Trojans show offensive promise in 5B Conference openers

Going into the winter break, Whitehall High School boys basketball Head Coach Zach McLean has seen positives on the offensive end of the court, while readily admitting the team has work to do on defense.

The Trojans opened 5B District play last week at home with a heartbreaking 64-61 overtime loss against Boulder and a 71-48 loss against Three Forks.

Following the game against the Wolves, McLean said they ran into a really good team with three players who started on teams that made it to the state tournament.

"They've played a lot of games together and our youth showed a little bit tonight. I am however proud of the way we fought and never gave up," he said.

Whitehall (1-4, 0-2 5B) was led in scoring by junior Hayden Hoagland who finished in double figures with 11 points. Mason Alexander gave the Trojans a spark from the fourth with three-three pointers and finished with nine points. Brendan Wagner also had nine, Dylan Smith had eight, Flint Smith finished with six and Kenzie Hugulet added five points. Whitehall will next be in action Saturday, January 4 at Big Timber.

McLean said going into last week's games they put in a new offensive system and he was pleased with the results.

"Offensively we have figured some things out. We put in the new system Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, and I think we were pretty productive with it. Defensively we do need to clean some things up," he said. "It's all part of our journey and we are looking to get better."