Loggers chop down Hawks

If Saturday’s game in Libby is any indication, finding points could be a problem for the Thompson Falls boys basketball team.

The cold-shooting Blue Hawks lost 55-36 to the Ryggs Johnston-led Libby Loggers in both teams’ non-conference season opener.

Now 0-1, the Hawks will host the boys portion of the District 1B-7B Shootout this weekend in Thompson Falls. Eureka will play Choteau in the first game at 5:30 p.m. Friday followed by Thompson Falls versus Conrad at 7.

On Saturday, Eureka will play Conrad at 1 p.m. followed by the Hawks against Choteau at 2:30.

While the boys teams from these four schools will mix it up in Thompson Falls, the girls teams from the same four schools will be meeting up for games in Eureka this weekend.

Thompson Falls coach/athletic director Jake Mickelson said the new tourney was something he and the other affected ADs came up with to replace the Three Forks tournament the Hawks have been opening the season with over the past several years.

“It is kind of based on a gentleman’s agreement, we will flip-flop the locations in the coming years,” Mickelson said. “We all agreed that it would be nice to play teams that we normally do not see.

“This is a big thing for us,” he added. “We will have to see where it goes from here.”

Mickelson said the

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game in Libby was a typical one for a young team in search of its own identity. “We played solid defense,” he said, “but we came out stagnant, kind of flat on offense. At least early on this season, we are going to have to find ways to manufacture some points.”

Grant Lundberg found the basket for 21 points to lead the Hawks in Libby, and Trey Fisher and Kade Pardee scored five apiece. Nathan Schraeder dished off two assists.

Golfing phenom Johnston, who recently signed a full-ride golf scholarship to Arizona State University after winning four straight individual State A and B championships in his high school career, led Libby to the win over the Hawks with 20 points, including four 3-pointers.