Bulldogs notch first victory

Idol's 18 points, Tkachyk's 14 lead Whitefish

The Daily Inter Lake

BIGFORK - Whitefish High School boys basketball coach Julio Delgado has led the Bulldogs to myriad epic victories in his illustrious career, but Thursday's 48-37 Northwestern A triumph over Bigfork will hold a special place in his heart.

The Bulldogs (1-8, 1-4) earned their first victory of the season while the Vikings remained winless at 0-9 overall and 0-5 in conference play.

"It's great for us," Delgado said. "We've had some great wins in our career and our history, and for us to get this win has to rank up there. We were struggling, we've had some adversity, we've had some tough times, and for these kids not to quit and continue to try to improve each and every week is not an easy thing when you haven't gotten any W's."

Whitefish nearly found the win column Saturday against undefeated Eureka, but lost a 67-61 overtime heartbreaker. Thursday they finally put it all together.

"I think these kids are coming on, they're learning how to play together as a team and that's what I'm all about is team play and people accepting their roles and doing everything they need to do to get the W's," Delgado said. "And tonight, to beat a Bigfork team that's just like us - real scrappy, they play hard, they come after you - when you go on the road and get a road win, it means a lot to your program and to this ballclub. Now we have something to build on."

Sophomore forward Colt Idol led Whitefish with 18 points. He was followed by senior guard Aaron Tkachyk, who came off the bench to add 14.

Senior post Kainoa Lake scored 12 points for the Vikings, who led in the middle of the second quarter and trailed just 26-23 at halftime. Lake scored Bigfork's only third-quarter field goal as the Vikings trailed 40-25 entering the final frame.

"It's been a problem the last three ballgames," said Bigfork coach Jim Epperly. "We've had one down quarter, and that's costing us opportunities to get into the win column. You've got to give them credit - they played harder than we did in the third quarter. I got out-coached, the kids got out-hustled, they took it to us in that third quarter and that was the difference in the game."

While Bigfork played three solid quarters of basketball, Whitefish enjoyed four sound quarters with contributions from its entire lineup.

"The kids played all four quarters just like they did against Eureka, but this time they executed a little better and made some big shots," Delgado said.

Delgado was particularly pleased with Tkachyk, who scored in double figures for the second game in a row. He added that senior post Jamie Clogg (four points) is coming on strong and helped Whitefish to a 21-14 rebounding advantage.

Whitefish junior guard Byron Whitcomb drew the daunting chore of guarding Bigfork junior guard Roland Benedict for most of the night. Benedict entered the game averaging 14 points per contest, but scored only seven against Whitcomb and Whitefish's pressure defense.

Epperly said his entire offensive struggled against Whitefish's relentless defense.

"I think we were a little tentative against their press - I would have liked to see us attack it a little bit better," said Epperly, adding that Whitefish kept Bigfork out of rhythm with its ball pressure and physical play. "At times we had some open shots tonight and we just didn't knock them down, and I can't help the kids - they've just got to keep their feet underneath themselves. We've been practicing our shooting, and we've just got to square up and knock some of those down."

According to Epperly, Lake's continued interior scoring is critical to Bigfork's future success, and the Vikings need to find more ways to feed him the ball in the paint.

"We're talking about getting balance on offense, and that's having the inside, the outside game," Epperly said. "That's a positive for us that if we can keep him going, that's going to make us tougher."

But just as Whitefish took its lumps before breaking through for its first win, Delgado said Bigfork looks poised to turn the corner on its season and notch some victories.

"I think Jim Epperly does a great job of coaching these kids," Delgado said. "He's in the same boat we are. They're young and inexperienced, but he's got them playing hard and that's the biggest thing, and he's got them competing.

"They're fundamentally sound, they do a great job on that 1-3-1 half-court trap. They cause you to make mistakes because (Epperly is) constantly changing defenses and doing some things to you. So if you're not intelligent, you're going to make a lot of mistakes, and our kids handled it better tonight and did a good job."

Bigfork gets its next chance for its first victory at 4:30 p.m. Saturday when it visits Ronan.

"I hope our guys can hold it together," Epperly said. "They're right there, they just need to eliminate that one bad quarter, and if I can get them to see that, maybe we can break through and get some wins. We've played some good basketball this year at times, we just haven't been able to sustain it through the course of a game."

The Vikings have struggled to find consistent scoring all season, and Epperly joked that perhaps they need to focus even more on their defense.

"If we're only going to score 40, 45 points, then we better hold the other team to less than that."

Whitefish looks to begin its first winning streak of the season when it visits Ronan at 7:30 this evening.

