Cats drop Loggers, Lions at home, now 6-1

The Columbia Falls boys basketball team rolled over Eureka and Libby last week at home. The Wildcats dropped the Class B Lions 77-58 on Jan. 2 and then hammered conference rival Libby 69-24 the next day.

Ty Morgan had 23 points against Libby, and Grant Wallace had 20 against Eureka to lead the Cats. Morgan tallied 15 against the Lions had eight rebounds, seven assists and three steals with no turnovers. Wallace had eight boards and Stenger had 14 points and six boards against the Lions. The Cats won the battle of boards, out-rebounding the Lions 33-19.

Eureka actually played a better game than the score would suggest, but they were doomed by a poor first quarter when Columbia Falls ran out to a 18-6 lead.

The Cats had no problems with Loggers. Libby only scored nine points in the first half, and by the second half coach Cary Finberg had emptied the bench as the game clock ran under the mercy rule. Finberg said the boys did what they needed to do in both games — playing solid defense while shooting the ball well.

Against Libby the boys forced 25 turnovers while only committing 10. They also out-rebounded the hapless Loggers 36-21. Libby had yet to win a game this year.

The Cats will face tougher competition this week when they travel to Bigfork on Thursday night. Bigfork is one of the strongest Class B teams in the state. The Vikings beat the Cats twice last season. The Cats then go on the road again to face Polson on Saturday.

“Both games are good challenges for us,” Finberg said,

The boys have the best Class A record in the state at 6-1 overall.

Libby 4 5 5 10 —  24

Columbia Falls 21 14 12 22 — 69

LIBBY — Jonny Cielak 6, Collin Johnson 2, Zander Petersen 7, Erik Lauer 9.

COLUMBIA FALLS — Nathan Riley 2, Trevor Houston 5, Grant Stenger 10, Jayce Fagerland 5, Tyler Murphy 5, Ty Morgan 23, Logan Williams 4, Grant Wallace 10, Will Johnson 5.

Eureka 6 17 18 17 — 58

Columbia Falls 18 16 17 26 — 77

EUREKA — Trey Bohne 23, Chase Bohne 22, RJ Glover 10, Brandon Conard 3.

COLUMBIA FALLS — Trevor Houston 6, Grant Stenger 14, Jayce Fagerland 10, Ty Morgan 15, Logan Williams 8, Grant Wallace 20, Will Johnson 4.