After losing eight of their first 11 games, the Flathead Braves basketball team continued to struggle in the '97 season, with a 79-46 loss to the Columbia Falls Wildkats on Tuesday.
After a close first quarter, the Wildkats broke the game open. The Braves struggled in the shooting department, at 26 percent. The Wildcats shot 58 percent, including 10 three-pointers. Junior Toby Winters scored 14 points for the Braves.
Against Whitefish on Jan. 25, the Braves also had a disappointing performance, losing 61-52. After trailing 18-20 at the end of the first quarter, the Braves fell victim to an 11-0 run by the Bulldogs in the opening minutes of the second period. Flathead was outscored 16-4 in the second quarter and trailed 36-22 at the half.
"We tend to lose offensive execution and get down on ourselves," said Braves head coach Joe Antonietti. "(Whitefish) only scored 16 points, which isn't exceptional in a quarter, but we only scored four."
To add to Flathead's potential troubles, No. 1-ranked Helena High travels to Kalispell tonights. After Helena High, the Braves will play five AA teams before the playoffs Feb. 18-22.
Flathead struggled on offense against Whitefish, shooting just 31 percent from the field.
"We need to work on offensive execution and the little things," said junior Ryan Wardinsky. "Whitefish got us flustered with the turnovers. We were out of our game."
Whitefish had four players who scored more than ten points. The only Flathead player to scored more than 10 was senior Chad Wassink, who contributed 20 points. Still, Wassink feels the need for team improvement.
"Our intensity went down," said Wassink. "We need to execute offensively."
The Braves are currently 3-9 and 1-4 in conference play. The conference win came against Butte on Jan. 17.
"We can't let the record bother us," said Wassink. "We need to improve on playing as a whole."