Bulldogs show off offense in pair of wins
Sam Menicke launches the baseline jumper in Thursday's home win against Eureka. (Daniel McKay/Whitefish Pilot)
Bodie Smith rises for the layup in Thursday's home win against Eureka. (Daniel McKay/Whitefish Pilot)
Jaxsen Schlauch scoops the ball in Thursday's home win against Eureka. (Daniel McKay/Whitefish Pilot)
Talon Holmquist lays it in in Thursday's home win against Eureka. (Daniel McKay/Whitefish Pilot)
Garret Brock fights through contact in Thursday's home win against Eureka. (Daniel McKay/Whitefish Pilot)
Bodie Smith skies fro the layup in Thursday's home win against Eureka. (Daniel McKay/Whitefish Pilot)
Bodie Smith skies for the layup in Thursday's home win against Eureka. (Daniel McKay/Whitefish Pilot)
Jaxsen Schlauch scoops the ball in Thursday's home win against Eureka. (Daniel McKay/Whitefish Pilot)
The Bulldogs got two marks in the wins column last week with victories over Eureka and Polson.
On Thursday Whitefish got its first home game of the season, where they blew out the Eureka Lions 57-31.
The team led a balanced offensive attack. Sam Menicke was the high scorer with 14, while Justin Conklin added 11 and Talon Holmquist had 10.
The Dogs allowed just 2 points in the first quarter and only 6 in the third.
Then on Friday they headed down to Polson to battle the Pirates, coming away with a 52-44 win.
Head coach Scott Smith said his team made a big defensive statement to start, but let the Pirates get back into the game late.
“We started off pretty strong. Our defensive effort was really good, that’s what got us a 15-point lead. We struggled a bit off toward the end of the game, but our defense held us in the game,” Smith said.
The Bulldogs held Polson to single digit scoring in the first three quarters of the game and outscored them in all but the last quarter.
The wins put the Dogs at 2-3 on the season, a big boost after starting 0-3 with losses to Butte Central, Dillon and Frenchtown.
Heading into the break, Smith said he’s looking at cleaning up some defensive details and trying out some situational practice.
Smith said he’s happy with the wins and ready to move past the early losses.
“I knew our first three games of the season would be tough, they’re probably the three best in the southwest,” he said. “The only thing that worried me was our effort in Frenchtown, but the kids responded in the right way. We just knew this is going to be a process, for a lot of kids this is their first time playing varsity basketball, so were going to have some growing pains.”
Following the holiday break, the Bulldogs face off against the Loggers in Libby on Saturday, Jan. 4 at 4 p.m.
Whitefish 57, Eureka 31
Eureka 2 12 6 11 — 31
Whitefish 10 26 12 9 — 57
EUREKA — Austin Sartori 7, AJ Pacella 6.
WHITEFISH — Sam Menicke 14, Justin Conklin 11, Bodie Smith 6, Danny Davis 6, Jaxsen Schlough 2, Marvin Kimera 1, Garett Brock 4, Jayce Cripe 3, Talon Holmquist 10.
Whitefish 52, Polson 44
Whitefish 9 14 11 8 – 52
Polson 8 4 9 23 – 44
WHITEFISH – Sam Menicke 4 6-8 14, Justin Conklin 4 1-1 11, Jayce Cripe 2 5-11 11, Bodie Smith 9, Talon Holmquist 4, Garett Brock 2, rogue 1.
POLSON – Colton Graham 4 2-4 12, Connor Lanier 5 1-3 11, Trevor Lake 3 0-1 6, Braunsen Henriksen 2 0-2 4, Gunner Grisak 2 0-0 4, Ryker Wenderoth 1 2-4 4, Xavier Fisher 0 3-4 3.