Boys get first win over Corvallis, but drop one in OT

Down by just three heading into the fourth quarter against Corvallis, The Whitefish boys basketball team dug deep to excel past the Blue Devils on their way to the first victory of the season.

Just two days later the Bulldogs had a healthy lead early in the third quarter against rival Columbia Falls before allowing the Wildcats to come back and win 60-58 in overtime.

After splitting games last week, Whitefish improved its record to 1-3 on the season.

Playing in Corvallis, Whitefish head coach Scott Smith said he thought his team did a good job on the offensive boards and pushing the ball up the floor. Although he mentioned a weak point in the game was free throw shooting, which the Bulldogs went 9-22 at the line for the game.

Bulldogs Bodie Smith and Jayce Cripe led the team in scoring with 15 points each.

“Overall I thought we had a pretty good game and I thought it could have been an even bigger win margin there,” Smith said. “I was pleased with our kids' effort and intensity.”

Against Columbia Falls, Whitefish established an 11-point halftime lead behind sharp outside shooting from Cripe. As the game wore on Smith said his team started making defensive mistakes, and allowed the Wildcats too many good looks at the basket.

“We had some defensive breakdowns that we didn’t have in the first half,” he said. “They’ve got some good young players and some good guards, and give them credit, they knocked down the shots when they had them.”

Columbia Falls took the lead with three minutes remaining in regulation. Clutch shots by Whitefish’s Bodie Smith and Cripe helped the Bulldogs to tie it up and force overtime. During extra time the Wildcats took a quick lead and hit their free throws down the stretch to hold off the Bulldogs.

Leading scorer in the game Bodie Smith, who had 17 points, went down with a cramp in his leg in overtime and would not return to the game which hurt the Bulldogs offense in the final minutes.

“We played pretty well and then it just seemed like our kids ran out of gas,” the coach said. “We had some kids that were cramping, we had kids that just didn’t have any energy. We kind of blew a lead, if you have a 15-point lead on a team you’ve got to finish and we just didn’t do a very good job of finishing.”

Over the two games though, Smith was glad to see multiple kids scoring and the offense opening up more. He mentioned Cripe specifically for his improved performance over both games.

“I thought Jayce Cripe really stepped up his game from the start of the season,” Smith said. “He was looking for his shot a little bit more, starting to play more intense defense and I felt that he had some good leadership in the Corvallis and Columbia Falls games.”

This week Whitefish will travel to Libby on Friday for a game against the 1-4 Loggers. Then on Saturday the Bulldogs host the undefeated Polson Pirates at home at 7:15 p.m.

Smith and the Bulldogs are looking forward to the challenge of containing the high-octane Pirates.

“I know with Polson they’re going to pressure us so the key in that game is to not turn the ball over,” he said. “I think we’ve got a great shot at winning, but if we turn it over a bunch it could be a long night for us.”

Columbia Falls 15 4 12 18 11 – 60

Whitefish 17 13 11 7 9 – 58

COLUMBIA FALLS – Cade Morgan 14, Mason Peters 2, Allen Anderson 11, Jace Hill 17, Alec Knapton 16.

WHITEFISH – Bodie Smith 17, Jaxsen Schlauch 6, Logan Conklin 6, Marvin Kimera 5, Jayce Cripe 14, Talon Holmquist 10.

Corvallis 17 12 10 10 - 49

Whitefish 16 14 6 16 - 52

CORVALLIS - Luke Wolsky 2, Tanner Jessop 16, Jacob Loran 3, Donovan Potter 3, Bryce Mayne 1, Cole Trexler 17, Mitchell Spinetta 7.

WHITEFISH - Bodie Smith 15, Jaxsen Schlauch 2, Logan Conlklin 7, Jack Sears 3, Tre Hunt 5, Jayce Cripe 15, Talon Holmquist 6.