Wolves win 2, move to 8-0 in 5B

Up 30-20 at halftime of their January 25 home conference game against Ennis, Three Forks High School Boys' Basketball Coach Terry Hauser issued a challenge to his team.

"Our energy was kind of low in the first half. We just weren't playing hard enough. Ennis was out hustling us and getting loose balls. So, I challenged them to come out with more effort and intensity. I challenged myself too, I was moping around too much. I told them I would turn it up, and I want you guys to do that too," Hauser said.

The results paid dividends with the Wolves (10-1, 8-0 5B) outscoring the Mustangs 40-14 in the second half on their way to a 70-34 win.

"We're capable of runs. We're capable of scoring quickly. Our defense is always tremendous. It's fun to watch when they get going," Hauser said.

Aaron DeFrance led Three Forks in scoring with 16, and Dylan Swenson was also in double figures with 11. Kanon Reichman finished with nine, Hunter Feddes had seven, Mannix Woodland and Devon Long had six, and Drydan Frisinger finished with four.

Sawyer Marx, Brady Olson, and Sawyer Andersen finished with three, and Marcus Pestel added two points.

"Our bench came in and thrived too. I was really impressed with our second string, that was awesome to see," Hauser said.

The Wolves opened the week on January 24 with a hard-fought 63-52 win over visiting Jefferson High School (Boulder).

Down 14-11 at the end of the first quarter, Three Forks would battle back to take a 27-25 lead into halftime.

The Wolves would stretch the lead to 42-34 going into the final quarter, where they would outscore the visiting Panthers 21-18.

Swenson led the team in scoring with 19, Reichman finished with 18, Frisinger and DeFrance had nine, and Long and Hunter Feddes finished with four.

"We grinded it out. We didn't shoot the ball particularly well, we didn't have any three pointers, but we still came out on top. It was a bloodbath. It was almost ugly with a lot of fouls, but it was a great victory," Hauser said.

In this week's action, Three Forks has a makeup game scheduled on January 27 at West Yellowstone and a conference road game on January 30 at Broadwater County High School (Townsend).