KALISPELL — The Glacier boys hosted Butte on Friday for a Class AA matchup. The Wolfpack went into the game 6-5 while Bulldogs sat at 5-6.
The Wolfpack built up an early double-digit lead that they never let go of and went on to win the game 70-52 to pick up their seventh win of the season.
Both teams started off a bit flat footed with neither getting to the bucket, but it was Glacier who got the ball rolling with a jumper from guard Tyler McDonald.
Things got a bit slippery for the Wolfpack but it was Butte who faced the most frustration early, unable to generate much of anything offensively.
Glacier senior Kadrian Blus drilled a huge 3 to give the Wolfpack 16-6 lead towards the end of the first quarter and forced Butte to call a timeout.
The ball refused to bounce the Bulldogs' way and Glacier kept hitting shots from outside the arc in what ultimately led to 36-23 lead going into the half.
The Wolfpack also dominated in the paint and even though the Bulldogs began hitting more shots in the second half, any hope of comeback was quickly snuffed out with after senior guard Ty Olson nearly threw down a dunk right in front of the Wolfpack student section sending them into a frenzy.
Glacier went by up 20 points early in the fourth quarter and continued making it rain from downtown for eleven total 3s as a team.
The Wolfpack ultimately rode out their commanding lead that they built early on to a 70-52 win over Butte.
Junior forward Cohen Kastelitz led the Wolfpack in scoring with 14 points. Two other players also registered in the double digits for Glacier; McDonald with 10 points, and fellow senior guard Adam Nikunen with 12.
Freshman Hudson Luedtke was tied with Kastelitz as the leading scorer for either team on the night with 14 points for the Bulldogs.
With the win the Wolfpack improved to 7-5 on the year and the loss brought the Bulldogs down to 5-7.
Glacier has its next game Saturday when it hosts Sentinel. The Bulldogs will have their next game back home in Butte against Missoula Big Sky on Tuesday.
