Whitefish boys advance to Western A semis

by Daily Inter Lake
| February 27, 2020 11:14 PM

RONAN – Justin Conklin scored 20 points, including a trio of 3-pointers in the third quarter, and Whitefish knocked off Hamilton 49-42 at the Western B boys divisional Thursday.

The Bulldogs (8-12) advanced to Friday’s 8 p.m. semifinal against Browning (15-4), which outscored Dillon 19-4 in the fourth quarter of a 67-59 win in Thursday’s finale.

Frenchtown (17-3) and Butte Central (16-3) will meet in the 3:30 p.m. semifinal. Polson lost to Frenchtown 48-39 in the day’s first game. In the second game Ronan fell to Butte Central 56-30.

Polson (11-8) and Ronan (7-12) play a loser-out game at 9:30 a.m.

Whitefish 47, Hamilton 32

Conklin went 6-for-8 from the field, all behind the arc, to lead Whitefish. Sam Menicke (9 points) scored twice in the third period when the Bulldogs built a 35-28 lead.

Whitefish hit 10 fourth-quarter free throws to keep Hamilton at bay. The Bulldogs lost to Hamilton 51-41 earlier this season; they dropped their regular-season games with Browning by scores of 62-56 and 70-60.

Hamilton 9 6 13 14 - 42

Whitefish 4 13 18 14 - 49

HAMILTON (15-4) – Carson Rostad 12, Ausdtin Drake 6, Tyson Rostad 9, Eli Taylor 3, Trej Searle 10, Tyler Burrows 2.

WHITEFISH (8-12) – Bodie Smith 8, Justin Conklin 20, Jayce Cripe 7, Sam Menicke 9, Talon Holmquist 5.

Frenchtown 48, Polson 39

The Pirates went cold in the fourth quarter while Frenchtown sank 8 of 16 free throws to pull away from a 35-34 lead.

Colton Graham had a game-high 16 points for Polson (11-8). Zack Baker’s 11 points led the Broncs.

Frenchtown 15 8 12 13 - 48

Polson 9 12 13 5 - 39

FRENCHTOWN (17-3) – Cade Baker 9, Mason Pyron 7, Brandon Finley 3, Hank Rugg 7, Zack Baker 11, Devin Sheldon 7, Tel Arthur 4.

POLSON (11-8) – Gunner Grisak 4, Trevor Lake 6, Colton Graham 16, Bo Kelley 5, Jarrett Wilson 6, Ryker Wenderoth 2.

Western A Divisional

Ronan

(4 teams advance to State)

Thursday

Frenchtown 48, Polson 39

Butte Central 56, Ronan 30

Whitefish 49, Hamilton 42

Browning 67, Dillon 59

Friday

9:30 a.m. — Polson (11-8) vs. Ronan (7-12), loser-out

11 a.m. — Hamilton (15-4) vs. Dillon (7-13), loser-out

3:30 p.m. — Frenchtown (17-3) vs. Butte Central (16-3), semifinal

5 p.m. — Whitefish (8-12) vs. Browning (15-4), semifinala