The Bulldogs split two nailbiters over the weekend, defeating Flathead 49-46 Friday, but falling to Hamilton 80-70 on Saturday.

The Bulldogs outscored the Braves 9-6 in overtime in a game that saw several lead changes throughout the game. Sawyer Silliker led the Dogs in scoring with 20 points and Derek Kastella added 17.

“It was good to get a win against Flathead,” head coach Sean Duff said. “It’s good for the confidence of the kids, if we would’ve lost it would’ve been three straight games by three points or less. It was good to come out on top.”

The energy from that win carried over to Saturday’s hot start against Hamilton. Whitefish scored 28 points in the first quarter alone and went to the locker room at half with a 40-36 lead. Both teams combined for 15 three pointers made in the first half — seven of those by the Bulldogs — in an impressive display of shooting.

“I’ve coached basketball for 30 years and never seen two teams shoot quite like that,” Duff said.

Whitefish lost a double-digit lead in the third quarter and went into the fourth tied, but Duff said his kids just ran out of gas in the tail end of a back-to-back as they lost by 10.

The senior pair of Kastella and Silliker, with 24 and 23 points, combined for 47 points on nine three pointers in the loss.

Duff said he was impressed with his team’s shooting ability in the face of great team defense.

“Give our kids credit, we matched them shot for shot,” Duff said. “They’re 8-0. It’s great for our psyche to be 1-1 when we’re playing AA Flathead and an 8-0 Hamilton.”

The Bulldogs (2-5) host rival Columbia Falls (1-7) Thursday night to open Northwest A conference play before traveling to Thompson Falls on Saturday. The Wildcats have had a rocky start to their season, but Duff said his team will still need to bring their best in the rivalry matchup.

“They’re so well coached. They’re going to be fundamentally solid. They’ve got a couple kids you’ve gotta watch out for. It’s a rivalry game, so anything goes,” Duff said.

Whitefish 11 10 14 5 9 — 49

Flathead 7 13 14 6 6 — 46

WHITEFISH — Derek Kastella 5 6-7 17, Sawyer Silliker 9 1-2 20, Ryan Kemm 0 2-2 2, Lee Walburn 1 0-0 2, Dillon Botner 3 2-2 8. Totals: 18 11-13 49.

FLATHEAD — Cade White 0 1-2 1, Cooper Barrett 1 1-2 4, Wyatt Potter 5 0-0 13, Bridger Johnson 1 0-1 2, Eric Seaman 3 0-2 6, Tyler Johnson 4 2-4 11, Sam Elliott 4 1-2 9. Totals: 18 5-13 46.

3-point goals—Whitefish 2-13 (Kastella, Silliker), Flathead 5-14 (Potter 3, Barrett, Tyler Johnson). Rebounds—Whitefish 42 (Silliker 11), Flathead 31 (Elliott 8). Total fouls—Whitefish 14, Flathead 15. Fouled out—none.

Hamilton 17 19 21 23 — 80

Whitefish 28 12 17 13 — 70

HAMILTON — Camron Rothie 6, Bridger Bauder 3, Ky Burch 13, Tyler Chouinard 3, Hunter Omlid 15, Jaylen Taggart 4, Tanner Goligoski 18, Carter Kearns 18.

WHITEFISH — Derek Kastella 24, Sawyer Silliker 23, Ryan Kemm 7, Lee Walburn 14, Dillon Botner 2.