Horsemen take on Class A teams
<p>James Rulison lays it up despite the Whitefish defenders in their game Thursday night.</p>
PLAINS – The Horsemen hosted two nonconference games this past week. They played the Whitefish Bulldogs on Thursday and the Frenchtown Broncs on Saturday. These were their last regular games of the season before the District Tournament.
Before the game against Whitefish began, the senior Horsemen were honored in their senior night. James Rulison, Wyatt Winebrenner and Brady Ovitt stood before the crowd and applause.
The Horsemen trailed by eight points after the first quarter against the Bulldogs. They scored four fewer points than Whitefish in the second quarter and the score going into halftime was 15-27.
The Bulldogs had an explosive third quarter and earned another 23 points which made it difficult for the Horsemen. Plains hit double digits in the fourth quarter but it was not enough to catch up. The final score was 33-56.
Rulison and Alec Cole were the lead scorers that night each with seven points.
In the game against Frenchtown, the score at the end of the first quarter was 9-16. The Horsemen hit double digits in both the second and third quarters. The score at halftime was 22-36. The Horsemen only earned four points in the last quarter as opposed to the 15 points the Broncs put up. The final score was 38-80.
Ryan Ovitt earned the most points with 11. Aaron Baker and Kyle Revier each had seven.
Head Coach Russ Baker had some positive things to say despite the losses.
“The defense was good against Whitefish but we have to get a better offensive production,” Coach Baker said. “Most of the kids played – 11 both nights – which is a good thing.”
According to Coach Baker, the boys had shining moments against some tough competition.
“At times they played well, they just need to be more consistent,” Coach Baker said. “They played against two good Class A schools.”
The Horsemen will host Thompson Falls on Tuesday and the winner will continue on to the District Tournament. The season will be over for the losing team. During the regular season, the Bluehawks won the first game and Plains won the second. Coach Baker expects it to be a close game.