Pirates look to break school record with trip to state
Melea Burke
Melea Burke
Melea Burke
Sophomore Cedric Earthboy puts up two points against Corvallis.
Melea Burke
Junior Cedrick Smith charges in-bounds during Polson’s game against Corvallis Feb. 8. The Pirates won 51-48.
Melea Burke
Melea Burke
Melea Burke
Melea Burke
Melea Burke
Derek Peel drives around a Corvallis defender Feb. 8. Peel, a sophomore, has put up big numbers for Polson this season.
Melea Burke
Melea Burke
Melea Burke
Melea Burke
Melea Burke
Melea Burke
Melea Burke
Melea Burke
Senior Will Davey makes a layup around a Corvallis defender Feb. 8.
Melea Burke
Melea Burke
Melea Burke
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POLSON — Polson’s boys basketball team has made it to the state tournament three years in a row, playing for the state title three years ago and finishing second.
Head coach Brad Pluff said no other team in Polson has made it to the state tournament three years in a row, and while it is a school record, the Pirates are going for four.
“If we get there, we’ll probably have the worst record in the tournament with 10 losses,” Pluff said with a laugh. “But, once you get to state, anything can happen. I tell the boys that the best team doesn’t necessarily win the tournament — the trick is getting there and once you’re there, anything can happen.”
The Pirates have had an up-and-down season, struggling early on with injuries and losing several close games. Of the team’s 10 losses, six came by a total of 12 points.
Still, plagued by injury and bad luck, the boys never gave in and have rallied late in the season. Pluff said his team is in the running, and if they keep playing hard, good things will happen.
“We’ve got to show up,” he said. “There’s not a lot of wiggle room. We can’t afford to have off nights when the games start counting. Maybe we can get a little momentum going into the tournament.”
Considering only two players had varsity experience coming into the season, leadership has played a big role in the Pirate’s late-season comeback.
Pluff singled out seniors Riley Sampson and Will Davey as leaders and hard workers, saying the two have “really stepped up and taken that leadership role on. They play hard every night.
They encourage (the underclassmen) in practice, get on them when they have to and pick them up when they have to.”
Pluff went on to say that Davey is a natural leader, playing his heart out every game, while Sampson leads by example and is “the best defender in the conference. He gets every loose ball, plays great defense, rebounds well and does a great job of getting in there. He’s our leading scorer and our leading rebounder — it seems like the other guys really follow him.”
Sampson said he thinks the team will do well in the postseason, and the biggest difference from last year to this year is the teamwork and camaraderie.
“We all played together since we were little kids, and we know each other really well ... we’re on a winning streak so we’re picking it up at the last part of the season,” he said.
Junior guard Cedrick Smith agreed, saying they’d started off slow in the beginning of the season but were playing much better as of late.
“We’re playing together more,” he said. “In the beginning, not a lot of us had varsity experience, but throughout the season we started getting some chemistry down.”
For Smith and Sampson, playing for Polson is a family tradition. The two are cousins and both of Sampson’s parents played for Polson along with several aunts and uncles.
Pluff believes his team is peaking at the right time, coming off a winning streak at the end of the season to start the divisional tournament.
“It’s going to be a challenge for us just like it is every year, but it’s all going to come down to a big game next Friday night,” he said. “If we can get by that game and get to the state tournament, anything can happen. You just have to play well that weekend.
“We’re going for four in a row.”
The Pirates fell to the Columbia Falls Wildcats and Whitefish Bulldogs last weekend. Both games were hard fought and the Pirates were leading the Bulldogs 29 to 26 at the half. Cedrick Smith gutted the Bulldog defense with 23 points, shooting 43 percent from the field and 33 percent from the three point line while Will Davey shot 50 percent from the field.
Hayden Congdon and Derek Peel combined for 39 points at Columbia Falls — nearly 70 percent of the team’s total.
The Pirates will play for their fourth straight state tournament berth at the Northwestern A Divisional Tournament running Feb. 21 to Feb. 23 Ronan High School
