Whitefish's Colt Idol shines in OT victory

Showtime for Colt Idol on Thursday came in overtime.

The 6-foot-3 junior guard scored seven points in the extra 4 minute session, pulled down two huge rebounds and collected a critical steal in carrying Whitefish to a 57-50 first-round victory over Libby at the Northwestern A boys' basketball divisional tournament at Glacier High School.

Idol finished with 33 points, 9 rebounds and 4 steals.

All were team highs.

"He really stepped up and got it done," Whitefish coach Eric Stang said of the Bulldog standout.

"He (also) hit some big 3s in the third quarter."

Whitefish's victory sends the Bulldogs (11-8) on to today's semifinal contest at 4 p.m. against Polson (10-8), which had a first-round bye. Polson is the tournament's top seed and Whitefish is No. 4.

Libby (9-10) drops into a loser-out contest on Saturday.

"That does a lot for your confidence," Stang said of winning that first divisional contest.

"After that first W, you're more relaxed. You can focus on what's down the road."

Idol put Whitefish on top 50-46 in overtime with a nifty inside move to the basket and two free throws.

After Shawn Watterud went 1-for-2 at the free- throw line for the Bulldogs, Idol converted a traditional 3-point play to push the Bulldog lead to 54-46. Libby never recovered.

Whitefish outscored Libby 11-4 in the extra session. All four of Libby's points were turned in by Conner Benson in the final 17 seconds.

Idol forced overtime when he tied the game at 46-all with 34 seconds left.

Libby played for a final shot, but that never materialized.

"We had to take care of business at the end of the game and we didn't do it," Libby coach Wally Winslow said.

Jim Mee finished with 24 points to pace the Loggers. He tallied 19 points in the final half, 12 in the fourth quarter.

Mee's trey with 3:05 remaining in regulation tied the game at 42. He followed that with two free throws to give Libby its first lead, 44-42, since the opening minute of play.

Idol then tied it up at 44 with two free throws, and Libby, 20 seconds later, led for the final time, 46-44, on a drive by Joel Fuller.

It was the third time Whitefish has defeated Libby this season and was a far different contest than a week ago when Whitefish rolled to a 90-64 victory. Idol hit a school-record 39 points in that outing and Mee had 24.

Libby 8 7 11 20 4 - 50

Whitefish 10 12 12 12 11 - 57

Libby - Zack Rowan 3 0-4 6, Conner Benson 2 2-4 6, Jim Mee 9 2-2 24, Joel Fuller 3 2-2 8, Bryan Cooper 2 2-4 6. Totals: 19 8-16 50.

Whitefish - Matt Whitehead 1 3-4 5, Aaron Tkachyk 2 4-4 8, Shawn Watterud 3 1-4 7, Josh Backer 1 0-0 2, Colt Idol 12 7-9 33, David FauntLeRoy 1 0-0 2. Totals: 20 15-21 57.

3-point goals: Mee (4); Idol (2); Team fouls: Libby 21, Whitefish 16; Fouled out: Rowan.

Ronan 61, Bigfork 56

Bigfork nearly did it again.

The Vikings knocked off Ronan on Saturday in Bigfork 53-49 in the regular-season finale for both teams.

It was Bigfork's first league win in two seasons.

Ronan, however, managed to survive some tense moments down the stretch to pull this one out in divisional play thanks to Moss Tanner.

Tanner rebounded a missed free throw by teammate Nolan Harris with 16.3 seconds left and went right back up for an easy basket.

Tanner was fouled and made the free throw putting Ronan in front 59-53.

Roland Benedict gave Bigfork one final hope, hitting a trey with 10.1 seconds to play to narrow the defict to three points, 59-56.

But Tanner responded with two free throws with 9.9 seconds showing to put the game away.

Tanner finished with a game-high 26 points. He scored six points in the final quarter.

"It came down to a couple of plays," Bigfork coach Jim Epperly said.

"Rebounds, diving for loose balls on the court and making your free throws."

The loss drops Bigfork (6-13) into a Saturday loser-out contest.

Ronan (14-5) advances to meet Columbia Falls (12-6) in semifinal play tonight at 8. The Chiefs and Wildcats split during the regular season.

Bigfork 11 18 13 14 - 56

Ronan 14 15 16 16 - 61

Bigfork - Ben Sandry 1 0-0 2, Scott Taylor 2 3-4 7, Roland Benedict 3 7-8 14, Garrett Pewe 3 2-2 8, Brock Boll 5 0-0 10, Keenan Evans 1 0-0 2, Levi Dockstader 5 1-3 13. Totals: 20 13-16 56.

Ronan - Moss Tanner 8 10-15 26, Mike Fisher 3 2-2 8, Makinzy Kelch 4 1-2 9, Jordan St. Clair 1 0-0 2, Eddie Ness 1 0-3 3, Nolan Harris 3 1-4 10, Mike Crawford 0 1-2 1, Kyle Hendrickx 1 0-0 2. Totals: 21 15-26 61.

3-point goals: Benedict, Dockstader (2); Ness, Harris (3); Teams fouls: Bigfork 21, Ronan 16; Fouled out: Boll, Dockstader.