Bigfork stuns Whitefish with late rally

A furious fourth-quarter comeback by the Bigfork Vikings stunned the Whitefish Bulldogs on Thursday night as Bigfork erased a 14-point deficit in the final minutes to claim a dramatic 47-45 victory in the divisional play-in contest.

Whitefish appeared to be in control after a strong third quarter, building a 40-28 lead behind a pair of three-pointers from CJ Thew and another from Cooper Dudley. The Bulldogs still held a commanding 44-30 advantage after Thew’s basket with 6:28 remaining.

However, the Vikings surged back, closing the game on a 17-1 run. Treker Hickey led the charge with 18 points, including seven in the final period. Tamret Savik also came up big down the stretch, scoring all five of his points in the fourth quarter, including the game-tying basket at 44-44 with 1:30 left on the clock.

Whitefish had a chance to reclaim the lead but missed two free throws. Hickey then capitalized, sinking a pair from the line with 48 seconds left to put Bigfork ahead. Quinn Herring added another free throw with eight seconds remaining to seal the win.

The Bulldogs managed just one point in the final stretch—a free throw from Dudley with 2.7 seconds left. He intentionally missed the second attempt, but Bigfork secured the rebound to cement the comeback.

Scott Dalen and Will Sisson led the Bulldogs with 13 points apiece,  while Alex Ochs added nine. Thew and Dudley chipped in eight apiece.

Whitefish finishes the season 6-13.

BIGFORK 47, WHITEFISH 45

Whitefish - 17 - 10 - 13 - 5 - 45

Bigfork - 17 - 6 - 5 - 19 — 47

WHITEFISH SCORING: Will Sisson 13, Scott Dalen 13, CJ Thew 8, Cooper Dudley 8, Carson Gulick 3

    Senior Carson Gulick at the varsity boys basketball game against Bigfork at the Dog Pound on Feb. 25. (Kelsey Evans/Whitefish Pilot)