Basketball: Bulldogs drill Plains on Senior Night
<p>Whitefish’s Jake Slaybaugh (11) avoids the block by Plains senior Robert Earhart (right) as he goes in for a layup during Thursday’s nonconference game at Whitefish High School.</p>
<p>Plains defender Tanner Ostrom (42) tries to keep up with Whitefish senior Gage Vasquez (24) as he dribbles along the baseline during the Bulldogs’ victory Thursday night at Whitefish High School.</p>
WHITEFISH - The Whitefish boys made a splash on Senior Night, trouncing Plains 72-42 at home on Thursday.
The Bulldogs controlled the game from the start. Whitefish opened with a 13-2 run, spurred on by fantastic defense, with the team getting into the passing lanes and kicking the ball down court to start the fast break.
"They had a great game. I told them to make this memorable and they did," Whitefish coach Mark Casazza said.
"I was impressed with the defensive intensity we played with the whole game."
Senior forward Gage Vasquez was on fire in the first quarter, scoring 12 points in the first six minutes, capped by his second 3-pointer of the night to give the Bulldogs a 20-8 lead. Two buckets by Jake Slaybaugh in the final minute of the quarter gave Whitefish a 25-12 lead after eight minutes.
The Whitefish defense was tough in the second quarter, holding the Horsemen without a field goal for the final 3:30 of the half. The Bulldogs went on a 14-1 run during the stretch, going into the break with a commanding 44-19 lead. Senior guard Christopher Forrest sent the crowd to its feet, stepping back at the buzzer to hit a 3-pointer from a step inside half court, securing the momentum for the Bulldogs.
That wasn't the last highlight from Forrest either. A few minutes into the third quarter, he tossed a perfect pass from the 3-point line to teammate Jace Kalbfleish at the rim, who started too far out to finish with the slam but still managed to tip in a pretty layup off the glass.
"I was expecting a dunk out of it but it was still pretty nice," Forrest said.
The Bulldogs closed the third with a 61-23 lead, and played their backups for most of the fourth, sending the seniors in with 1:35 to play to get an ovation.
Vasquez led the Bulldogs with a game-high 23 points, while Forrest finished with nine and senior Bryce Wehrli had three, all on free throws.
Brandyn Smith and Abram French each scored eight points to lead Plains.
"I wanted to leave a mark on Senior Night," Vasquez said. "This being my last year I wanted to go out there and have a one of my better nights. We were on fire to start."
The win is the third in a row for the Bulldogs, who are currently 5-1 in Northwestern A and 9-6 overall. Whitefish gets a chance to avenge its only loss in the conference so far, when it hosts league leaders Columbia Falls (6-0, 12-3) on Saturday. The Wildcats, now ranked No. 4 in Class A, won the first game 73-49.
"We were definitely trying to get some momentum going into Columbia Falls," Forrest said.
The showdown between the top two teams in the conference begins at 6 p.m.
Plains 12 7 4 19 - 42
Whitefish 25 19 17 11 - 72
PLAINS - Brandyn Smith 8, Abram French 8, Robert Earhart 7, Tanner Ostrom 7, Jeremiah Crawford 6, Brady Ovitt 3, James Rulison 2, Wyatt Winebrenner 1.
WHITEFISH - Gage Vasquez 23, Christopher Forrest 9, Jake Slaybaugh 9, Jace Kalbfleisch 7, Logan Harwood 7, Cooper Olson 5, Keaton Nicholson 5, Bryce Wehrli 3, EJ Havens 2, Hugh Ramlow 2.