CORVALLIS - Last season, Polson didn't have the services of

senior Louis Mohr until the end of the season and he still ended up

winning the state tournament MVP. This year, the Pirates get Mohr

from the get-go and he's already lighting up box scores.

CORVALLIS - Last season, Polson didn't have the services of senior Louis Mohr until the end of the season and he still ended up winning the state tournament MVP. This year, the Pirates get Mohr from the get-go and he's already lighting up box scores.

In just two contests, Mohr earned 38 points, which is third in the Northwestern A Conference for total points scored.

"Louis is a good player," Polson head coach Brad Pluff said. "He played like how we expected him to play. Where he goes, we'll go as a team."

Mohr scored 20 on Friday night against Frenchtown in the season opener to lead the Pirates to a 76-43 victory over the Broncs. He wasn't the only one that had a good night, as junior Tyler Krell added 15.

"We've got a lot of talented players," Pluff said.

Junior Vince DiGiallonardo contributed 9 points, sophomores Will Davey and Zach Camel both had 8, senior Kyle Bagnell had 7 and senior Sheldon Fisher had 6. It was certainly more than a young Frenchtown team could handle as the Pirates built a 38-16 lead at halftime and closed things off effectively in the second half for their first victory of the season.

"At halftime, we talked about that killer instinct and stepping on the throat a little bit," Pluff said.

Polson's task on Saturday was more difficult, and they once again went to Mohr for answers. Dillon sported one tough chestnut of a defense that needed to be cracked by the Pirates.

"We knew going in that it was going to be an extremely tough game," Pluff said.

Sporting a 1-3-1 zone defense, Pluff said it was extremely difficult to simulate Dillon's team in practice. With one player hawking on the ball, two players covering the three point line all the way to the corners, one player defending the high post and the final defender covering the key and either baseline, it's a defense that definitely protects the basket.

"The team had to really work for all of our points," Pluff said.

Mohr got his, tallying 18 on the score sheet while Bagnell backed him up with 14. However, a Pirates team that normally scored around 60 points last season was held in check in a 47-45 loss. However, Pluff said that it was a positive game for Polson.

"Especially against a quality team like Dillon, now we know that we can play with anyone in the state," Pluff said.

The next part of that season is a home game against Class AA Big Sky from Missoula on Thursday.

"They are always tough," Pfluff said. "They're going to come into Polson with confidence."

On Saturday, Polson will host Whitefish and the Pirates will have some height to deal with that could cause some problems. In this Northwestern A conference matchup, they'll have to be rock solid on defense as the Bulldogs' Gage Vasquez currently leads the conference in scoring with 42 points in two games.

At 6'6", Polson's Krell should be able to combat their tall posts and with eight players on the roster that are 6'0" or taller, the Pirates certainly aren't a short team. Whitefish is coming off a 67-56 victory over Stevensville and a 62-60 win over Corvallis.

"That's going to be a test for us," Pluff said.

Next Tuesday, the Pirates will then have to face the tenacious man-to-man defense of Stevensville. Despite the team's 0-2 start to the season, Pluff expects a battle.

But if there's a team more prepared for war, it's got to be the weapon-laden Pirates.

Friday's game

Frenchtown - 6 - 10 - 15 - 12 - 43

Polson - 15 - 23 - 25 - 13 - 76

Pirates scoring - Louis Mohr 20, Tyler Krell 15, Vince DiGiallonardo 9, Zach Camel 8, Will Davey 8, Kyle Bagnell 7, Sheldon Fisher 6, Cody Fischer, Ian Laimbeer 1

Saturday's game

Polson - 5 - 15 - 15 - 10 - 45

Dillon - 7 - 13 - 19 - 8 - 47

Pirates scoring - Louis Mohr 18, Kyle Bagnell 14, Tyler Krell 6, Zac Camel 3, Sheldon Fisher 3, Vince DiGiallonardo 1