Joey Payeur
It started ugly and didn’t finish pretty, but it was two points Darryl Galusha gladly will take.
After his team fell behind 7-0, came back to lead midway through, and then had to hang on at the end, the Muskie junior boys’ basketball team pulled out a 42-38 win over the Kenora Broncos in NorWOSSA action here yesterday.
“In the first quarter, the guys just weren’t making their shots,” noted Galusha, whose Muskies (6-1) came into the game already having clinched first place after the Broncos were upset by the Dryden Eagles on Tuesday.
“Our press eventually tired them out, though,” he added.
“Our guys are in really good shape.”
Aaron Bujold led the Muskies with a game-high 23 points.
Kobi Ward added seven while Brandon Larson had six.
In senior boys’ hoops action, the first-place Muskies overcame their own slow start to down Kenora 62-45 and remain unbeaten in league play.
Fort High (7-0) trailed 8-2 through the first part of the opening quarter, but outscored the last-place Broncos (0-7) 36-15 in the second half to win going away.
Top scorers for both teams were unavailable at press time.
On the volleyball court, the Muskie junior girls swept Kenora 3-0 (25-9, 25-17, and 25-19).
“In the first set, we served really well and were quicker to the ball,” noted coach Shana Windigo.
Fort High (5-2) next will host the first-place Dryden Eagles (5-1) this Tuesday, with the Muskies needing to win convincingly and then hope to get some help when Dryden faces Kenora in the NorWOSSA regular-season finale next Thursday (Feb. 11).
If the Muskies and Eagles tie for first place, the tie-breaker will come down to who has the best combined sets won/sets lost record.
The black-and-gold (+10) currently hold a slim advantage over Dryden (+9).
The only down note on the day for the Muskies was the senior girls’ volleyball team, which was upset 3-2 (21-25, 25-23, 25-21, 25-27, and 15-9) by the previously winless Broncos (1-6).
Fort High (5-2) played without their three top power hitters in veteran Kennedy Nelson (injured) and rookies Sydney Cowley-White and Chelsea Kabatay, as well as first-year senior setter Tanisha Boshkaykin (all unknown).
“Not having my two starting powers, my best hitter, and one of my setters—that hurt,” conceded Muskie coach Rick Wiedenhoeft, who moved up from his assistant coach’s role with the recent departure of Shelly Kabatay.
“We had two players playing out of position and in spots they had never played before,” he noted.
“But we did the best we could considering the lineup that was out there,” Wiedenhoeft added.
“The girls tried their best and worked hard, and you can’t ask for anything more.”
The Muskies saw their league lead slip to half-a-game over Dryden (4-2), setting up a huge match this Tuesday when the Eagles visit Fort High.
The black-and-gold can clinch top spot with a win.
A Dryden victory, combined with another over Kenora next Thursday, would give the Eagles first place and an automatic bye to the NorWOSSA final.
