Mountain Cats even record at .500 after weekend sweep

The Clark Fork boys basketball team is coming together in a good way.

A pair of relatively easy wins over the weekend have them riding good mojo into the second half of the Montana Class C season.

With no seniors on the roster, things are looking good for the future.

The Mountain Cats began their weekend with a solid 72-48 win over the Valley Christian Eagles Friday night in Superior.

Bryan Mask, the Cats junior point guard scored a season-best 29 points in leading Clark Fork to victory in what starting out looking like it could be a nail-biter.

After one quarter the Mountain Cats held a slim 16-14 lead before beginning to pull away with a 22-13 second quarter advantage that gave them a 38-27 lead at halftime.

They continued to pile up the points in the third frame when they outscored the Eagles 20-8 to assume a 58-35 lead heading into the final eight minutes. The two teams pretty much traded baskets in the fourth quarter as Clark Fork eased into the win.

Danner Haskins added 19 points to the Mountain Cats effort and freshman Orion Plaake contributed 11. Since the return from injury of the 6-2 forward Carson Callison, the Cats have added some solid rebounding help to their cause.

Valley Christian, which came into the contest without a victory during the regular season, was led by Eyan Becker’s 10 points.

Saturday night Clark Fork continued its winning ways with a 61-47 road victory over the Darby Tigers.

In that game the Cats took a slim 11-8 lead after quarter number one, then extended the lead to 30-21 at halftime. Junior forward Aaron Waddle tossed in a game-high 22 points and was a force inside for the Cats throughout the game.

The Cats came out shooting in the second half, outscoring Valley Christian to extend their lead to 52-30 with one quarter to go. They then held off an Eagles fourth quarter rally to secure the win.

In addition to Waddle’s offensive contribution, the Cats got 15 from Mask and 11 from Callison. Nelson Smith led the Eagles with 16 points.

The pair of wins evened the Cats season record at 5-5.

Next up for Clark Fork is a trip to Thompson Falls for a Thursday night meeting with the Blue Hawks, followed by a Saturday home game with Drummond.