Second half nips Dogs in C. Falls

Offensive woes in the second half made things tough for the Bulldogs Thursday night, as they fell to rival Columbia Falls 57-37.

Down just three at the half, Whitefish took an initial eight-point first quarter and nearly doubled that with 15 in the second.

However, that would be the team’s only double-digit scoring quarter, as they dropped only 14 points total in the second half, compared to the Wildcats’ 31.

“They didn’t run anything different defensively than they did in the first half, but we just went cold,” head coach Sean Duff said. “Columbia Falls was hot. They knocked down big shot after big shot and gained momentum and then it was over.”

Austin Green was the game high scorer with 17 for Columbia Falls.

Ryan Kemm led the Dogs in scoring with 13, and Dillon Botner added eight of his own.

Right now, scoring is the thorn in the Bulldogs’ paw.

“It’s been the story all year, we fix problems and new problems come up,” Duff said. “We can’t put together a full game. This was the same thing. We’ve been turning over the ball too much when we’re pressed, and we’ve fixed that problem. Now we’re turning the ball in the half court but we’re not finding the hoop.”

Saturday’s matchup against Browning was canceled due to poor road conditions. A make-up game has been scheduled for Feb. 1.

Whitefish heads to Libby on Friday to take on the Loggers before hosting Polson on Saturday. Prince Frey and Princess Freya for the 59th annual Whitefish Winter Carnival will also be crowned prior to the start of the boys game, just after the girls game, at 6:30 p.m.

Stopping Libby’s Ryggs Johnston is going to be key.

In the previous battle between the teams, Whitefish held Johnston to nine points through three quarters, but gave up 18 in the final quarter.

“He’s a shooter, he can shoot it from anywhere across half court,” Duff said.

While they’re still piecing things together, Duff said it’s a now or never moment heading into the final stretches of the season.

However, he’s still confident his team has what it takes.

“Honestly at tournament time, I wouldn’t want to play us. Overall, it’s a group of guys who can all play good basketball, we just haven’t put it together yet,” he said.

“We’re much better than what our record shows, but now we’ve got to show it.”

Whitefish 8 15 7 7 — 37

Columbia Falls 14 12 16 15 — 57

WHITEFISH: Alex Keuylian 3, Justin Conklin 3, Mark Anderson 3, Ryan Kemm 13, Lee Walburn 7, Dillon Botner 8.

COLUMBIA FALLS: Austin Green 17, Drew Morgan 14, Lowell Panasuk 2, Jack Price 2, Quintin Schriver 4, Logan Bechtel 10, Matthew Morrison 8.