Hoops Roundup: Libby Topples Browning, Glacier Splits with Helena Schools
Loggers hand Indians first regular season loss in three years
By Andy Viano
Libby High School’s boys basketball team moved into a virtual tie atop the Northwest A Conference with a stunning 60-49 win against Browning, handing the Indians their first conference loss since they joined the league for the 2017-18 season.
The Indians (9-4, 6-1 Northwest A) went 10-0 in regular season conference play each of the last two years and suffered their only loss to a league opponent in the 2017-18 district tournament, when Ronan sprung an upset in the semifinals. The win for Libby (11-2, 5-1), meanwhile, is their fifth in a row since a 63-44 loss to Polson on Jan. 18.
The two teams will meet again in Browning on Tuesday, Feb. 18 at 7:15 p.m.
Elsewhere in the Northwest A, the Columbia Falls boys won a pair of games last week, taking down Ronan 52-49 on Jan. 28 and edging Whitefish 54-53 in overtime on Jan. 31. The Wildcats (3-10, 2-3) now sit fourth in the six-team conference.
On the girls side, Browning (12-1, 7-0) remained undefeated and atop the standings with a 52-24 rout of the Loggers.
In Class AA, Glacier’s boys and girls split a weekend series with the two Helena schools, with both teams taking down the Bengals and coming up short against the Bruins. The boys were in Helena, where the Wolfpack (7-4, 4-3) nipped Helena High 56-55 in overtime on Jan. 31 before falling 54-37 to Capital one day later. The Glacier (5-6, 4-3) girls downed the three-time defending state champion Bengals 51-49 at home but were dropped 60-39 by the Bruins on Feb. 1. Flathead’s boys and girls went winless in four tries against the teams from the Queen City.