Flathead’s hoops teams got the best of their rivals to the north in this season’s first crosstown matchup, with the girls edging Glacier 29-25 before the boys captured a 59-55 overtime nail-biter at a packed and rowdy Flathead High School.
In the late-night boys game, Flathead (8-4, 4-2 Western AA) seized control with a 16-2 run to start the second half, building a seemingly insurmountable 42-26 advantage. But the Wolfpack (5-6, 3-2) would not go quietly, turning up its defense in the final 12 minutes and coming all the way back when Brec Rademacher canned his third 3-pointer of the game with less than a minute to go, tying things up at 49. Tyler Johnson put back an errant shot on the next possession to give Flathead a short-lived lead before Nick Whitman scored from the paint to send the game to overtime at 51-51.
In the extra session, Braves senior Eric Seaman came up with two enormous baskets, including a tie-breaking layup in the final minute that would prove to be the game-winner. Sam Elliott calmly sank two free throws with 3.5 seconds to go to provide the final margin.
Johnson led all scorers with 19 points, Elliott had 16 and Seaman added 10. All but two of Flathead’s 59 points came from its five starters. Rademacher came off the bench to lead Glacier with 17 and Whitman chipped in 13.
Earlier, the Bravettes (4-8, 3-3) prevailed in a low-scoring affair dominated by defense. Flathead led from the opening tip, holding Glacier (7-4, 2-3) without a point for more than six minutes to start the game and more than four minutes to start the second half. The Bravettes iced the game from the foul line in the final quarter, with Clara Vandenbosch and Sadie Wilson each sinking a pair of free throws.
Vandenbosch paced the Bravettes with a game-high 13 points, 11 of which came in the first half. Aubrie Rademacher scored 10 to lead Glacier.
The two teams will rematch at Glacier High School on Feb. 22, with the girls at 6 p.m. and the boys at 8.