COLUMBIA FALLS — He only sank one basket on the night, but Zack Camel made sure it mattered.
The Polson junior hit a game-winning turnaround jump shot with five seconds left and the Pirates edged Libby 33-32 in the opening game of the Northwestern A Divisional boys basketball tournament in Columbia Falls on Thursday night.
Polson advances to Friday’s game against top-seeded Columbia Falls at 6 p.m. Libby drops to loser-out action on Saturday.
On a night when offense was hard to come by, both teams traded leads in the final minutes. Libby senior Jared Winslow went 4-for-4 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter and gave the Loggers a 32-31 lead with 30 seconds remaining. But the Pirates had their own clutch shooter in Camel, and his basket ended up being the decider.
Winslow finished with a game-high 14 points. Polson had four scorers with five points or more, led by Riley Sampson’s nine. Vince DiGiallonardo had eight points and Ian Laimbeer and Cody Fisher each added five. Will Davey and Brady Hislop each scored two.
Micah Germany had five for Libby and Kraig Nelson and Josh Foote each chipped in four apiece. Elias Lapka had three and Kraig Nelson two.
Action continues Friday at 6 p.m. followed by an 8 p.m. game between Whitefish and Frenchtown.