Back to state for Bulldogs

GREG SCHINDLER/The Daily Inter Lake

When the Bulldogs lost their first three conference games, coach Eric Stang wasn't worried.

The Bulldogs weren't measuring their progress with wins and losses, after all, and they didn't care about meeting outside expectations. Their approach was simple: concentrate on playing four solid quarters while building momentum for divisionals.

Mission accomplished.

The Whitefish High School boys' basketball team clipped Columbia Falls 68-66 in Monday night's Northwestern A divisional tournament challenge game at Glacier High School, securing a berth in this week's Class A state tournament in Billings.

Senior guards Colt Idol and Shawn Watterud scored 28 and 24 points, respectively, as Whitefish (13-9) clinched an opening-round date with Central A champion Browning, set for Thursday at 6:30 p.m.

Ronan beat Whitefish in Saturday's divisional championship game, while Columbia Falls (14-8) sunk Polson in Saturday's consolation game. That left Monday's Flathead Valley showdown to determine Northwestern A's second and final state berth.

Whitefish lost both regular-season meetings with Columbia Falls, but the Bulldogs smothered the Wildcats throughout a 12-5 opening frame before the teams spent the final three quarters exchanging the game-changing plays that typify their rivalry.

Trailing by nine points midway through the fourth quarter, Columbia Falls fought within one possession five times in the final 94 seconds. A Grant Getts layin pulled the Wildcats within three points, 66-63, with 13 seconds left, but Idol followed with a pair of free throws, keeping Whitefish safe despite Mackey Nolan's 3-pointer with 2.9 seconds left.

Whitefish took its first lead, 4-2, on Idol's first-quarter 3-pointer from the right wing. The Wildcats outscored the Bulldogs in the second, third and fourth quarters, but never got back in front.

Idol (Northwestern A's top scorer) and Watterud had 11 points apiece in the first half as Whitefish built a 28-23 lead.

"We knew we had to come out here relaxed and just play our game because we've been playing a little tight lately," Watterud said. "We just had to come out real strong in the first half."

Playing mostly man defense, the Bullogs forced the Wildcats into eight first-quarter turnovers. Columbia Falls hit only two 3-pointers in the contest and none in the first three quarters.

"They throw the ball deep, they look to run on you, but we did a good job of getting back and keeping it simple," Stang said. "The big thing was coming out and playing fundamentally-sound defense.

"We did some different matchup stuff than we did earlier in the year, and that really helped us out. The big thing is that the kids just played with a lot of heart and gutted it out."

The game was full of gut-check moments, played out before a raucous, standing-room only crowd. The Bulldogs went 12-for-18 from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter, including 7-for-8 in the final minute.

Jake Smith tallied seven points for Whitefish, followed by Aaron Tkachyk with six. Tkachyk hit four free throws in the final frame.

"The thing that I'm discovering about these guys is they're not really afraid of any type of scenario or situation," Stang said. "They've just got to come out and play with confidence. It doesn't matter where it's at or the situation. If they come out and play confident, they'll be all right, they'll be fine."

The Wildcats, who exploded for 25 fourth-quarter points, had several clutch performances of their own. Senior Chase Grilley was brilliant, capping his superb career with a team-high 24 points, including 12 in the third quarter. His final bucket pulled Columbia Falls within three points, 60-57, with 1:34 to go.

Wildcat Grant Getts scored 10 of his 14 points in the fourth quarter, and Nolan tallied eight of his 11 in the second stanza.

But the Wildcats' typically tight defense couldn't contend with Whitefish's two hot hands.

"On the year, we're averaging giving up 52 points a game," Columbia Falls coach Cary Finberg said, "and then for (Idol and Watterud) to combine for 52 - that's impressive.

"I'm disappointed in the fact that we allowed them to get as many open looks as they got. Take nothing away from those two guys - they played great - but we made it a little easier on them than we wanted to."

"If they both get rolling, they kind of feed off each other, and the other kids feed off those two as well," Stang said. "When we do that, we're a tough, tough team to contend with and play with."

Like last season, when Whitefish won the divisional title after starting 0-8, the Bulldogs (5-5 in Northwestern A regular-season play) took some time to develop into a state contender.

"It was a learning experience and a thing where kids had to work all the way through, but they kept their chins up and they kept their faith in the program and the philosophy of what we're trying to establish and what we're about," Stang said.

Josh Backer hit just one field goal while David FauntLeRoy went scoreless, but the forwards were instrumental in Whitefish's frontcourt defense, along with Smith. Guard Matt Whitehead harassed Columbia Falls' ballhandlers from one end of the floor to the other.

"We held them from the outside to very few 3-pointers," Watterud said. "They got some put-backs on the glass, but other than that, we hung in tough."

Though beating any opponent three times in one season typically is difficult, Finberg said it isn't impossible.

"I don't think it is if you play better than they do, but Whitefish played better than we did tonight," he said. "I think you can go back to the first quarter. We won three out of the four quarters, but … give them all the credit, they outplayed us."

While Browning - and the rest of the state field - presents an immense challenge, the Bulldogs may still have their best performances ahead of them.

"The last couple weeks, they've been playing with a lot of confidence, especially these last four or five or six games," Stang said, "and that's what they need to be doing this time of year."

Whitefish 12 16 17 23 - 68

Columbia Falls 5 18 18 25 - 66

WHITEFISH (13-9) - Aaron Tkachyk 1 4-8 6, Shawn Watterud 7 7-12 24, Josh Backer 1 1-1 3, Colt Idol 9 9-9 28, Jake Smith 3 1-2 7. Totals 21 22-32 68.

COLUMBIA FALLS (14-8) - Chase Fairbank 2 0-2 4, Cody Bowman 2 2-2 6, Mackey Nolan 4 2-2 11, Chase Grilley 8 7-11 24, Mitch Wassam 3 1-3 7, Grant Getts 6 2-2 14. Totals 25 14-23 66.

3-point goals - WF 4 (Watterud 3, Idol), CF 2 (Grilley, Nolan). Total fouls - WF 19, CF 23. Fouled out - Smith, FauntLeRoy.