Bulldogs sputter against Polson

A 12-0 run by Polson buried the Bulldogs early in the first quarter — but Whitefish’s 11 first-half turnovers certainly didn’t help their cause.

Polson cruised from the start Saturday night in the Northwestern A boys basketball game at the Dawg House, scoring with ease and taking home a 58-38 victory.

Whitefish (5-5, 0-3) was sluggish from the tip-off, as evidenced by their lack of production in the paint. Polson all but shut down the ‘Dogs’ big three players — Gage Vasquez, Drew Galbraith and Alex Duroche — sometimes grabbing four or five offensive rebounds in the same possession.

“Rebounding is usually our staple,” Whitefish coach Mark Casazza said. “We take pride in out rebounding other teams.”

The Bulldogs’ 38 total points marked their lowest offensive performance of the season. The three-pointers that have kept Whitefish in games all season weren’t falling, and the Pirates’ trap frazzled their half-court offense.

Vasquez led the ‘Dogs with 10 points, Mac Roche chipped in eight, and Jose Sanchez added seven.

“We didn’t show up ready to play,” Casazza said. “They came out swinging, they were ready to go, and we weren’t. We got caught on our heels.”

On Friday night, Whitefish went for a sweep of Class AA Flathead but came up just short in a 62-55 loss. The Braves weathered the ‘Dogs’ rampant fourth-quarter push and held on to revenge a one-point loss to Whitefish earlier in the season.

Flathead again opened up a big lead in the third quarter, but this time they managed to seal the deal with solid free-throw shooting.

Roche led the ‘Dogs with 16 points, Vasquez had 11, and Duroche put in 12.

“I was really happy with how we battled back,” Casazza said. “We never let up, and when we got in trouble, our guys responded.”

The coach looks at next week as a test piece for the Bulldogs. He wants to see if they can bounce back from the consecutive losses and get back on the winning track.

“When you have losses, there are two ways to go,” he said. “They can either make you stronger, or they make losing acceptable. Losing is not acceptable here.”

Whitefish hosts Ronan on Thursday and travels to Libby on Saturday.

Casazza says the Chiefs force a lot of turnovers and use speed to their advantage. If Whitefish can slow the pace and get into their half-court sets, he says they will be successful.

Polson 17 14 11 16 - 58

Whitefish 6 9 10 13 - 38

POLSON -Tyler Krell 5, Vince DiGiallonardo 9, Kyle Bagnell 10, Zack Camel 3, Louis Mohr 19, Sheldon Fisher 10, Cody Fischer 2.

WHITEFISH - Mac Roche 8, Gage Vasquez 10, Cooper Olson 4, Drew Galbriath 3, Chris Forrest 4, Jose Sanchez 7, Alex Duroche 2.

Flathead 62

Whitefish 55

WHITEFISH - Mac Roche 16, Kyle Blades 2, Gage Vasquez 11, Cooper Olson 10, Drew Galbraith 4, Alex Doroche 12.

FLATHEAD - Mike VanArendonk 13, Matt McLean 3, Ian Gillespie 11, Joe Pistorese 15, George Sherwood 10, Shea Schroeder 4, Scotty Keller 2, Garth West 4.