlee

Summer Crosby

The boys’ basketball team had a rough game on January 2nd, when they played opponent Arlee. The first game in the New Year didn’t go quite as they planned. The pressure was on as they fought for control of the scoreboard on Saturday only to lose out quickly in the beginning. The Bobcats were outscored by the Arlee Warriors by 20 points at halftime and when the Warriors made their final basket, they outscored the Bobcats 80 points to the Cats’ 40.

Coach Jason Mann said the game did not go well, but speculates if the Bobcats could have changed a few things, that the game would have been closer or turned out differently.

“It would have been a different game had we been able to make our free throws and layups,” he said. “We were down 20 points at halftime and then they came out and made a couple of quick baskets, so I went ahead and put the younger kids in the game. They (Arlee) just shot really well that night.”

Despite the huge loss, Mann said that there are a couple of good points that he saw during the night. He said not only did they play hard throughout the game despite being on the losing end, but several of the younger players received lots of valuable varsity playtime on the court.

“On the bright side, we handled their press really well I thought and despite being behind the entire game we played hard throughout,” he said. “We also played everybody on the varsity bench. One sophomore and three freshmen got some valuable playing time at the varsity level.”

The Bobcats next couple of games will be played this weekend on January 7 and 8. They play against opponent Valley Christian on Friday on their home court and then on Saturday, the boys will travel away to face off against Deer Lodge.