Pirates solve riddle, edge Beavers in OT thriller

by John Heglie

 

In  State A consolation semifinal action at Dahlberg Arena, the Polson Pirates and the Dillon Beavers went neck and neck down the stretch to determine who would secure one of the berths for the consolation championship. After a closely contested first half, Dillon forged its largest lead of seven early on during final frame action at 35-42. But the Pirates chipped away to close within one at 43-44. A Callahan Hoffman offensive rebound and putback of a missed one-and-one would give the Beavers a three point edge. But a down to the wire triple by Colton Graham would knot the contest at 46 apiece to precipitate the extra period.

Dillon would score first during overtime on a pair of Hoffman free throws. But Polson would counter with a Jarrett Wilson deuce off an assist from Graham to tie at four dozen. A Dillon deuce would be offset by a Graham front end split of a trip to the charity stripe to give the Beavers a precarious one point advantage of 50-49 with the game winding down. After a Pirate steal, Jarrett Wilson would be fouled on his way to the hoop with both offerings finding net for a 51-50 Pirate advantage. Wilson would jump the passing lane for another steal and would be subsequently fouled. He would swish both free throws with nine seconds remaining on the clock to give Polson a three point advantage at 53-50. Beaver Jonathan Kirkley would be fouled behind the arc while attempting a buzzer beater attempt to tie the contest. Kirkley would make his first two attempts to close within one before Polson called a timeout. Whether the extra time to think about the third attempt to tie the contest that would then force a second overtime period factored into the equation will likely remain a subject of speculation. But the game tying free throw would fail to find net, advancing the Pirates to compete in the third place contest.  The last time the Beavers and Pirates extended their skirmish into overtime dates back to the 2015-16 Western A Divisional championship, won by Dillon 71-67. The last time the Pirates prevailed over the Beavers predates MaxPreps record parameters from the 2005-06 season. The Pirates will face Hamilton in a rematch of the Western A Divisional consolation contest. This will be the fourth meeting between the Pirates and the Bitterroot Broncs this season with the outcome of each contest decided by four points or less. 

 

Jarrett Wilson crested the triple century point plateau for season scoring.

StateA consolation semi at Dahlberg Arena

Polson 53, Dillon 52 OT

3W Polson (17-8), 2W Dillon (21-3)

Polson  13  6 14 13  7 – 53

Dillon   15  7 12 12  6 – 52

POLSON – Colton Graham 6 3-4 20(8r,3a,2s), Jarrett Wilson 4 4-4 12(3r,4a,5s), Xavier Fisher 3 2-6 10(1r,2a,1s), Braunson Henriksen 4 1-1 9(5r,1b), Trent Wilson 2(3r,2s), Dawson DuMont 0(3r,1s), Nikolai Figaro (1r), Brock Henriksen 0, tm(5r). 18 10-15 53(29r,9a,11s,1b)

DILLON – Connor Curnow 22, Jonathan Kirkley 9(10r,4a,2s), Callahan Hoffman 9(2b), Caden Hansen 8, Eli Nourse 4. 18 11-18 52(31r,12a,6s,4b)

3FGs – P7-17 (*Graham 5-11, X.Fisher 2-5), D5-16 (Curnow 2-2, Hansen 2-7, Kirkley 1-4). (Sa12Mar22gm11st)  P15to/D19to

Stat specs courtesy of venue. Some details may vary from team summaries