Cats fall to Libby, Polson; drop to 3-4 in league

Cary Finberg could not resist digging out old boys basketball scorebooks from the 2001-02 and 2003-04 seasons after the coach’s Columbia Falls team lost to both Libby and Polson last week.

It was the first time the Wildcats lost a home-court conference game since December 2003, and the last time the Cats suffered two league losses in the same week was December 2001.

The Cats left their shooting touch at home last Thursday, losing at Libby 37-33, despite a fourth-quarter rally. CFHS shot very well in the first period Saturday against Polson on Larry Schmautz Memorial Court, but the Pirates made it a sweep of the Cats with a 55-49 win.

CFHS takes a 3-4 Northwestern A Conference and 8-6 overall mark into today’s (Thursday) non-league game at Frenchtown. The Cats host league foe Whitefish on Friday.

“We didn’t seem to play with any emotion,” Finberg said of the pair of losses. “It didn’t seem like we cared and it showed … It was disappointing and very frustrating.”

Against Libby, the Cats trailed 18-14 at halftime. The deficit was 30-18 with a period to play. The Cats got within two on a Mackey Nolan 3-pointer, then Joel Fuller made one of two free throws for the Loggers. After a CFHS time out with :07 to go, Fuller made a steal and time ran out on the Cats.

Free throws were a key in the game. Libby was 9-for-23, and CFHS 6-for-9.

“Our inability to attack the basket was huge,” Finberg said. “We were too busy playing and standing on the perimeter.”

CFHS had 19 turnovers to Libby’s 12.

The Cats won the board battle, 24-22, but the Loggers had three more offensive rebounds. Mitchell Wassam led CFHS with eight rebounds and had four assists.

SATURDAY’S GAME between the Cats and Pirates featured a 3-point barrage in the opening period as the team combined for eight treys — by six difference players.

“The first quarter was kind of a trap for us,” Finberg said. “We weren’t very active inside and it caught up with us.”

CFHS had only one offensive rebound through three quarters.

While Libby was 17-for-21 from the foul line, the Cats had just eight free throws, making five.

Nolan hit five 3-pointers and led the Cats with a season-high 24 points. He also had five assists and six rebounds.

Sophomore Kyle Bagnell paced Polson with 19 points, and Craig Bagnell added 12.

Finberg is hoping the Cats will rebound against Frenchtown, then play well against Whitefish.

“We have to get back to playing with emotion and getting after it,” the coach said.

COLUMBIA FALLS (34)

Kyle Howell 2 0-0 4, Matt Triplett 2 0-0 4, Mackey Nolan 3 2-3 9, Austin Robbins 1 1-2 3, Austin Barth 0 1-2 1, Mitchell Wassam 2 0-0 4, Grant Getts 3 2-2 9. Totals 13 6-9 34.

LIBBY (37)

Maloney 0 2-2 2, Benson 4 2-4 11, May 1 3-6 5, Joel Fuller 2 1-2 5, Cannon 2 1-3 6, Broden 1 0-0 2, Cislo 3 0-3 6. Totals 13 9-20 37.

Columbia Falls    4    10      4    16 — 34

Libby    5    13    12      7 — 37

3-point goals: Nolan, Getts. Total fouls: Columbia Falls 20, Libby 11. Fouled out: none.

POLSON (55)

Craig Bagnell 3 6-7 12, Kyle Bagnell 7 2-2 19, Waylon Michel 3 0-0 8, Tim Rausch 1 5-6 7, Louis Mohr 1 0-0 3, Ryan Kelley 1 4-6 6. Totals 16 17-21 55.

COLUMBIA FALLS (49)

Howell 2 1-2 6, Triplett 1 1-1 3, Nolan 8 3-3 24, Robbins 2 0-0 4, Wassam 1 0-0 3, Kaleb Johnson 0 1-3 1, Getts 2 0-0 6, Michael Williams 1 0-0 2. Totals 17 6-9 49.

Polson    16    15    7    17 — 55

Columbia Falls    17      6    5    21 — 49

3-point goals: K. Bagnell 3, Michel 2, Mohr; Howell, Nolan 5, Wassam, Getts 2. Total fouls: Polson 8, Columbia Falls 17. Fouled out: none.