Dogs drop Flathead, Eureka

On Saturday, the Whitefish boys went down to Kalispell and exacted revenge for their one-point loss to Class AA Flathead earlier this year, dismantling the Braves 68-50 while playing easily their most complete game of the year.

Aaron Tkachyk lit up the court to lead all scorers with 22 points, including three treys. He was followed by Colt Idol with 17, Josh Backer, 10, Connor Silliker, seven, Matt Whitehead, six, and Willie Roche, four.

The win moves the Bulldogs back to .500 at 4-4 overall. They’ve lost three games this year by one point, meaning they could easily be 7-1. Their only lopsided loss was at home against Polson.

“Lately, we’ve had a tendency to get satisfied early,” head coach Eric Stang said. “I told them we have to keep the pressure up, even if we beat a team by 50. I think they got the message.”

The story of the game against Flathead is how well the ‘Dogs did at the free-throw line, going 19-of-24 from the stripe.

The Braves lost two starting seniors to early graduation before the game, so they were starting several sophomores and freshmen off the bench.

On Friday, the ‘Dogs overpowered Class B Eureka Lions 66-39 at home. Tkachyk had another big game, scoring 17 points. Idol got into foul trouble and was limited to only 10 points, but six other Bulldogs got into the scoring action.

Whitefish travels to Bigfork on Friday before taking on Columbia Falls at home Saturday night. The rivalry between the two schools is as hot as it’s ever been, with the Wildcats looking to avenge their season-ending loss to Whitefish in last year’s divisional-playoff, state tournament play-in game.

The Bulldogs will be looking to get their first regular-season win against the ‘Cats in two years and climb their way up to the top of the Northwest A standings.

“We’re going to watch tape on Tuesday,” Stang said. “We need to make sure we’re ready for their multiple zone defenses. Offensively, we have to take care of the ball, make the easy passes. Defensively, we have to disrupt what they do on offense. They always have seven or eight kids that are great role players, and they have a bunch of guys that work hard. It’s going to be a great atmosphere.”

The Columbia Falls game is set to begin at 8 p.m.

Eureka       7    7  16   9    - 39

Whitefish  18  19  15  14   - 66

Eureka — Cade Davis 5, Jesse Thomson 2, Ryan Holder 15, Ben Dechart 8, Marcus Pluid 9.

Whitefish — Matt Whitehead 8, Aaron Tkachyk 17, Willie Roche 8, Josh Backer 3, Marc Hotzfield 6, Connor Silliker 8, Colt Idol 10, David FauntLeRoy 6.

Whitefish   14 19  17  18   - 68

Flathead     5  13  18  14   - 50

Whitefish — Matt Whitehead 3 0-0 6, Aaron Tkaychk 7 5-6 22, Willie Roche 2 0-1 4, Josh Backer 3 4-4 10, Connor Silliker 3 1-2 7, Colt Idol 4 9-10 17, David FauntLeRoy 1 0-0 2. Totals 23 19-24 68.

3-pointers — Whitefish 3 ( Tkaychk 3), Flathead 2 (Bennett, Vanarendonk)

Total fouls — Whitefish 16, Flathead 21; Total rebounds — Whitefish 39 (Idol 5, FauntLeRoy 5),