Bulldogs crush Vikings, fall to Wildcats

The Bulldogs boys basketball team held Class B Bigfork to single-digit points totals in every quarter Feb. 12, as Whitefish rolled to a 49-27 win over the Vikings.

Bulldog senior Connor Silliker was on fire in the first half, posting 16 of his game-high 17 points. He scored all but 13 of the team's 29 first-half points.

Adding to the 22-point rout, Gage Vasquez knocked down 10 points, as did freshman Cooper Olson off the bench.

A 15-2 run in the second quarter opened up a 16-point lead for the 'Dogs going into the half, which they would expand to 22 by the final buzzer.

But scrappy play in the post was the story of this game. The Bulldog's big men dominated the boards on both ends of the floor, with a number of their points coming on second-chance opportunities.

"All week in practice before Bigfork we stressed three things," Bulldog coach Mark Casazza said. "We had to win the rebound war. We had to take away their transition buckets, and we had to take away their perimeter game. We did all of those things."

In fact, the 'Dogs out rebounded Bigfork 16-8 in the first half and limited them to only three 3-pointers the entire game.

The Bulldogs got things rolling in the first quarter when Silliker nailed a jumper from the top of the key and junior Kyler Blades followed with a trey to open up a 11-5 lead.

The second quarter was all Silliker. Vasquez hit Silliker with a pass in the lane for a lay-in to start the period. Then Silliker scored on a hard move to the hoop and a putback to extend the 'Dogs lead to seven.

"Connor has been really aggressive on the boards," Casazza said. "He's being more physical on both ends of the floor."

Olson scored Whitefish's next six points on a layup, technical foul and a 3-pointer from his favorite spot along the baseline.

Silliker closed out the quarter with consecutive buckets down low and a free-throw.

Drew Galbraith scored on two post moves in the third period to lead the 'Dogs in scoring in the quarter.

"Drew was great," Casazza said. "It's nice to see him excited again."

In the fourth, six different players scored for Whitefish during a 9-2 run to open the quarter. Jace Kalbfleisch knocked down a jumper from the baseline to start the run.

In a league match with Columbia Falls on Feb. 13, Whitefish was doomed early with only six first-half points.

The 'Dogs found their stride in the third quarter with a 15-point performance, but the damage had already been done as the 'Cats cruised to a 59-31 win.

"They came at us with an aggressive halfcourt trap," Casazza said. "We didn't get many good looks."

The conference loss dropped Whitefish's record to 1-6 in the league and 5-12 overall.

Mac Roche and Gage Vasquez led the team in scoring with eight points each. Roche knocked down two treys, and Olson and Blades each added another.