Olson's trey sinks Braves in final seconds

All-out hustle kept Whitefish in it

against Class AA Flathead on Saturday night, but the long-ball

sealed the deal for the ‘Dogs.

Sophomore guard Cooper Olson drained

his third three-pointer of the night in front of the Whitefish

student section as time expired to give the Bulldogs a thrilling

55-54 win over the Braves at a packed Dawg House. With the sound of

the buzzer, Whitefish’s bench cleared along with the student

section as they swarmed Olson in the south corner of the gym.

“I’ve always wanted to hit a shot like

that,” Olson said after the game, “and I hit it at home with a big

crowd against a big AA team. It was awesome.”

Whitefish coach Mark Casazza drew up a

double screen for Kyler Blades, but the play broke down and Olson

ended up with the ball.

“We almost turned it over, but then I

got off a shot over two guys and it went in,” Olson said.

Olson played extensive time on the

varsity team as a freshman last year and proved his ability to hit

shots from beyond the arc. This season, the sophomore is seeing

more time on the court, especially around crunch time.

“We have the smallest guy on floor

shooting over the top of two of the biggest Braves,” Casazza said.

“He had confidence to knock it down with two kids in his face.”

The Bulldogs (4-2) opened a nine-point

lead by halftime, simply outhustling the Braves to nearly every

loose ball. On one sequence in the second period, Whitefish pulled

in three consecutive offensive rebounds before senior Alex Duroche

finally hit Gage Vasquez beneath the basket for an easy layup.

Vasquez led the team with 24 points.

“In the first half, they did all the

little things right,” Casazza said. “We had nine offensive boards

in second quarter alone. Rebounding is entirely effort. That’s a

good way to gauge how hard you’re playing.”

Later in the second, Duroche assisted

Mac Roche in a similar play in the post to put Whitefish up 18-13.

Olson closed the half with a three from the corner.

Flathead made a run in the third period

to tie the score at 35-35, then took the lead in the fourth.

“We came out flat in the third,”

Casazza said, “but in the fourth, the guys were confident and said

they were going to come back.”

Midway through the period, senior Drew

Galbraith put his mark on the game. Galbraith scrapped for a hard

putback with 3 minutes left to get the ‘Dogs within four points. A

minute later, he posted up the Braves’ big man and put in a bucket

to keep Whitefish close for the final minute.

Still down five, Olson connected on a

trey with 35 seconds left to make it 49-51. Vasquez then hit a

three-pointer from the top of the circle to put Whitefish up 52-51.

The Braves immediately responded with a fastbreak layup, forcing

the ‘Dogs to call a timeout and regroup for a final play.

Olson held the ball at the top of the

circle with 12 seconds, looking for an open teammate or a window to

shoot. He moved to his right and threw up the game-winning shot

from 23-feet over two of Flathead’s tallest defenders. Olson

finished with nine points.

Earlier in the week, Casazza and the

team attended long-time Bulldog supporter Randy Dawdy’s funeral.

They talked afterward about Dawdy and how he gave Bulldog sports

and Whitefish’s youth his best all the time.

“I told them, ‘every time we step on

floor we need to give it our best,’” Casazza said. “They did that.

They really responded. Of our four wins, in three we have been

trailing with less than 30 seconds to go. These guys find a way to

win.”

Casazza credited his coaching staff for

preparing the team properly for the battle with Flathead — a team

he says is one of the best in Class AA.

“Our program is only as strong as the

assistant coaches,” he said. “Credit goes to Tim Olson. He coaches

the offense in practice and does a great job of preparing

them.”