Bulldogs win two at Tip-off tourney
Gage Vasquez exploded for 42 points
this weekend at the Western A Tip-off Tournament in Corvallis,
helping the Bulldogs tally two impressive wins to open their
season. In Friday’s game with Corvallis, Vasquez sprung for 24
points, including the game-winner in the final seconds to give
Whitefish a 62-60 win.
Down by one point with 17 seconds
hanging on the clock, Vasquez took the ball in the post, but didn’t
have a clear shot. He kicked it out to Alex Duroche, made a
backdoor cut and Duroche found him with a spectacular touch pass.
Vasquez sliced under the hoop and put in a reverse layup with five
seconds left. He was fouled on the play and sealed the win at the
free throw line.
Whitefish lead by eight points after
three periods and fended off Corvallis’ two best players, Rodee
Anderson and Riley Bradshaw, by shutting down their
penetration.
“We took them out of their game,”
Whitefish coach Mark Casazza said. “The biggest thing was the team
effort. It wasn’t just one person. Everybody played really well and
the ball movement was good. A lot of guys contributed
offensively.”
Seniors Mac Roche, Drew Galbraith and
Kyler Blades chipped in with nine points each in the victory.
Saturday, Vasquez kept his hot hand and
dropped 18 points on Stevensville in the Bulldogs’ 67-56 win.
Whitefish never trailed in the game and led by 15 after three
quarters.
Galbraith tallied 10 points, while
Roche and Duroche each added nine. In all, eleven players scored
for Whitefish, showing the depth of their bench. Showing his
confidence in the underclassmen, Casazza was rotating nine
different subs every two to three minutes to keep fresh legs on the
court.
“Our conditioning was a plus for us,”
Casazza said. “In the fourth quarter, our guys were fine.”
Casazza told the team before they left
that they’ll know a lot about themselves after this weekend. Most
coaches use the Tip-off as a measuring stick to see where their
team ranks in the league and what they need to improve on.
“We just beat two of the top teams in
the Southwest conference,” Casazza said. “We made some mistakes,
but they played so hard. I’m very satisfied.”
The Northwestern A teams dominated the
tourney, going 10-2 overall. Polson and Libby each fell to Dillon,
representing the conference’s only losses.
“We knew the Northwest was really
solid,” Casassa said. “We knew that we had to be a lot better than
last year. Luckily, we put in the time in the off season because
every single game this season is going to be a battle.”
Casazza acknowledged the Whitefish
assistant coaches at the tourney, saying “The kids were well
prepared by our great group of coaches.”
Whitefish hosts Glacier on Thursday at
8 p.m.
Tip-off tourney scores
Corvallis 12 15 14 19 - 60
Whitefish 12 19 18 13 - 62
Whitefish 12 18 19 18 — 67
Stevensville 10 8 16 22 — 56