Olson's trey sinks Braves in final seconds
All-out hustle kept Whitefish in it
against Class AA Flathead on Saturday night, but the long-ball
sealed the deal for the ‘Dogs.
Sophomore guard Cooper Olson drained
his third three-pointer of the night in front of the Whitefish
student section as time expired to give the Bulldogs a thrilling
55-54 win over the Braves at a packed Dawg House. With the sound of
the buzzer, Whitefish’s bench cleared along with the student
section as they swarmed Olson in the south corner of the gym.
“I’ve always wanted to hit a shot like
that,” Olson said after the game, “and I hit it at home with a big
crowd against a big AA team. It was awesome.”
Whitefish coach Mark Casazza drew up a
double screen for Kyler Blades, but the play broke down and Olson
ended up with the ball.
“We almost turned it over, but then I
got off a shot over two guys and it went in,” Olson said.
Olson played extensive time on the
varsity team as a freshman last year and proved his ability to hit
shots from beyond the arc. This season, the sophomore is seeing
more time on the court, especially around crunch time.
“We have the smallest guy on floor
shooting over the top of two of the biggest Braves,” Casazza said.
“He had confidence to knock it down with two kids in his face.”
The Bulldogs (4-2) opened a nine-point
lead by halftime, simply outhustling the Braves to nearly every
loose ball. On one sequence in the second period, Whitefish pulled
in three consecutive offensive rebounds before senior Alex Duroche
finally hit Gage Vasquez beneath the basket for an easy layup.
Vasquez led the team with 24 points.
“In the first half, they did all the
little things right,” Casazza said. “We had nine offensive boards
in second quarter alone. Rebounding is entirely effort. That’s a
good way to gauge how hard you’re playing.”
Later in the second, Duroche assisted
Mac Roche in a similar play in the post to put Whitefish up 18-13.
Olson closed the half with a three from the corner.
Flathead made a run in the third period
to tie the score at 35-35, then took the lead in the fourth.
“We came out flat in the third,”
Casazza said, “but in the fourth, the guys were confident and said
they were going to come back.”
Midway through the period, senior Drew
Galbraith put his mark on the game. Galbraith scrapped for a hard
putback with 3 minutes left to get the ‘Dogs within four points. A
minute later, he posted up the Braves’ big man and put in a bucket
to keep Whitefish close for the final minute.
Still down five, Olson connected on a
trey with 35 seconds left to make it 49-51. Vasquez then hit a
three-pointer from the top of the circle to put Whitefish up 52-51.
The Braves immediately responded with a fastbreak layup, forcing
the ‘Dogs to call a timeout and regroup for a final play.
Olson held the ball at the top of the
circle with 12 seconds, looking for an open teammate or a window to
shoot. He moved to his right and threw up the game-winning shot
from 23-feet over two of Flathead’s tallest defenders. Olson
finished with nine points.
Earlier in the week, Casazza and the
team attended long-time Bulldog supporter Randy Dawdy’s funeral.
They talked afterward about Dawdy and how he gave Bulldog sports
and Whitefish’s youth his best all the time.
“I told them, ‘every time we step on
floor we need to give it our best,’” Casazza said. “They did that.
They really responded. Of our four wins, in three we have been
trailing with less than 30 seconds to go. These guys find a way to
win.”
Casazza credited his coaching staff for
preparing the team properly for the battle with Flathead — a team
he says is one of the best in Class AA.
“Our program is only as strong as the
assistant coaches,” he said. “Credit goes to Tim Olson. He coaches
the offense in practice and does a great job of preparing
them.”