Hoops star wars

 

February 1, 2018

John Hamilton

HAWK JUNIOR Grant Lundberg goes up for a shot as teammate Payton Frields follows the play in Thompson Falls Jan. 18. Hawk boys and girls host Eureka Saturday at TFHS.

May the force be with you... and not with your opponents.

It was Star Wars on the basketball court in Anaconda's storied Snake Pit Saturday as Thompson Falls' Danny Hoisington, playing Luke Skywalker, and the Copperheads' Braxton Hill, filling the role of Darth Vader, led their teams in a high-flying Western B hoop battle.

With Hill, a recent signee to the Montana Grizzlies football team, setting a new Anaconda career basketball scoring record while scoring 33 points, out-dueling Hoisington, who scored 36 points to lead Thompson Falls, the Copperheads edged the Blue Hawks 80-75.

Hill scored 16 of his points, many off free throws, in the fourth quarter to spur the 'Heads to the win. On the other side of things, Hoisington put in 22 of his points in a frantic second half.

"It was an entertaining, high-scoring game with a lot of back-and-forth action," Blue Hawk coach Jake Mickelson said. "If Anaconda had not had a few kids step up and hit some shots, it could have been an entirely different outcome."

Hoisington, who has passed the 30-point mark in games several times already this season, made 13 of 18 field goal attempts (including two of two 3-pointers) and eight of eight free throws, in addition to grabbing seven rebounds, dishing out three assists and blocking two Copperhead shot attempts on the defensive end.

Peyton Frields and Nate Thibeault, playing Han Solo and Chewbacca to Hoisington's Skywalker, added 16 points each for the Hawks, Dylan Beckman and Grant Lundberg counted three points each and Jake Long one.

Frields nailed three 3-pointers and grabbed five rebounds and two steals, Thibeault converted four of six treys and dished out four assists, Beckman had a team-high seven assists and Long added four rebounds.

Rebounds were hard to come by in Anaconda that night. "Both teams were making shots," Mickelson offered. "There were not a lot of rebounds to be had." For their part, the Hawks converted 25 of 47 shots (53.2%) in the not-so-friendly confines of Anaconda's famed 'Snake Pit.'

Storm troopers Bobby Swainston (19 points) and Braedon Sawyer and Michael Galle (13 apiece) helped Hill top the Hawks.

The Blue Hawks' next star-flight mission is a home game with Eureka Saturday.

 

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