Whitefish 14 12 14 8 - 48

Bigfork 12 11 2 12 - 37

WHITEFISH (1-8, 1-4) - Aaron Tkachyk 6 0-0 14, Luke Fennelly 0 4-4 4, Byron Whitcomb 1 0-0 3, Colt Idol 6 4-6 18, Jamie Clogg 1 2-2 4, Dane Sjoden 0 1-2 1, David FauntLeRoy 1 2-2 4. Totals 15 13-16 48.

BIGFORK (0-9, 0-5) - John White 1 1-2 3, Kainoa Lake 3 6-6 12, Roland Benedict 2 3-4 7, Justin Goode 1 0-2 2, Andrew Whittaker 1 1-2 4, Brock Boll 2 2-2 7, Garrett Pewe 1 0-0 2. Totals 11 13-18 37.

3-point goals - WF 5 (Tkachyk 2, Idol 2, Whitcomb 1), BF 2 (Whittaker 1, Boll 1). Rebounds - WF 21, BF 14. Assists - WF 14, BF 4. Steals - WF 10, BF 6. Turnovers - WF 11, BF 14. Total fouls - WF 17, BF 16. Fouled out - none.

Whitefish to a 21-14 rebounding advantage.

Whitefish junior guard Byron Whitcomb drew the daunting chore of guarding Bigfork junior guard Roland Benedict for much of the night. Benedict entered the game averaging 14 points per contest, but scored only seven against Whitcomb and Whitefish's pressure defense.

Epperly said his entire offensive struggled against Whitefish's relentless defense.

"I think we were a little tentative against their press - I would have liked to see us attack it a little bit better," said Epperly, adding that Whitefish kept Bigfork out of rhythm with its ball pressure and physical play. "At times we had some open shots tonight and we just didn't knock them down, and I can't help the kids - they've just got to keep their feet underneath themselves. We've been practicing our shooting, and we've just got to square up and knock some of those down."

According to Epperly, Lake's continued interior scoring is critical to Bigfork's future success, and the Vikings need to find more ways to feed him the ball in the paint.

"We're talking about getting balance on offense, and that's having the inside, the outside game," Epperly said. "That's a positive for us that if we can keep him going, that's going to make us tougher."

But just as Whitefish took its lumps before breaking through for its first win, Delgado said Bigfork looks poised to turn the corner on its season and notch some victories.

"I think Jim Epperly does a great job of coaching these kids," Delgado said. "He's in the same boat we are. They're young and inexperienced, but he's got them playing hard and that's the biggest thing, and he's got them competing.

"They're fundamentally sound, they do a great job on that 1-3-1 half-court trap. They cause you to make mistakes because (Epperly is) constantly changing defenses and doing some things to you. So if you're not intelligent, you're going to make a lot of mistakes, and our kids handled it better tonight and did a good job."

Bigfork gets another crack at its first victory at 4:30 p.m. Saturday when it visits Ronan.

"I hope our guys can hold it together," Epperly said. "They're right there, they just need to eliminate that one bad quarter, and if I can get them to see that, maybe we can break through and get some wins. We've played some good basketball this year at times, we just haven't been able to sustain it through the course of a game."

The Vikings have struggled to find consistent scoring all season, and Epperly joked that perhaps they need to focus even more on their defense.

"If we're only going to score 40, 45 points, then we better hold the other team to less than that."

Whitefish looks to begin its first winning streak of the season when it visits Ronan at 7:30 this evening.

Whitefish 14 12 14 8 - 48

Bigfork 12 11 2 12 - 37

WHITEFISH (1-8, 1-4) - Aaron Tkachyk 6 0-0 14, Luke Fennelly 0 4-4 4, Byron Whitcomb 1 0-0 3, Colt Idol 6 4-6 18, Jamie Clogg 1 2-2 4, Dane Sjoden 0 1-2 1, David FauntLeRoy 1 2-2 4. Totals 15 13-16 48.

BIGFORK (0-9, 0-5) - John White 1 1-2 3, Kainoa Lake 3 6-6 12, Roland Benedict 2 3-4 7, Justin Goode 1 0-2 2, Andrew Whittaker 1 1-2 4, Brock Boll 2 2-2 7, Garrett Pewe 1 0-0 2. Totals 11 13-18 37.

3-point goals - WF 5 (Tkachyk 2, Idol 2, Whitcomb 1), BF 2 (Whittaker 1, Boll 1). Rebounds - WF 21, BF 14. Assists - WF 14, BF 4. Steals - WF 10, BF 6. Turnovers - WF 11, BF 14. Total fouls - WF 17, BF 16. Fouled out - none.