Cats lose to Vikings, beat Pirates, face Bulldogs

The Columbia Falls boys basketball team needed to shoot the lights out to beat Bigfork last week. But it didn’t happen, and the Wildcats lost to a very talented Vikings squad 53-42 at home Jan. 11.

The Wildcats shot just 32 percent — scoring only two points in the first quarter — as Bigfork edged the Cats in both size and athleticism.

Jared Trinastich led the Cats with 14 points and seven rebounds. Ty Morgan had 12 points. But the Cats didn’t have an answer for the Vikings’ Christian Evans, who scored 28. Evans measures in at 6-foot-7.

Coach Cary Finberg said the boys team has suffered from lulls in their performances all season long, and against a team like Bigfork, they just can’t let that happen.

The Cats got a conference win against Polson on Jan. 9, beating the Pirates 74-53 at home in a game that was closer than the score would suggest. Polson had a five-point lead late in the third, but the Cats went on a 14-2 run and wore out Polson, which had a thin bench.

Ty Morgan led the Cats with 23 points and was 6 of 9 from beyond the three-point arc.

The Cats are now 5-2 overall and will face a stiff test against Glacier High School on the road Thursday away and then Whitefish at home Saturday night.

In the meantime, the boys have some work to do, Finberg noted. They need to pass the ball better and play 32 minutes of defense.

“The Whitefish game is the biggest game of the year,” Finberg said.

Win it and the Cats are 2-1 in conference play. Lose it and it will be a hard road to hoe to secure their sixth straight Northwest Class A conference title.

Bigfork 10 11 13 19 — 53

Columbia Falls 2 11 9 20 — 42

BIGFORK — Christian Evans 28, Josh Sandry 14, Isaac Martel 9, Adam Jordt 2.

COLUMBIA FALLS — Jared Trinastich 14, Ty Morgan 12, Alex Presnell 5, Trevor Houston 5, Nakia Alexander 3, Jayce Fagerland 2, Mason Gedlaman 1.

Rebounds — Bigfork 30 (Evans 10, Sandry 8), Columbia Falls 19 (Trinastich 5).

Polson 9 19 14 11 — 53

Columbia Falls 17 12 20 25 — 74

POLSON — Hudson Smith 4, Cedrick Smith 11, Chris McDonald 6, Andrew Weltz 16, Zadin Bausta 6, Andrew Curley 8, Tanner Wilson 2.

COLUMBIA FALLS — Ty Morgan 23, Grant Wallace 10, Jared Trinastich 8, Alex Presnell 8, Grant Stenger 7, Jayce Fagerland 6, Nakia Alexander 5, Austin Kimmet 4, Trevor Houston 3.