Dogs zap Lions with electric offense
The Bulldogs turned up the tempo and found its way back into the win column last week with a pair of nonconference victories at home.
Playing at a torrent pace, the Whitefish boys basketball team blew past Eureka 75-38 on Friday and held off Florence for a 49-34 victory Saturday.
Whitefish coach Mark Casazza credited the Dogs defense for sparking the offense.
“We want to play offense with the same energy we play defense,” Casazza said. “The guys responded.”
Whitefish outscored Eureka 23-6 in the third quarter to pull away from the outmatched Lions.
“Coach told us not to quit, so we came out of the half pushing and our shots were falling,” senior guard EJ Havens said after the game. “Everything felt good.”
“We’re definitely getting faster. Hopefully we can keep it flowing from here on out.”
Defensive stops led to easy transition buckets against the Lions. Whitefish expanded its lead to 19 points when Garrett Anderson hit Havens with a half-court pass for a layup. The Dogs would go on to score three more times with similar long outlet passes.
“We have two quarterbacks on the floor, so that helps out a bit,” Havens said, noting that both Anderson and Luke May played quarterback for the Whitefish football team last fall.
Casazza said his team seems to have finally found an identity on offense.
“The fast pace is what works for this group,” he said.
Doorn led all scorers against Eureka with 15 points. Anderson pulled down 22 rebounds.
Saturday, the Dogs held off Class B Florence at home.
Doorn led all scorers again with 16 points. Keaton Nicholson added 12 points, four steals and six assists in an impressive effort.
“Keaton has been big for us lately,” Casazza said. “He had a complete game.”
Whitefish hosts Plains on Friday at 6 p.m. before a showdown at rival Columbia Falls on Saturday night.
Casazza expects the Wildcats to bring full-court pressure.
“We’ve got to handle their pressure,” he said. “They have the athletes, but our guys are feeling really confident and excited about the game.”
Tip-off at Columbia Falls is set for 7 p.m.
Eureka — 9 11 6 12 — 38
Whitefish —14 22 23 16 — 75
EUREKA — Austin Perez 7, Colton Henrie 8, RJ Glover 7, Dalton Smith 3, Trey Bohne 6, Chase Bohne 6.
WHITEFISH — Keaton Nicholson 11, A.J. Wetsch 6, Cody Olson 4, Jack Streibich 2, Alex Wilson 3, EJ Havens 12, Art Doorn 15, Luke May 3, Hugh Ramlow 2, Jed Nagler 8, Garrett Anderson 7.
Florence — 12 3 6 13 — 34
Whitefish — 14 7 20 8 — 49
FLORENCE — Brandon Johnson 4, Levi Clagett 12, Travern Smith 7, Jake Christopherson 2, Ryan Mangun 9.
WHITEFISH — Keaton Nicholson 12, AJ Wetsch 2, Alex Wilson 2, EJ Havens 9, Art Doorn 16, Jed Nagler 2, Garrett Anderson 6.