Whitefish hoopsters hold on for win over Eureka, drop one to powerhouse Browning
Whitefish's Gabe Lund splits the defense to get to the basket against Browning on Friday. (Whitney England/Whitefish Pilot)
Whitefish senior Jaxsen Schlauch dribbles around the Browning defense in a game on Friday night at the high school. (Whitney England/Whitefish Pilot)
Whitefish senior Bodie Smith looks to score in a game against Browning on Friday night at the high school. (Whitney England/Whitefish Pilot)
Last week the Whitefish boys basketball team narrowly edged Eureka 47-43. The next evening the Bulldogs let one get away from them when Browning came to town and dominated 70-50.
On Thursday against Eureka, Whitefish struggled offensively in the first half. The Bulldogs defensive effort kept the game close and in the third quarter Whitefish finally started rolling on the offensive end. The Bulldogs scored 17 points in the third which gave them the edge heading into the final 8 minutes of play. Down the stretch Whitefish made the shots and free throws needed to stay in front of the Lions. Whitefish also beat the Lions the week prior by 17 points.
In Thursday’s matchup Whitefish senior Bodie Smith scored 22 points, eight of those in the fourth quarter. Another senior Talon Holmquist put in 11 points for the Dogs and Fynn Ridgeway added 6 points.
The next evening Whitefish hosted Browning. The Bulldogs again came out a little slow in the first half. The Indians led by as many as 13 points early in the second quarter, but Whitefish was able to stifle their run and close the gap to just 4 points at the half.
However a massive 25-point third quarter, while Whitefish scored just 9 points, gave Browning a lead that the Bulldogs were not able to recover from. Whitefish’s scoring was led by Smith and Holmquist again, each putting up 14 points. Gabe Lund and Logan Conklin contributed 6 points each as well.
The Bulldogs are now 6-8 overall and 1-7 in league play.
Whitefish will have one last week of regular season games before heading to a play-in game next week.
Whitefish was set to play Cut Bank on Tuesday after press time. The Bulldogs will then play in Libby on Thursday and host Columbia Falls on Saturday beginning at 4 p.m.
Browning 20 10 25 15 - 70
Whitefish 12 14 9 15 - 50
BROWNING — Tommy Running Rabbit 13, Tayron Burdeau 14, Brayds Vielle 11, Joe Bullshoe 9, Maurice Redhorn III 9, Justin Johnson 6, Jesse Carlson 6, Isaiah Running Rabbit 2.
WHITEFISH — Logan Conklin 6, Jaxsen Schlauch 4, Talon Holmquist 14, Bodie Smith 14, Fynn Ridgeway 4, Gabe Lund 6, Jack Sears 2.
Whitefish 10 8 17 12 - 47
Eureka 10 12 10 11 - 43
WHITEFISH — Bodie Smith 22, Mason Kelch 3, Logan Conklin 2, Jack Sedars 1, Fynn Ridgeway 6, Gabe Lund 2, Talon Holmquist 11.
EUREKA — Gavin Bates 17, Joey Kindel 13, Tristan Butts 4, Trent Truman 3, Carson Komac 4, Danny Dunn 2.
