Bobcats continue undefeated into divisionals
Adam Robertson/Mineral Independent | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 10 years, 10 months AGO
<p>Tanner Smith, guarded closely by Jarod White, rushes the ball past half court in Superior's win over Hot Springs.</p>
SUPERIOR – The Superior Bobcats had a strong 20-point victory in their game against Hot Springs in their first game of the District 13-C Tournament in Ronan.
The game took place on Friday, Feb. 21. At the end Superior came away with a final score of 53-37.
The game started close as both teams gained several points early in the game. Superior was able to pull ahead and the first quarter ended with a score of 13-8.
The second quarter was just as close as the teams had a five-point gap between their scores for the quarter. The Bobcats were able to keep their lead and ended the quarter with a stronger advantage. The score for the first half was 23-13.
As the second half started up, the Bobcats started a little slow. The Hot Springs players were able to recover and start to pull back. Superior came out ahead with a score of 33-25.
The Bobcats exploded out of their shells in the final quarter of the game. They shredded the Hot Springs defense and pulled ahead for a strong victory. While the opposition played just as well as they did in the previous quarter it was not enough to recover.
Head Coach Chris Toivenen said there were several things going against the team. He said they ran into foul trouble but stuck together to pull off a win. Starting guards Tanner and Tucker Smith were also benched for part of the game as a result of the fouls.
Fresh players were brought in as replacements and had a great performance. Toivenen said Hot Springs played extremely hard and made it a challenging game for the Bobcats.
“Our boys stood together and we did the things we needed to…to win that game,” Toivenen said.
Senior Jarrod Tippens was the top scorer for the Bobcats as he brought in 27 points, almost half of the team’s total. Junior Wyatt Zylawy came in second with 10 points and senior Clint Voll got nine. Toivenen noted Voll had almost half the rebounds of the game.
The guys went on to play another game against Arlee on Saturday, Feb. 22. The game’s final score was 58-50. Toivenen felt the Bobcats had a much better game against the Scarlett Warriors.
The game was close as both teams brought in big points in each quarter. They remained strong throughout the game and neither team was ever able to gain a serious advantage.
One of the big things Toivenen saw improvement in was how Tucker and Tanner avoided foul trouble. He praised the two for their passing and defensive games. They were also the second and third highest scorers. Tucker got 14 points and Tanner made 12 points.
Once again, Tippens was the top scorer for the Arlee game with 19 points. The coach noted Voll again for his rebounding.
This week the guys play in the divisional tournament in Butte. The team’s first game of divisionals is on Wednesday, Feb. 26, against the Shields Valley Rebels. The Bobcats only had a couple days of practice before the start of the divisional tournament. On Monday and Tuesday the team worked to improve their skills across the board.
“It won’t be long but it will be a busy two days,” Toivenen said.
Toivenen felt it would be a hard game against a strong opponent. He said the Rebels had several tall players who would match up with Superior’s height. He also said Shields Valley had a good team who would require a good game plan to beat.
“We’ll prepare the best we can but they’re a really good team,” Toivenen said. “It’ll be a good challenge for us.”
ARTICLES BY ADAM ROBERTSON/MINERAL INDEPENDENT
Grand Opening
The new St. Regis Senior Center was dedicated to Maxine Flemming, a member of the center since 1983. Her name and picture appears on a plaque to be displayed in the new center.
Icy highways lead to a weekend of accidents
MINERAL COUNTY – As blizzard-like conditions swept through the area late last week Interstate 90 became an ice rink and accident reports flooded in as traffic tried to navigate the hazardous roads. The heavy snows began on Thursday, Feb. 27, and only let up periodically over the next few days. According to Mineral County Sheriff’s Office dispatch, approximately 12 accidents occurred between Thursday and Sunday, March 2. Most of these were cases where vehicles slid off the road or spun out. According to Montana Highway Patrol Trooper Charles Burton, they were almost all caused by people driving too fast on the slick roads. “The weather has definitely been a factor,” Burton said. “People need to slow down a bit.” Burton also responded to an accident where a vehicle with a trailer hit some ice and the trailer fell over. On Friday, Feb. 28, Mineral County Sheriff Ernie Ornelas and the Mineral County Sheriff’s Deputies were kept busy for most of the day assisting with the flood of calls. While there were no investigations opened, the sheriff’s office was on hand to help with the accidents. While the Superior ambulances were also busy responding to calls, there were very few serious injuries. According to Mineral Community Hospital personnel, the hospital did not see many people with injuries resulting from the conditions. Burton said the Montana Department of Transportation was doing the best they could to keep Interstate 90 and the state highways clear. It was a daunting task as the cold temperatures and heavy snow kept the roads slick. The Montana Highway Patrol recommends everyone drive safely and go a safe speed for the road conditions.
Bobcats
Tucker Smith moves to block a Hot Springs player during a Superior home game earlier this season.