CFHS boys open with win over Corvallis
By CHRIS PETERSON / Hungry Horse News
The Columbia Falls boys basketball team split the bill to open the season, beating Corvallis 63-51 in the nightcap Friday at CFHS, then losing to Dillon on Saturday 68-47 in the early afternoon game in Whitefish.
Against Corvallis, the Wildcats were outsized, but made up for it with speed and steals.
Chase Fairbank led the team with 17 points, followed by Chase Grilley and Grant Getts with 13 each. Mackey Nolan had eight, Cody Bowman four, Zane Ridings three and Mitchell Wassam two. Grilley had seven boards, Wassam six, and Fairbank went 7-for-11 from the field with seven assists and two steals. Nolan also had five boards, five assists and five steals.
The Cats held Corvallis to just six points in the second period. Against Dillon, it was the Cats who had a lousy second period, scoring just five points in the stanza.
Leading the scoring was Getts with 10, followed by Grilley with nine, Nolan eight, Wassam and Michael Williams six each, Bowman, Ridings and Austin Robbins two each, and Tanner Perry and Tanner Barth each had one point.
Getts also had five boards against Corvallis and six against Dillon.
The Cats may have been a little tired. Coming off a game that ended close to 10 p.m., they turned around and played a game early Saturday afternoon. Dillon, meanwhile, had played their game first thing Friday morning.
Still, that wasn't an excuse, coach Cary Finberg said.
"Overall I wasn't real happy with our defensive intensity," Finberg said.
He said there were too many missed assignments. Too many kids out of position — even in the Corvallis game.
Finberg is looking at a lot of players early in the season. Against Corvallis, all but two players saw floor time. Finberg was impressed with Getts' play over the weekend.
"I thought he did a great job," he said. He said Williams also did a good job coming off the bench against Dillon.
Some starting positions could be up for grabs in the coming weeks.
"We had some kids that were hit and miss," Finberg noted.
The Cats are now 1-1 on the season and face Flathead at home Thursday at 8 p.m.
Flathead has one of the top players in the state in Brock Osweiler, a 6-foot-8, 225-pound center who has already verbally committed to Gonzaga University.
"You don't stop a kid like that," Finberg said.
The Cats will press Flathead and hope their guards aren't shooting well. They've actually beaten an Osweiler team in the past, but he was a freshman. Last year the Cats lost their December game to Flathead by 11.
Corvallis 16 6 15 14 — 51
Columbia Falls 21 11 14 17 — 63
CORVALLIS — Branden Bowles 9, Matt Smith 8, Nick Stoker 6, Daldon Sybrant 8, Garrett Morris 8, Casey Seamen 4.
COLUMBIA FALLS — Chase Fairbank 17, Chase Grilley 16, Mitchell Wassam 2, Mackey Nolan 8, Zane Ridings 3, Grant Getts 13, Cody Bowman 4.
Dillon 12 22 14 20 — 68
Columbia Falls 10 5 16 16 — 47
DILLON — Bryce Carver 18, Tommy Goins 13, Brandon Boka 8, Stephen Resset 4, Brock Myllymaki 7, Garret Banning 4, Dylan Whiting 4, Corey Eisenzimer 10.
COLUMBIA FALLS — Tanner Perry 1, Bowman 2, Tanner Bratt 1, Ridings 2, Nolan 8, Austin Robbins 2, Grilley 9, Wassam 6, Getts 10, Michael Williams 6.