WHITEFISH — The Whitefish boys (5-5 overall) weathered a second-half comeback from Plains (2-8) to come away with a 55-49 victory in a nonconference basketball game on Friday night.

The Bulldogs dominated early, scoring the first 11 points on the way to a 15-1 lead after seven minutes. Plains didn’t score a field goal until the second quarter, and trailed 27-14 at half before finding something that worked.

The Horsemen started their slow climb back with three minutes left in the third quarter, pushing the ball to forward James Rulison in the paint, the senior keying a 7-0 run that cut Whitefish’s lead to 36-30. Plains found its range from deep in the fourth quarter, hitting three 3-pointers before a Kyle Revier steal and lay up got the Horsemen within three points with two minutes to play.

Whitefish closed strong, holding Plains to just two points for the rest of the game, closing it out at the free-throw line.

“We came out strong in the first quarter then just started playing flat,” Whitefish coach Mark Casazza said.

“When we play offense well it’s when we’re playing defense with energy. Whenever we’re flat defensively, offensively we play flat. That’s kind of what it felt like to me. Our defense is what kick starts our offense.

“Hats off to Plains. Plains battled hard the whole game, fought back into it.”

Keaton Nicholson scored a game-high 17 points to lead Whitefish. EJ Havens scored 14 points and Art Doorn had 11. Alex Wilson had two points and six steals, including four takeaways in the fourth quarter alone to key a late defensive spark for the Bulldogs.

“His energy sparked the team,” Casazza said. “We got out in transition. When we get out in transition, that’s when we play well.”

Rulison scored 15 points to lead Plains. Aaron Baker had 13 points, with three 3s in the second half to jumpstart the Horsemen run.

“Plains hit some big shots from outside,” Casazza said. “They were scrappy and fought the whole game.”

Whitefish may have had its focus on the weekend, with rival Columbia Falls on the schedule for today. The Wildcats (6-2) are coming off a win over Class AA Glacier on Thursday.

Tipoff for the first Cat-Dog game of the year is set for 7 p.m. The girls game tips off at 5 p.m.

“There’s a big game tomorrow,” Casazza said. “We’ve got to regroup ... This is one of the biggest weekends of the entire year. It comes down to the game (against Columbia Falls). This is what it’s all about. We need everybody to show up tomorrow night.”

Plains    3    11    16    19    —    49

Whitefish    15    12    13    15    —    55

PLAINS — Ryan Ovitt 6, Aaron Baker 13, Kyle Reviet 9, James Rulison 15, Trent Brouillette 6.

WHITEFISH — Keaton Nicholson 17, Alex Wilson 2, EJ Havens 14, Art Doorn 11, Garrett Anderson 7.