Kaleb Johnson was named player of the week for his effort over the weekend. (Paul Sievers photo)

Boys extend streak to eight

By CHRIS PETERSON / Hungry Horse News

Defense. Defense. Defense. That was the word of the weekend as the Columbia Falls boys basketball team walloped Libby on the road 56-25 last Thursday and then hammered class B Eureka 76-24 Friday.

The Cats held the Loggers to just under 20 percent shooting from the field.

Eureka had a tougher time still, shooting just a shade over 15 percent from the field.

"Defensively we had a great weekend," coach Cary Finberg said.

The Cats out-rebounded the Loggers 35-20 and shot 50 percent from the field. Against Eureka it was more of the same as the Cats out-rebounded the Lions 44-20. In both games, Finberg emptied the bench.

Junior Kaleb Johnson was named player of the week with 27 points, 19 rebounds, four blocks and four assists over the two games. He also went 12-for-18 shooting. Johnson had nine against Libby and 18 against Eureka.

The lead scorer for the Cats against Libby was Michael Williams, who tallied 10.

The Cats are now 8-0 overall and 1-0 in conference.

Finberg said this team still has work to do. They had 19 turnovers against the Loggers, "and that's too many."

The boys face Ronan (1-6) and Whitefish (2-4) this weekend. The Ronan game is away Friday night. The Whitefish game is at home Saturday. Gametime is 4 p.m.

"These are two big games," Finberg said.

JV player of the week was Anthony Correa, who had 19 points against Libby and 10 against Eureka in two wins, 66-28 and 66-43 respectively.

Frosh player of the week was Austin Martin, who scored 19 over three games against Glacier, Libby and Eureka.