Cats claw Loggers, Pirates; go to 3-0 in NW A

By CHRIS PETERSON - Hungry Horse News

They needed two home wins. They got two home wins. Now the Columbia Falls boys basketball team is tops in the conference at 3-0 and 5-3 overall and looking for two road wins this week — wins that could be harder to come by.

The Cats beat Libby 59-53 Friday night and Polson 53-47 Saturday night.

Against Libby, the Cats were led by Zane Ridings, who has his best scoring game yet, with 14 points, followed by Mackey Nolan with 12. Also in the scoring column were Chase Grilley with 11, Michael Williams seven, Austin Robbins four, Mitchell Wassam three, and Chase Fairbank, Kyle Howell, Cody Bowman and Grant Getts had two apiece.

Libby’s Jim Mee still scored 25, but the Cats did a good job on the boards, got an early lead and then held off a late Libby rally for the win.

Against Polson, the Cats came back from a five-point deficit midway through the fourth quarter to beat the Pirates. Polson tried its best to slow down the game, but the Cats kept the press on and the defense held the Pirates in check.

Grilley led the Cats with 15 points, Bowman had 11, Getts seven, Nolan six, Ridings four and Robbins had two.

“We held court, so to speak,” said coach Cary Finberg. “I don’t think we played great, but we played hard… We’re headed in the right direction, we just have to continue to get better.”

Against Libby, the Cats outrebounded the bigger Logger team, 37-29, using their speed to outmatch Libby’s brawn.

Finberg gave kudos to sophomore Michael Williams, who came off the bench to score seven points and grab three rebounds. Ridings had his best game of the season as well. The seniors on this team are starting to step up.

Against Polson, Bowman went 3-for-3 from beyond the 3-point line and also had three steals, Finberg noted. Fairbank also had seven rebounds and four assists.

CFHS had only 10 turnovers to 14 by Polson.

The Cats travel to Whitefish tonight (Thursday) and Ronan on Friday night.

“Now we have to see what we can do on the road,” Finberg said.

Both games should be tough. Though Whitefish has yet to win a conference game, that gym is always tough to play in.

Traveling to Ronan should be equally difficult. The Chiefs are a solid team with a 2-1 conference record. They lead the conference in field goal percentage at 51 percent and shoot as a team about 66 percent from the line. They also lead the league in points per game at 73.

In short, the game ought to be a barn burner.

LIBBY

Mee 8 4-5 25, Fuller 4 2-2 11, Cooper 3 3-5 9, Gragert 3 2-3 6, Rowan 0 0-0 0, May 0 2-4 2. Totals 17 13-19 53.

COLUMBIA FALLS (2-0, 4-3)

Ridings 5 1-2 14, Nolan 5 2-4 12, Grilley 4 3-6 11, Williams 3 0-0 7, Robbins 2 0-0 4, Wassam 1 1-2 3, Getts 1 0-0 2, Howell 1 0-0 2, Fairbank 1 0-1 2, Bowman 0 2-4 2. Totals 23 9-18 59.

Libby 17 9 12 15 — 53

Columbia Falls 18 13 13 15 — 59

3-point goals: Mee 5, Fuller; Ridings 3, Williams. Team fouls: Libby 18, CF 19. Fouled out: Rowan, Mee.

POLSON (4-4, 3-1)

Bagnell 4 0-0 11, Rausch 2 4-4 10, Michel 1 0-0 3, Doyle 0 1-2 1, Rausch 2 1-2 5, Clairmont 1 0-0 3, Kelley 4 1-2 9, Langston 2 1-2 5. Totals 16 8-12 47.

COLUMBIA FALLS (5-3, 3-0)

Fairbank 3 2-3 8, Bowman 4 0-0 11, Ridings 1 2-2 4, Nolan 2 2-3 6, Grilley 6 1-2 15, Getts 2 3-3 7, Robbins 1 0-0 2. Totals 19 10-13 53.

Polson 12 11 13 11 — 47

Columbia Falls 9 19 8 17 — 53

3-point goals — Bagnell 3, J. Rausch 2, Michel, Clairmont; Bowman 3, Grilley 2. Team fouls: Polson 14, CF 14. Fouled out: Getts.