Despite only a two-point lead at the half, the Libby High School boys basketball team pulled ahead in a big way over its inter-county rival Eureka, winning the nonconference game 68-44 on Tuesday night.

The Lions, a struggling team at 0-17, were swept aside in the second half. Libby (7-9) outscored them 46-24 in the last two quarters.

Head Coach Wally Winslow took out his starters in the fourth quarter, and the Lions scored their last six points from the free-throw line, as the hot hands of senior guard Tanner Blankers cooled down. Blankers finished with 18.

Loggers senior forward Barak Lapka scored 17 points, many of which came on second-chances from his savvy offensive rebounds. Junior guard Jared Winslow also finished with 17 including four treys from behind the arc. 

Libby improved its free-throw shooting from its last outing, shooting 16-of-20 at the line.

Senior guard Lane Luscher and senior center Kraig Nelson went 5-for-5 and 4-for-4 at the charity stripe. Luscher finished with 8 and Nelson with 16 points.

Libby’s basketball teams will travel to Polson on Friday, Feb. 8, for a doubleheader.

Eureka travels to Troy to play the Trojans on Thursday night in an important conference meeting.

Libby 68, Eureka 44

Eureka 14   6   11   13 - 44

Libby   16   6   18   28 - 68

Eureka; Tanner Blankers 18, Trey Bohne 11, Dalton Smith 7, Cameron Griffin 6, Richard Roo 2.

Libby; Jared Winslow 17, Barak Lapka 17, Kraig Nelson 16, Lane Luscher 8, Will Reichel 4, Dan Leggins 3, Collin Johnson 1, Dalton Brown 1, Tarasik Krisanov 1.

LADY LOGGERS: An impressive 10-7 Eureka Lady Lions team defended its home court against the Libby Lady Loggers on Tuesday night.

Libby dropped to 3-14 against Cassidy Morgan’s 18 points for Eureka.

Hannah England, the Lady Loggers’ accurate sophomore guard, had 15 points but couldn’t prevent the Lady Lions from outscoring them in every quarter. 

Sophomore Devon Gallagher added 13 points for Libby. Eureka had eight athletes score.

Eureka 53, Libby 40

Libby      7   11   8   9 – 40

Eureka  10  15  12 16 – 53

Libby; Hannah England 15, Devon Gallagher 13, Dayln Germany 6, Hailley Moe 3, Hailey Craig 3.

Eureka; Cassidy Morgan 18, Carli Allen 11, Alex Holland 8, Amanda Peterson 4, Alyssa White 4, Mikayla Grove 4, Whitney Williams 2, Caitlin Larson 2.