Whitefish seeded No. 1 for divisional tourney

By DAVID ERICKSON

Whitefish Pilot

The Whitefish boys basketball team closed out the 2008-2009 regular season with their 12th straight win on Thursday night, toppling Ronan 69-47.

The victory secured the Bulldogs the coveted No. 1 seed for the upcoming Northwestern A divisional basketball tournament, meaning they get a first-round bye.

Their first game will be on Friday at 2 p.m. at Glacier High School against the winner in the Columbia Falls-Ronan game. Libby secured the No. 2 seed, meaning they also get a bye.

The Bulldogs finished the year at 8-2 in the conference and 14-4 overall, with three of those losses coming early in the season by one point each. The ‘Dogs also won several games by close margins, including a  three-point victory over Columbia Falls on Feb. 13.

Thursday was Senior Night for Whitefish — the last game seniors David FauntLeRoy, Colt Idol, Josh Backer, Marc Hotzfield, Aaron Tkachyk, Alex Elespuru and Matt Whitehead would play in the ‘Dawg Pound. They did not disappoint.

Tkachyk was on fire with 20 points, including several long-range treys. He also had three blocks and three steals.

Hotzfield finished with seven points, Backer had six, and FauntLeRoy had four. Elespuru and Whitehead both created turnovers and had assists, while Idol led all scorers with 22 points.

Idol finished the regular season as the conference’s leading scorer with a 20.18 points-per-game average. He also had eight rebounds, and Backer had seven.

The Bulldogs will play their first game on Friday (tomorrow) at 2 p.m. at Glacier High School. Their opponent will be the winner of Thursday’s game between Columbia Falls and Ronan.

All-session passes for the tournament are for sale in the Whitefish High School office. Passes are $25 each for adults and students and allow you entrance into all boys and girls games. Only 100 tickets are available for pre-sale. Please make checks payable to Glacier High School.  These passes will also be available at the door for the same price or you may purchase single session tickets at the door. These will be $10 for adults and $8 for students. 

Ronan        8  15  8 16   - 47

Whitefish  15 12 20 22   - 69

Whitefish — Aaron Tkachyk 20, Willie Roche 6, Josh Backer 6, Marc Hotzfield 7, Connor Silliker 4, Colt Idol 22, David FauntLeRoy 4.

Ronan — Jarod Tanner 4, Mike Fisher 11, Dallas Cordier 8, Eddie Ness 11, Jay Sorrell 4, Nolan Harris 3, Kyle Hendrickx 6.