Pirates out-gun 'Dogs in fourth

The Bulldogs were up four points and poised to open the conference schedule with a win when Polson's Tim Rausch simply took over the court.

The 6-foot forward dropped 15 of his game-leading 16 points on the Bulldogs in the fourth quarter to rally Polson to a 56-50 come-from-behind win Dec. 17 in Whitefish.

"(Rausch) is a competitor," Bulldog coach Mark Casazza said. "In the fourth quarter he came out on fire. Our lead just disappeared."

Rausch — the Northwest A conference's offensive MVP in football this season and currently the league's leading scorer on the hard court — opened the final period with two three-pointers, one which put Polson up by a point, and closed out the game with a series of strong drives to the hoop.

"We can't let those games slip away," Casazza said. "We have to play four great quarters. They were big, physical and they wore us down."

The Bulldogs (1-3, 0-1) jumped out to a seven-point lead in the first quarter behind the strong offensive play of Gage Vasquez, who finished the period with a nice basket in the final seconds to put Whitefish up 13-6.

Vasquez scored six points in the quarter and led Whitefish with 12 points overall.

"Gage needs to take 12 to 13 shots every game," Casazza said. "When he gets the ball, good things happen."

Polson outscored the 'Dogs 15-7 in the second period to go into the half up by one.

The third quarter was a seesaw battle with Whitefish coming out on top behind a couple of three-pointers from Cooper Olson and two key buckets from senior Austin Green.

With the 'Dogs clinging to a one-point lead late in the quarter, Olson, one of two freshman on the varsity roster, drained a base line three-pointer in front of the Whitefish bench.

Two minutes later, Green made a strong move up the gut of the lane and lobbed in a teardrop as time expired. The acrobatic shot gave the Bulldogs a dose of momentum going into the final frame up by four points.

Whitefish kept the game within striking distance in the fourth despite Rausch's extraordinary play.

With a minute left, Willie Roche knocked down a jumper from beyond the arc to cut Polson's lead to three.

Rausch countered with a lay up and two free throws to again extend the Pirates lead.

Mac Roche nailed a three-pointer in the closing seconds of the game to bring Whitefish within six points.

The 'Dogs don't play again until Jan. 2 when they take on Ronan at home.

"Ronan is circled on the calendar," Casazza said. "We know what kind of team we're going to be on Jan. 2."