Late surge can't lift Bulldogs over 'Cats

By DAVID ERICKSON / Whitefish Pilot

The Whitefish boys basketball team scored 27 points in the fourth quarter against Columbia Falls Saturday night on the road, but it wasn't enough.

The Wildcats completed their season sweep of the Bulldogs, 56-43, to take the No. 1 spot in the Northwestern A conference.

As usual, it was a physical battle between these two intense rivals. Columbia Falls senior point-guard Chase Fairbank suffered a broken nose when he took a shoulder to the face on a pick two minutes into the game. Colt Idol got into foul trouble early and fouled out in the third quarter.

"We were running out of bodies late in the game," head coach Eric Stang said. "The junior varsity guys can only play for one quarter, so we were having trouble."

Without Idol in the game, Whitefish senior guard Shawn Watterud stepped up and went 9-for-11 from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter to spark a rally. Watterud finished with a team-high 20 points in the game. The Bulldogs out scored the Wildcats 27-9 in the fourth quarter, but it wasn't enough.

"We had our opportunities, we had good defensive intensity. We just weren't knocking down shots, and the other guys were," Stang said.

The Whitefish boys may not have been prepared for the intensity of the Columbia Falls crowd, according to Stang.

"Some players might have let the crowd get into their head," he said. "The refs called the game really tight to stop things from getting out of control, I guess, but that should be the job of school officials, not referees."

The Bulldogs dropped to 4-5 in the conference and 8-8 overall. They host Libby on Feb. 14 (tonight) in their last Northwestern A match, where they will try to get back to .500.

The Bulldogs' last game before the divisional tournament in Kalispell will be in Frenchtown on Feb. 15. The conference divisionals will take place Feb. 21-23 at Flathead High School and at Glacier High School.

Stang said his team still has a good shot of making a run in the tournament.

"If we play like we're capable, we have a good chance," he said.

Whitefish 7 3 6 27 - 43

C. Falls 14 14 19 9 - 56

Whitefish (4-5, 8-8) — Shawn Watterud 4 10-15 20, Matt Whitehead 3 0-0 7, Aaron Tkachyk 0 3-4 3, Marc Hotzfield 0 0-2 0, Austin Green 0 1-2 1, Colt Idol 2 0-0 4, Connor Silliker 0 1-2 1, David FauntLeRoy 3 1-2 7. Totals 12 16-27 43.

Columbia Falls (7-2, 12-5) — Chase Grilley 4 2-2 13, Grant Getts 4 3-3 12, Zane Ridings 4 0-2 10, Cody Bowman 2 1-2 5, Mitchell Wassam 3 0-0 6, Caleb Johnson 0 4-9 4, Michael Williams 1 0-0 3, Tanner Perry 0 1-3 1 Austin Robbins 0 0-2 0, Chase Fairbank 0 0-0 0, Mackey Nolan 1 0-0 2. Totals 19 11-23 56.

3-point goals — Wht. 3 (Watterud 2, Whitehead), CF 7 (Grilley 3, Ridings 2, Getts, Williams). Total fouls — Wht. 25, CF 22. Fouled out — Idol, Smith, Nolan.