Columbia Falls boys basketball: Boys gets first win at home with victory over Stevensville, then drop Eureka

By CHRIS PETERSON

Hungry Horse News

The Columbia Falls boys basketball team played one of their worst games of year and then played one of their best.

The Cats were drubbed by Frenchtown away last Thursday, 65-40, but bounced back at home Saturday night to beat Stevensville, 52-45 in what was their best game of the season.

Coach John Anderson said he was drinking his second cup of coffee on Saturday morning when he decided to implement a 1-3-1 zone against the Yellowjackets with Dakota Bridwell in the middle. It worked and the Cats had their best defensive effort of the season, with five blocks, nine steals and 10 defensive rebounds. They also had nine offensive rebounds. Nathan Riley led the team in scoring with 19. Sophomore Mason Tucker came off the bench and had a great game, with nine points and six rebounds — four of them on the offensive end. Logan Stephens also had nine points and the team also had just 12 turnovers.

The team still has a lot of work to do, Anderson noted, but it was good to see the young players progressing. The Cats came out flat against Frenchtown and the Broncs took it to them, outscoring Columbia Falls 30-8 in the third quarter alone.

Anderson said defensively, the team would likely stick to the zone the rest of the season and mix it up with man-to-man coverage when need be. The boys faced Class B Eureka at home Tuesday and walloped them 71-47 for their third win of the season.

The Cats are now 3-11 on the year and 0-4 in conference play. They have two conference games left — one against Polson and the other against Whitefish, both on the road.

Columbia Falls 7 8 7 18 — 40

Frenchtown 19 9 30 7 — 65

COLUMBIA FALLS – Nathan Riley 13, Austin Green 3, Kyler Burns 2, Tyler Murphy 8, Steven DeCamp 4, Quinton Schriver 1, Matthew Morrison 2, Mason Tucker 7.

FRENCHTOWN – Jacob Price 17, Andy Brooks 3, Kyle Smith 3, Brandon Rasor 2, Parker Spadt 5, Tyson Lucier 4, Austin Means 17, Andrew King 14.

Stevensville 14 6 12 13 — 45

Col. Falls 9 12 12 19 — 52

STEVENSVILLE — Liam LeCoure 6, Jarod Kingsbury 6, Colby Meeds 8, Dalton Bragg 10, Jordan Thomas 3, Cody Coleman 1, Bryce Torrey 11.

COLUMBIA FALLS — Nathan Riley 19, Logan Stephens 9, Austin Green 3, Kyler Burns 3, Tyler Murphy 2, Steven DeCamp 5, Mason Tucker 9, DJ Schrade 2.