Bulldogs take Pirates to brink

It may have been Whitefish's fourth consecutive defeat, but Saturday's 64-58 loss at conference foe Polson proved the Bulldogs are still a force to be contended with come tourney time.

Whitefish (3-8, 1-3) tamed the Pirates' powerful offensive for three quarters before the league's second-leading scorer, Kyle Bagnell, dropped 11 of his 25 points on the 'Dogs in the final frame.

Polson, ranked No. 3 in the state in a recent Class A coaches poll, outscored Whitefish by 10 points in the fourth quarter for the six-point win.

"It was our best game of the year," Bulldog coach Mark Casazza said. "Unfortunately, we made some mistakes at the end that cost us the game."

Despite the final outcome, the Bulldogs can take solace in their offensive performance — their best since a 61-41 victory over Frenchtown on Jan. 9. More importantly, it came without senior guard Willie Roche in the lineup.

Roche tore his ACL and MCL against Columbia Falls on Jan. 16, which delivered a big hit to the 'Dogs' offensive arsenal. He was the team's leading three-point shooter and was a 20-point offensive threat on any given night.

Without Roche, the 'Dogs needed to find another scorer to pick up the slack. Hanging with the third-best team in Class A for nearly 32 minutes proved they might have found a solution.

Casazza said senior Drew Galbraith started in Roche's place and was huge on the boards for the 'Dogs.

"Drew stepped in did a great job," Casazza said. "He was going up for everything and taking them down."

Senior guard Austin Green sank four three-pointers from the left wing in the first half on his way to a 19-point game — his season high.

"We had a great first quarter because they were zoning us," Casazza said. "Austin was able to set his feet and get into a rhythm."

Big man Gage Vasquez added a team-best 21 points.

"Gage is becoming more confident every week," Casazza said. "I like that he looks to pass first and score second."

With five 'Dogs scoring in the first half, Whitefish opened up a lead as wide as 15 points in the second quarter. Limited turnovers were a key factor to the team's early success — they only handed the ball over eight times through two periods.

After an even third quarter, which put Whitefish on top 45-40 going into the fourth, Polson and Bagnell took over. Bagnell finished with 30 points, and the Pirates were 8-of-10 from the line in the final frame.

It was a tough loss to swallow, "But if we play with that much heart every time we can win a lot of games down the stretch," Casazza said.

In the two teams' previous meeting Dec. 17, Polson pieced together a fourth-quarter rally from four points down to sink the 'Dogs 56-50.

Whitefish plays at Ronan today and travels to Libby on Jan. 30.