Bulldogs take third at divisional

All Whitefish could do was watch from

the bleachers. After three games in less than 24 hours, the

Bulldogs’ chances of making state rested in the hands of the very

team that nipped them at the start of the divisional

tournament.

Polson had to take down top-ranked

Columbia Falls on Saturday night at the Ronan Events Center in the

Northwestern A boys basketball championship game for Whitefish to

get a challenge game with the Wildcats and a shot at state. In the

end, Polson let a one-point lead slip away in the final seconds,

giving Columbia Falls their third consecutive title — and leaving

Whitefish alone in third place.

“It’s not how we wanted to finish the

season,” Whitefish coach Mark Casazza said, “but I’m happy with how

hard the guys worked.”

Despite not making state, Whitefish

finished off their season with a few moments of magic worth

remembering, including an instant classic with Ronan that went down

to the wire.

“That was the best divisional

tournament in a long time,” Casazza said. “Every game was close. It

says a lot about the conference.”

Each of the Bulldogs’ three games was

decided by three points or less, including Friday’s affair with No.

2 seed Polson. In a seesaw battle, Whitefish led 15-13 after the

first quarter, was down by seven at the half, then bounced back to

take a one-point lead late in the third.

Polson made a run at the start of the

fourth to open a nine-point lead, but senior Kyler Blades convert

on two of his six three-pointers in the final period to close the

gap to three by the final buzzer.

“I thought that was the best game of

the year for us,” Casazza said. “We just didn’t get it done in the

end.”

Whitefish out-rebounded the Pirates

21-20 and converted 47 percent of their shots from beyond the arc.

Polson’s stingy defense held the ‘Dogs’ top scorer, Gage Vasquez,

to only four total points in the 52-49 loss.

Whitefish moved to the consolation

bracket against Libby on Saturday morning, where they had to win to

have any shot at making state. Led by 15 points from an energized

Vasquez, the Bulldogs managed to stay in front the entire game,

which never felt as close as the final 51-49 score.

Senior Drew Galbraith put his stamp on

the game when he finally got a chance to hammer down a dunk off a

fast break in the fourth quarter, his first dunk of the season.

Later in the afternoon, Whitefish and

Ronan squared off in the third-place game. Led by 17 points from

Vazquez and 10 each from Cooper Olson and Drew Galbraith, the

Bulldogs opened a 32-22 lead at halftime.

Ronan made a run in the final two

frames to knot the score at 52-52. With 15 seconds on the clock,

Whitefish ran a play for Vasquez across the middle of the lane, but

the play broke down. Vasquez passed the ball out to Blades behind

the three-point line with 1.9 seconds where he launched a deep shot

and was fouled.

With 0.8 seconds on the clock, Blades

went to the line and drained two of his three free throw attempts

to seal the 54-52 victory.

“Kyler had an unbelievable tourney,”

Casazza said. “We pretty much knew he was going to make those free

throws, the way he was shooting all weekend.”

Casazza said the seniors laid the

foundation for a winning program at Whitefish.

“They showed the younger guys what to

expect in the off season,” he said. “I told them they’re a big part

of the team’s future.”

With Galbraith, Blades, Mac Roche, Alex

Duroche and Jose Sanchez graduating this spring, Whitefish will

look to a new crop of starters next year, including a stellar class

of sophomores that came off the bench for some quality minutes.

“I think we’re going to be really good

the next few years,” Casazza said. “This team is going to be fun to

coach.”