Boys beat Eureka for first win of the season

The Columbia Falls boys basketball team finally got a win last week, dropping Class B Eureka 68-26 Saturday on the road.

“We got the monkey off our back,” first-year coach John Anderson said.

The Wildcats had three players in double figures. Nathan Riley had 19, Tyler Murphy had 12 and Steven DeCamp had his best game of the season with 15.

The Cats shot out to a 19-7 first quarter lead and never looked back in the blowout.

“The boys played a good all-around game,” Anderson said. He said before the game he told the team it didn’t matter who they played, they need to play their best and they answered.

The Cats had nine turnovers in the game, a vast improvement from games earlier this season when they consistently gave up double-digit turnovers. 

They also shot 55 percent from the floor.

The Cats face Class B Libby at home Friday and Polson Saturday. Libby is athletic and a good shooting team, Anderson said. But Polson is the key game. A win against the conference foe Pirates could turn the season in the right direction.

Polson is 3-2 overall. The Cats are now 1-6, with one conference loss — a loss to Frenchtown last month. Polson is 3-2 and a streaky-shooting squad. The Libby game starts at 7:30 p.m., Polson at 4 p.m.

Columbia Falls 19 16 24 9 — 68

Eureka 7 7 8 4 — 26

COLUMBIA FALLS — Nathan Riley 19, Austin Green 8, Kyler Burns 2, Tyler Murphy 12, Steven DeCamp 15, LJ Panasuk 3, Dakota Bridwell 3, Mason Tucker 4, DJ Schrade 2.

EUREKA — Jamie Good 4, Brad Stien 8, Moe Henderson 10, Sam Hannay 2, Jake Cardinale 2.