'Team of destiny'

By CHRIS TUCKER

Whitefish Pilot

It was a tense final eight seconds for the Bulldogs.

Whitefish was ahead 36-33 in the fourth quarter of the Northwestern A championship game. The Libby Loggers had possession and were straining for a miracle shot to put the game into overtime, but the Bulldogs refused them a clear view of the basket.

Libby shot and missed, the clocked ticked to zero, and Bulldog fans erupted into a frenzy of cheering and shouting.

Senior guard Luke Fennelly thrust his arms into the air in triumph, walked across the court and jumped into coach Julio Delgado's arms for a victory hug.

Whitefish students spilled from the bleachers and onto the court, lifting some of the Bulldog players into the air in celebration.

"One more year! One more year!" the crowd chanted, referring to Delgado's intention to retire from coaching basketball at the end of the season.

"It felt unreal," Fennelly said of the win. "Just to see the jubilation on everyone's face and that we actually did it, we stuck together. It was the greatest feeling … it was awesome."

Whitefish (11-10) was an underdog team this year. The team lost their first eight games and was seeded third in divisionals, but the young men didn't give up and focused on playing together as a team.

With the first-place win, Whitefish avoided a challenge game against the defending state champion Wildcats. The Bulldogs played cross-valley rival Columbia Falls twice this year and lost both times.

Libby, which knocked out Columbia Falls in divisional play, will also go to state, which is scheduled to be held March 8-10 at the Belgrade Special Events Center.

"I just think this team was just kind of a team of destiny," Delgado said of the emotional win. "We still have a lot of work to do … we've got a state tournament in Belgrade. We're not just happy to be going — we're going to go there and compete our butts off and play."

Delgado said his players were feeling good about themselves growing confident.

"You know, they played a terrific, gutsy ball game tonight," he said. "It was just a defensive struggle. Both teams just could not score — that's why you had such a low-scoring game. But I thought we won the battle of the boards, which was one of our keys. We took care of the ball better in the second half, made the adjustments at halftime to make sure we ran some offense and were more patient, took better percentage shots, and things started to fall and be better for us."

The Bulldogs led Libby by just one point, 14-13, at the end of the half. In the third quarter, Libby had a five-point run to take the lead, 14-18, but the Bulldogs answered with two quick buckets to tie the game again at 18 points.

Sophomore guard Colt Idol shot from three-point range and missed, but teammate Jamie Clogg got the rebound and sank two, helping Whitefish regain the lead, 20-18, with five minutes left in the third quarter.

Libby scored five points and pulled ahead, 20-23, but Whitefish hustled to catch up and tied the game at 23 with two minutes left in the third. The Loggers had several opportunities to take the lead again, but they kept missing shots, rebounding and missing again.

In the fourth quarter, Idol shot two points, then tried for a trey but missed. Clogg got the rebound again for two points, putting the game at 27-23.

Libby then scored four points to tie the game at 27. Fennelly and Idol shot two points each, and the Loggers made four at the free-throw line.

Bulldog sophomore guard Aaron Tkachyk went to the line and sank one of two. Libby got two more, and Whitefish trailed 32-33 with 43 seconds remaining. Idol hit a two-pointer and then made two free-throws, ending the game at 36-33.

Idol led the scoring with 15 points. Tkachyk scored 7 and Clogg got 6.

"This wasn't just a Bulldog victory, this was a Whitefish victory," Delgado said. "To see the old faces back and to see all the people that we had here supporting the Bulldogs from years past was a real treat for me. I'm just extremely proud of our kids, our coaching staff and everybody concerned."

He praised Scott Smith and Mark Casazza for all their hard work, putting together game plans and scouting opposing teams.

"I couldn't have two better assistants than those two guys," Delgado said.

Whitefish 10 4 9 13 - 36

Libby 3 10 10 10 - 33

Whitefish — Aaron Tkachyk 3 1-2 7, Luke Fennelly 2 0-0 4, Colt Idol 5 5-6 15, Jamie Clogg 3 0-0 6, David FauntLeRoy 1 2-2 4. Totals 14 8-10 36.

