Bulldogs kick Broncs to curb in season opener

Led by big man Talon Holmquist, the Whitefish Bulldogs boys basketball team soundly took down the Hamilton Broncs 61-50 on the road Saturday evening.

Holmquist scored 21 points in the win to lead Whitefish in scoring and according to Bulldog coach Scott Smith the Broncs had no answer for him.

“Talon Holmquist stood out definitely… scoring 21 points and kind of dominating in the game,” Smith said. “They didn’t have an answer for him, and it also helped us outside.”

Prior to the season beginning, Smith said he was looking for Holmquist to step up and be not only a presence in the paint but a leading scorer for the team — he’s off to a promising start.

The game was back and forth, but Whitefish held the lead throughout. Smith says Hamilton would make a run and cut the lead to within 2-3 points, but the Bulldogs responded quickly.

“I felt that we were never out of control of the game,” Smith said. “We always had it in our control and kind of dictated how they played and how we played.”

Whitefish’s Bodie Smith scored 15 points, while Logan Conklin had 9 points and Jaxsen Schlauch and Gabe Lund each contributed 6 points in the win.

“Overall I thought we played really well for our first game,” the coach concluded. “We definitely made some mistakes and have a lot of room for improvement, but I thought our kids were very competitive and physical against a very athletic team in Hamilton.”

Whitefish will look to build on the win as they travel to the Western A Tip-off Tournament in Frenchtown this weekend. Whitefish is set to play East Helena and Frenchtown at the tournament.

Coach Smith is hoping to see progress in the boys play as they get more time on the court.

“We’ve got to improve every single day, and improve from one game to the next,” he said. “So hopefully there will be some improvement from last Saturday’s game to Friday’s game against East Helena. Then Frenchtown is a very talented team, which is good and we’ll see where we’re at.”

The Bulldogs will compete in Frenchtown Friday through Saturday. Time of the games is to be determined.

Whitefish 14 16 17 14 — 61

Hamilton 11 13 18 8 — 50

WHITEFISH: Talon Holmquist 21, Bodie Smith 15, Logan Conklin 9, Jaxsen Schlauch 6, Gabe Lund 6, Finn Ridgeway 2, Jack Sears 2.

HAMILTON: Eli Taylor 15, Liam O'Connell 11, Asher Magness 9, Hudson Bain 6, Tyson Rostad 5, Andrew Burrows 4.