Mullan hot start not enough to put Kootenai away

The Mullan Tigers basketball season came to a sudden and surprising end on Monday night when they were beaten by Kootenai 71-45 in a loser-out district play-in game.

In the two matchups that these teams had during the regular season they seemed fairly evenly matched, but Kootenai put that debate to rest with their performance on Monday.

For the first four minutes Mullan looked to be on upset alert as they jumped out to a quick 8-1 lead, but Kootenai would rally and with just two minutes left in the quarter they took a 12-11 lead over the Tigers that they would never relinquish.

Warrior sophomore Triston Usdrowski put the Warriors on his back as he scored 14 of his game-high 30 points in the first half on their way to a 38-21 halftime lead.

Foul trouble in the second half forced Mullan coach Dan Fritz to sit Sheldon Trogden and Gryphon Todd for much of the third quarter as the Warriors pushed their lead to 25.

In the fourth period Mullan got their top scorers back in the game, but it was too little too late as Kootenai coasted to an easy win.

Fritz was reflective in his postgame comments, but is looking forward to another year with the young players who will all return next season.

“These guys played hard for us coaches this season, for their school, their community, and for each other,” Fritz said. “Other than a hiccup or two late in our season the boys seemed to improve each game along with their basketball IQs. With good off season work we feel very confident in the group coming back next season with the addition of two solid eighth-grade boys. The work has to happen in the off season though... Ball handling, shooting and passing are things that only improve so much while season is in full swing. I'm very pleased with this group and have enjoyed coaching them. Next year should be a fun experience with great group of kids.”

Mullan was led in scoring by Todd who finished with 18 points, while Trogden pitched in 15 of his own.