Libby — Zach Rowan 1 0-0 3, Kyle Baker 6 1-3 13, Jim Mee 2 3-3 9, Charley May 2 2-4 6, Rob Carney 1 0-0 2. Totals 12 4-11 33.

3-point goals — Whitefish 0, Libby 3 (Mee 2, Rowan).

Whitefish's semifinal game was a close one as the Bulldogs trailed behind Eureka in the first half but stepped-up in the second half for the win, 48-42.

With two minutes left in the fourth quarter, Whitefish slowed the game down, and Idol made a basket to put the game at 45-39.

Libby made a string of fouls against Whitefish. Jake Smith was fouled and went 1-2 at the stripe. Idol was then fouled and missed his shot, and Clogg was fouled and missed.

Libby drained a trey, notching game's score up to 46-42. Libby then fouled Fennelly, who made both of his free-throws. The game ended 48-42.

Idol led scoring for the Bulldogs with 12 points. FauntLeRoy and Tkachyk both scored 10.

"I told David (FauntLeRoy), I told Aaron (Tkachyk) and I told Colt (Idol) that by the middle of the season they could no longer be playing like sophomores, they had to play like seniors in order for us to be successful, and they're really doing exactly that," Delgado said. "They're playing much above their years and playing extremely well."

Whitefish 7 6 18 17 - 48

Eureka 6 10 13 13 - 42

Whitefish — Aaron Tkachyk 5 0-0 10, Luke Fennelly 1 2-2 4, Byron Whitcomb 1 0-0 2, Colt Idol 5 2-3 12, Jamie Clogg 3 2-3 8, Jake Smith 0 2-4 2, David FauntLeRoy 4 2-2 10. Totals 19 10-14 48.

Eureka — 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 - Whitefish 0, Eureka 3 (Richter, Cameron, Linnell).

The Bulldogs got off to a slow start in their opening tournament game against the Polson Pirates, ending the first quarter down by three points, 7-10. But the team rallied in the second and fourth quarters to secure a solid win, 52-36.

Idol and Clogg both got two points to start the scoring for Whitefish in the first quarter, putting the game at 4-7.

Fennelly fired off his first three-pointer with just seconds left to end the first quarter. Polson quickly added points of their own to end the quarter ahead, 7-10 .

In the beginning of the second quarter, Fennelly made three quick back-to-back three-pointers, and the Bulldogs took the lead, 16-12.

A frustrated Polson team called time out but returned to the court with six players, earning a technical foul.

Idol shot two at the line, then Tkachyk was fouled and made two of three at the line.

Clogg and Byron Whitcomb ended the scoring for the second quarter with two points each. The Bulldogs ended the half ahead, 24-13.

The Bulldogs shot 95 percent at the line, missing only one of 20 free-throw shots, while Polson made 56 percent of their free-throws.

Delgado said the team had a special incentive to make free-throw shots during practice.

"Every Thursday morning, we all bring a quarter, myself included, and then we have a sudden-death shoot-off," Delgado said of the secret of the Bulldog's free-throw shooting success. "Whoever is the last man standing gets the three dollars and fifty cents in quarters."

Whitefish 7 17 8 20 - 52

Polson 10 3 9 14 - 36

Whitefish — Aaron Tkachyk 1 6-7 8, Shawn Watterud 1 2-2 5, Luke Fennelly 4 4-4 16, Byron Whitcomb 2 0-0 4, Colt Idol 2 6-6 10, Jamie Clogg 3 1-1 7, David FauntLeRoy 1 0-0 2. Totals 14 19-20 52.

Polson — Craig Bagnell 1 0-0 2, John Rausch 4 1-2 11, Chris Ogle 2 2-3 6, Cody Doyle 1 0-0 2, Joe Andrews 0 1-2 1, Tyler Gordon 1 2-4 4, Tim Rausch 1 4-5 6, Zach Langston 2 0-2 4. Totals 12 10-18 36.

3-point goals — Whitefish 5 (Fennelly 4, Watterud), Polson 2.