It's dog-eat-dog at state

By CHRIS TUCKER

Whitefish Pilot

It's going to be a real dog fight.

The Whitefish Bulldogs play the Hardin Bulldogs in the opening round of the Class A state basketball tournament today (Thursday) in Belgrade.

"The state tournament is about heart and guts and courage," Whitefish coach Julio Delgado said. "Whoever plays with those elements is going win, and it's not necessarily the best team."

The Bulldogs have been practicing hard this week at the Whitefish gym so they are as ready as they will ever be.

The Whitefish Bulldogs came back from a 0-8 start to the season to win the Northwest Class A divisionals at home, beating Libby Loggers 36-33. Libby had defeated the divisional favorite, Whitefish's cross-valley rival, the Columbia Falls Wildcats, earlier in the tournament.

Tip-off for the game against Hardin will be at 2:30 p.m. The game can be listened to live on ESPN sports radio on the 1240 AM frequency.

Sales of tournament tickets for all games have stopped, but tickets for individual games may be purchased at the door.

Four Whitefish Bulldogs were recently named to the Northwest Class A All-Tournament Selection.

Sophomore Colt Idol was named to the first team. Senior Luke Fennelly, sophomore Aaron Tkachyk and senior Jamie Clogg were named to the honorable mention team.

The honorary teams were picked by area broadcasters.