'Dogs in tourney final

Whitefish downs Eureka in divisional semis, 48-42

WHITEFISH - The words were poignant, especially from a legendary coach with 336 career wins and a state championship under his belt. But the sentiment was hard to deny.

The Whitefish High School boys basketball team beat Eureka 48-42 Friday night in a Northwestern A divisional tournament semifinal. The Bulldogs evened their record at 10-10 and moved within one victory of an automatic berth to next month's Class A state tournament in Belgrade.

"I just think that these kids are moving up," said Whitefish coach Julio Delgado. "I've coached 20 teams now, and they're moving up on the list of teams that we've had. I think they're making their own history here. The fact that they didn't hang their heads and feel sorry for themselves after an 0-8 start, and for them to find themselves in the conference divisional championship is quite a feat."

In a microcosm of its season, No. 3 seed Whitefish overcame a horrendous offensive start to score 35 second-half points and hold off second-seeded Eureka. The Lions led 16-13 at halftime, but the Bulldogs sprinted out of the break with an 8-0 run.

Aaron Tkachyk, David FauntLeRoy and Colt Idol led Whitefish with 10 points apiece. Idol scored all of his points in the second half, including six in the third quarter when the Bulldogs committed just one turnover.

"In the second half (Whitefish) didn't turn the ball over very much at all," said Eureka coach Eric Stang. "If a team doesn't turn the ball over, obviously they're going to get the most out of every one of their possessions. And that was kind of the big thing - we had a lot of defensive breakdowns in the second half and they capitalized on them."

Whitefish's Jamie Clogg had eight points and tied Idol with eight rebounds. The Bulldogs out-rebounded the Lions 24-23 in a contest that was just as gritty and competitive as Delgado expected.

"I felt that it was going to be a low-scoring game," Delgado said. "Both teams play a real good helping man-to-man. We both play very similar defenses and everything was going to be contested - we knew that coming in."

Luke Fennelly notched seven assists and four steals for the Bulldogs, who benefited strongly from their halftime adjustments.

"One of the adjustments at halftime was for us to be more patient offensively and get better-percentage shots," Delgado said. "I thought we were forcing some shots, forcing the issue, and we didn't need to do that. And secondly, I thought that by switching to a 2-2-1 full-court press - it's a different press that they hadn't seen from us - into a 2-3 zone kind of threw them off a little bit, and we built a little bit of cushion that enabled us to get that win."

Whitefish led by only two points after three quarters, but went up 43-36 on FauntLeRoy's bucket with 4:14 left in the game. The Bulldogs spent the game's final minutes playing keep away from the explosive Lions.

"We went to the stack delay and ran some clock, spread the floor, and we made some free throws at the end," Delgado said.

Fennelly iced the game by sinking two free throws with 17 seconds left, and the Bulldogs finished 10-for-14 from the foul line.

Isiah Linnell had 11 points, four steals, four rebounds and a block to pace the Lions, who move to 14-5 and face Ronan in loser-out action today at 9:30 a.m. Spencer Sartori finished with 10 points and eight boards.

Idol is Whitefish's leading scorer, but it was the Bulldogs' versatility and balance that gave the Lions trouble.

"If they've got other guys that are stepping up and making plays, that puts the pressure on our defense, and that's why they won," Stang said. "They had guys stepping up and making plays. They capitalized on what we gave them."

Eureka was technically the home team as the higher seed, but throngs of green and gold-clad fans left no doubt as to whose home it was.

"It's invaluable for us to be here," Delgado said. "Eureka brought a large contingency with them - they have a great fan base - but to hear our crowd, and play in here at home certainly makes a huge difference, and I'm sure that picked up our kids' intensity once we got a little bit of a lead."

Stang agreed, but didn't use Whitefish's home-court advantage as an excuse.

"It does play a factor, but we knew coming in that we were going to have to overcome adversity in situations and play really solid basketball and play well and sound," Stang said. "I told them 'You guys are going to have to walk through hell if you want to win this game.'

"(The Bulldogs) did a great job. They came out and they earned that victory and deserve to play in the championship game. Coach Delgado does a great job."

The Bulldogs battle Libby in the tournament championship game tonight at 8. The victor punches its ticket to Belgrade while the loser may have to play a challenge game Monday to claim Northwestern A's other state tournament slot, pending today's other action.

Delgado said Libby has tremendous athleticism, but the Bulldogs should again benefit from playing on their own court. He said Whitefish came out tight in its first two games of the tournament, but hopes his players stay loose in their biggest game of the season.

"We've got nothing to lose, we weren't expected to be here," Delgado said. "We've got to relax and play (today) and let the chips fall where they may. We'll see what happens."

Whitefish 7 6 18 17 - 48

Eureka 6 10 13 13 - 42

WHITEFISH (10-10) - Aaron Tkachyk 5 0-0 10, Luke Fennelly 1 2-2 4, Byron Whitcomb 2 0-0 4, Colt Idol 4 2-3 10, Jamie Clogg 3 2-3 8, Jake Smith 0 2-4 2, David FauntLeRoy 4 2-2 10. Totals 19 10-14 48.

EUREKA (14-5) - Clete DeShazer 1 0-1 2, Zach Richter 2 1-2 6, Tony Boka 0 2-2 2, Danny Cameron 2 3-4 8, John Davis 1 1-2 3, Spencer Sartori 5 0-0 10, Isiah Linnell 5 0-0 11. Totals 16 7-11 42.

3-point goals - WF 0, Eur. 3 (Richter 1, Cameron 1, Linnell 1). Rebounds - WF 24 (Clogg 8, Idol 8, Tkackyk 3, FauntLeRoy 2, Fennelly 1, Whitcomb 1, Smith 1), Eur. 23 (Sartori 8, Linnell 4, Cameron 3, Davis 3, Boka 2, DeShazer 2, Richter 1). Assists - WF 14 (Fennelly 7, Idol 2, Whitcomb 2, FauntLeRoy 2, Smith 1), Eur. 4 (Richter 1, Cameron 1, Sartori 1, Linnell 1). Steals - WF 9 (Fennelly 4, Idol 4, Whitcomb 1), Eur. 6 (Linnell 4, Cameron 1, Davis 1). Blocks - WF NA, Eur. 2 (Davis 1, Linnell 1). Turnovers - WF 10, Eur. 21. Total fouls - WF 16, Eur. 15. Fouled out - none.