Horsemen headed home after a pair of losses

Plains’ Cinderella season came to an end at divisionals, as the Horsemen were eliminated in back to back games by a combined 36 points.

Plains advanced to the Western B Divisional Tournament after catching fire at districts, earning their first two conference wins of the season. The clock struck midnight for the Horsemen last weekend in Pablo, where they fell to a pair of District 6-B opponents. Plains finished the season 6-17.

“I think they played well. We played within our game,” Horsemen coach Cory Ovitt said. “Making it to divisionals was a big upper for these boys. I don’t think very many people expected us to make it, but we went to districts fully confident that we were going to.”

The Horsemen had more than doubt to overcome on their way to rebounding from a season in which they graduated their entire starting five. Factor in a new head coach, and it seemed as though the dice were loaded from the start. Plains would beat the odds, however, as they advanced to divisionals as the fourth seed.

Opening the tournament in a quarterfinal showdown with Florence, the Trotters fell behind early on their way to dropping a one-sided 44-62 game. The Falcons went on to earn the Western B Crown two days later, advancing as the number one seed to state.

Ovitt said he and his players knew they had a tall task ahead of them heading into the Florence game as they would face a team with two towers in players standing 6’6” and 6’9.” Ovitt added that in the end his team played hard, but Florence just had too much talent and too much size.

Despite trailing 13-37 at the half, Plains outscored the Falcons 31-25 in the final two quarters to cut into the lead.

Adam Greger and Quinn Smith led Florence, scoring 14 and 11 points respectively for the Falcons.

Wade Bache, 13, and Taylor Firestone, 11, scored in the double digits for Plains. Carter Montgomery added eight points, Travis Lilja and Dusty Baker three each, Brandyn Smith two and Tanner Ostrom one point.

The following morning, Plains was back on the court in a loser-out contest with Deer Lodge. The Wardens wound up on top, winning 64-46. Deer Lodge outscored the Horsemen in every quarter, but the fourth, where Plains held a slim 22-20 advantage.

Although it took the Horsemen three full quarters to get into their game, Ovitt was pleased with the way they played in the final quarter.

Jesse Vasquez came off the bench to sink three treys and score a game-high 15 points in the win. Brandon Forson was also in double digits, tallying 13 points for Deer Lodge, which ended a red-hot 19 of 25 from the charity stripe.

Andrew Baker led the Horsemen, tallying 12 points. Firestone added 11, Bacche seven, Montgommery four, Carson Lilja four, Revier and Travis Lilja three apiece and Robert Earhart two points in the loss.

Seniors Carson and Travis Lija, Jon Zigler, Baker, Revier, Firestone and Bache each played in the final games of their respective careers for the Horsemen.

Ovitt feels his juniors will have some big shoes to fill in replacing a senior class which was the consummate example of hard work.

Next year, the Horsemen will benefit from the minutes juniors, Smith, Montgommery and Ostrom played not only on varsity, but in the district and divisional tournaments. Ovitt believes that will give Plains a big head start at the beginning of the season.