Trojans hosting Townsend, Loyola

The Whitehall High School boys basketball team will return home for the first time since December 21 with two games this week in Varsity Gym.

The Trojans (1-7, 0-4 5B) will host conference foe Townsend on Thursday, January 16, and Missoula Loyola on January 18.

Head Coach Zach McLean said with the new week it will be a new challenge.

"And another week to get better," he said.

In action last week, Whitehall lost a close 47-44 matchup Thursday against Manhattan and fell 79-36 at Twin Bridges.

After a tough opening quarter in Thursday's game against the Tigers, Whitehall would outscore Manhattan 15-7 in the second quarter and trail by just two at halftime. The Trojans would continue their hot play in the third quarter outscoring the Tigers 17-7 to take a 36-28 lead into the final quarter.

McLean said his team came out flat in the first quarter but were able to generate some stops defensively and that was the biggest difference in the second and third quarters.

"That fourth quarter we turned the ball over too much and didn't handle pressure. Not handling one on one pressure has been a killer this year offensively for us. We didn't get many shots in that fourth quarter and shooting 28 percent from the foul line doesn't help either. We can't make excuses we just have to try and get better. Every team we play puts a lot of ball pressure on us and we have to do a better job," he said.