Horsemen struggle to get jump on competition

PLAINS – The Horsemen played a close game away against Whitefish Saturday night. Six points was the difference between victory and defeat.

They were slow to start, only scoring three points in the first quarter. The Horsemen rallied and ended up outscoring Whitefish the rest of the game. Although they fought back, it was not quite enough to make up for the deficit in the first quarter and the Horsemen lost 49-55.

“Other than the first quarter we ended up out-scoring them by ten points,” Head Coach Russ Baker said. “If we had made a few shots in the first quarter there would have been a different outcome.”

Coach Baker was pleased with the Horsemen’s performance, particularly in the second half.

“They played the best I have seen them play in several years,” he said. “They rebounded the ball a lot better and made their shots. It looked good the second half.”

Coach Baker said Whitefish has some good shooters but several of his players stepped up against them.

“Aaron Baker had 13 points with three, three-pointers against Whitefish and James played real well,” Coach Baker said.

James Rulison scored 15 points against Whitefish despite nursing an injured ankle from the previous game against Ronan.

“His ankle was swollen but we taped it up real well,” Coach Baker said. “He said it only hurts if he thinks about it. He played really well.”

Rulison fought through the pain and other team members did their best to lend a hand. Kyle Revier scored nine points against Whitefish. Ryan Ovitt and Wyatt Winebrenner each added six points to the scoreboard.

The Horsemen also played Ronan this past week and lost with a final score of 44-62. Coach Baker said it was possible Rulison’s sprained ankle threw off their rhythm. He is hopeful that next week will go better for the Horsemen.

The Plains boys will play Bigfork on Thursday and Troy on Friday. Both are conference games and will be away.

“We need to get the jump on them right from the start,” Coach Baker said. “I think the kids are ready to go and will have a good weekend.”