Marathon Matchup

KALISPELL – The Plains Horsemen closed out their season at the Western B Boys Divisional Tournament last weekend at Flathead High School in Kalispell.

The Horsemen competed on both Thursday and Friday of last week, playing the Loyola Sacred Heart Rams of Missoula and county rivals, the Thompson Falls Bluehawks.  

Plains closed out their tournament, Friday in an elimination game against the Bluehawks in a double overtime thriller.

The last time these two teams met they also needed extra time, with the Bluehawks narrowly defeating the Horsemen 58-56 in one quarter of overtime on Feb. 5, at Plains High School.

As was the case in the matchup between the teams in early February, the tournament game featured several momentum shifts and fierce competition between the two squads.

Plains Head Coach Carl Benson noted how close the game was from start to finish.

“It was back and forth the whole game. Nobody could get any padding between the teams,” Benson said.  

The Plains boys jumped out to an early lead in last week’s game going up 8-4 after one quarter of play.

The Horsemen built off of this lead in the second quarter of play, taking a 16-11 advantage into the half.

The first half of the matchup was dominated by defense, but as the second half of the game got underway, the competition began to emphasize the offensive portion of the game.

The teams went shot for shot in the third quarter, with Thompson Falls outscoring the Horsemen 17-16.

Entering the fourth quarter, Plains held on to a 32-28 lead.

The Bluehawks equalized the score in the final quarter of regulation, outscoring Plains 18-14 in the quarter, to force extra time with both teams at 46 points.

The first quarter of overtime could not resolve the deadlock with each squad putting up six points, sending the game to a second overtime session with the score 52-52.

It was in the second overtime the Bluehawks were able to seize the lead and the game, outscoring Plains 8-2 to go on to a 60-54 win and advance in the divisional consolation bracket.

Senior Kyle Revier led the Horsemen offense scoring 17 points in the team’s season finale.

Sophomore Ryan Ovitt was also a big part of the Plains offense, ending the game with 14 points.

Benson was proud of his team’s performance in the tournament.

“The team worked really hard. We were pleased on how they competed,” Benson said.

The Horsemen were defeated in their opening game of the tournament against the Loyola Sacred Heart Rams.

Loyola defeated the Horsemen 70-46 in the tournament opener; the Rams would go on to win the divisional tournament.

Benson emphasized how hard his team competed throughout the winter season.

“I am very happy with how things turned out this year. The kids worked hard throughout the season,” Benson said.

The coach added the team was in a number of close games, stating in total, eight of the team’s games were decided by a few points or less.

“We thought we improved a lot this year,” Benson said.