Cats face Cinderella story in Browning, first round at state

The Columbia Falls Wildcats will get a little bit of their own style of play in the first round of the state A tourney.

The Cats face Browning -a team that employs a lot of the tactics as the Cats.

Browning is the Cinderella team of the tourney. Coming in with an 8-13 record, they managed to beat No. 2 Havre twice this year-once at the end of the regular season and once in the divisional tourney to make it to the finals.

Both games were close. The first time they won 75-71, and in the tourney the beat the Blue Ponies 77-72.

Browning coach Ray Augare said the Indians got walloped earlier in the year by Havre and so they worked on their press break and it helped in the next two games.

Browning, like the Wildcats, likes an up-tempo game with plenty of running.

"We like to get up and down the floor and create scoring opportunities with our guards," Augare said.

The big difference, however, is fouls.

Browning so far this year has given up a lot of fouls, Augare said.

In their loss to Butte Central in the Central A final, the Indians put Central on the line 30 times and they made 24.

They'll have to do better than that against Columbia Falls.

The Wildcats are excellent at wreaking havoc in the opposition's offense without putting them on the line. In a game earlier this season against Ronan, they actually had to foul them several times in the last minute just to put the Chiefs on the line so the Cats could get the ball back.

Browning will rely on guard Scott Rainingbird, who averages 14 points a game, and Andrew Sellers, a 6-5 forward post player who averages 18 points a game.

The Cats match up with Anthony Minson, at 6-5, averaging 12 points a game, Drew Perry with 14 points a game, Kevin Boyer with 12 and J.D. Fields with nine.

But the numbers are deceiving -any of those guys can and have broken out with 20-plus point games.

The lower averages are also a tribute to how well the Cats move the ball around.

But the Cats are taking no one for granted.

"Any team you play down there deserves to be there," said Cats' head coach Cary Finberg. "(But) We can play with anybody. If we play our game we're very confident we'll do well."

If the Cats get by Browning, the odds are they'll face the top-ranked team in the state in Sidney. Sidney has lost one game all season, but they also never played an AA opponent.

"I see state being wide open," said Sidney coach Rowley Sullivan. "It should be a great tournament. We're pretty well balanced. We have four kids who average in double figures."

Their big player, literally, is Tarrin Hillesland, a 6-7, 310-pound post player, who averages in double figures each game.

"His size makes him hard to guard. He helps our perimeter game," Sullivan said.

Last year, Sidney knocked the Cats out of the tourney. This year, the Cats will look for a little payback.

The Butte Civic Center floor should work to the Cats' advantage. It's a college court, which means it's 10 feet longer-perfect for a team that likes to run and push the ball.

But expect Sidney to press as well.

"We come after people as hard as we can," Sullivan said.

But Cats have another edge on other teams. It's an edge that sometimes gets them a little ribbing from their opponents, but it seems to work well.

The Cats have six coaches- Finberg, Mark Beckwith, his son Matt Beckwith, Dan Block, Greg Bauska and Finberg's nephew, Chris Finberg.

Both Chris and Matt have also played for Cary.

While it sounds like it could be a quagmire of opinions, it's worked out just the opposite.

All of these guys have either played or coached the same system for years now.

"Everyone is on the same page. We're all in it for the same thing," Finberg said of his coaching team. "That continuity is a huge advantage."

Game time against Browning is at 8 p.m.

The game will be broadcast on 1180 AM KOFI and will also be on television on Omega Television (Channel 97).