Dogs ousted at divisional

Whitefish’s overwhelmingly positive season on the hardwood ended Monday with a resounding thud. The No. 2 ranked Bulldog boys basketball team lost games to Columbia Falls and Polson in the divisional tournament and will miss out on a trip to state for a third consecutive season.

Whitefish struggled to find their game all weekend, which had been defined by an ability to slash to the hoop and their long-range shooting.

“Offensively, we really struggled for the past six games,” Whitefish coach Mark Casazza said. “Our strength was our shooting. Down the stretch, we had a tough time with that.

“As a coach, it’s my responsibly to get them to play their best basketball — we didn’t do that.”

The boys started the tourney slow and seemingly a bit dazed. They found themselves down by nine points to Frenchtown in the first quarter of the opening round, a team they beat twice in the regular season. Whitefish cut the lead to five by half.

The Dogs woke up just in time to make a late run.

Junior Jake Slaybaugh knocked down a 3-pointer to start the second half, Gage Vasquez scored in the post and Cooper Olson put in another trey to make it a one-point game. Slaybaugh and Vasquez finished the game with 14 points each.

Whitefish tied it up at 38-38 in the fourth when Bryce Wehrli assisted Logan Harwood on a fastbreak layup. The game went into overtime after a 42-42 tie at the buzzer.

The Dogs pulled out the 46-44 win in OT and moved on to play rival Columbia Falls in the title game.

In front of a packed house, the Wildcats flexed their size and strength and charged to a 10 point halftime lead. A couple 3-pointers from Vasquez and Olson kept the game within reach.

It was all Columbia Falls in the second half as they went ahead by 28 in the third quarter and finished with a 26-point win on their home court.

The loss put Whitefish the dire situation of needing to beat Polson in a challenge game Monday night. The Dogs had beat the Pirates twice in the regular season, but again they came out flat. Polson opened a five-point halftime lead and expanded it to seven at the end of the third.

Whitefish made their run in the fourth.

Senior Christopher Forrest attacked the basket on consecutive plays to make it 27-31 with four minutes on the clock. Wehrli assisted Vasquez and later Vasquez put in another bucket to tie it up at 31-31.

Olson just missed a shot at the final buzzer, sending the game to overtime.

Whitefish, however, could not convert when it counted during the OT period. The game was sealed when Whitefish was given a technical foul for calling a timeout without having any. Polson knocked down their free throws and the game ended in a 35-40 loss for the Bulldogs.

“We lost our composure offensively,” Casazza said. “We didn’t make good adjustments. The timeout at the end was just the icing of us losing composure.”

Vasquez was a work horse throughout the tourney and finished with 53 points in three games. He wrapped up his stellar senior season leading the league in total points with an average of more than 18 points a game.

“Gage had a great career here,” Casazza said. “He’ll have a great career after high school, too. He just loves basketball.”

The coach noted the impact of seniors Wehrli and Forrest.

“Bryce came on big time at the end of the season when we needed him most,” Casazza said. “Forrest was asked to play in the middle of zone just because we know he’s tough enough to do that for us.

“I feel bad for the seniors not having a chance to go to the state tourney. I’m thankful for getting to work with such a great group of kids.”

Whitefish 5 10 7 9 4 — 35

Polson 8 12 9 2 9 — 40 

WHITEFISH — Christopher Forrest 2 0-0 4, Jake Slaybaugh 1 0-0 2, Logan Harwood 1 2-4 4, Gage Vasquez 8 6-8 23, Jace Kalbfleisch 1 0-2 2. Totals: 13 8-14 35.

POLSON — Vince DiGiallonardo 1 2-2 5, Will Davey 1 1-2 3, Ian Laimbeer 2 0-3 4, Zack Camel 5 6-9 18, Cody Fischer 3 0-0 6, Riley Sampson 0 4-4 4. Totals: 12 13-20 40.

3-point goals: Vasquez; DiGiallonardo, Camel (2); Team fouls: Whitefish 16, Polson 13; Fouled out: Kalbfleisch.

Whitefish 4 13 8 15 — 40

Col Falls 14 13 26 13 — 66

Whitefish - Christopher Forrest 1 0-0 3, Jake Slaybaugh 3 0-0 6, Bryce Wehrli 1 0-0 2, Logan Harwood 1 0-0 2, Gage Vasquez 5 1-3 15, Cooper Olson 2 1-2 7, Jace Kalbfleisch 1 1-1 3, Jake May 1 0-0 2. Totals 15 3-6 40.

Columbia Falls - Alex Presnell 1 1-2 3, Ronny Gallego 2 0-0 5, Luke Kazlauskas 3 3-3 9, Anthony Correa 7 0-3 15, Parker Johnson 5 1-2 12, Brian Marcille 1 0-0 3, Austin Barth 4 1-4 9, Jared Trinastich 5 0-0 10. Totals 28 6-14 66.

3-point goals: Whitefish 5 ( Vasquez 2, Olson 2, Forrest 1), Columbia Falls 4 ( Gallegos, Correa, Johnson, Marcille); Total fouls: Whitefish 11, Columbia Falls 11. Fouled out: None.

Ftown 13 8 10 11 2 — 44

Whitefish 4 12 11 15 4 — 46

 FRENCHTOWN — John Chapman 2 1-1 6, Daniel Lebsock 2 0-0 4, Jackson Mahlum 4 0-0 8, Matt Price 2 0-0 6, Austin Blank 7 6-8 20. Totals: 17 7-9 44.

WHITEFISH — Jake Slaybaugh 6 0-1 14, Bryce Wehrli 1 0-0 2, Logan Harwood 3 1-2 7, Gage Vasquez 5 4-5 14, Cooper Olson 2 1-2 7, Jace Kalbfleisch 1 0-0 2. Totals: 18 6-10 46.

3-point goals: Chapman, Price (2); Slaybaugh (2), Olson (2); Team fouls: Frenchtown 11, Whitefish 9; Fouled out: None.