Cats edged by Bulldogs, 61-58

It was not a conference win for Columbia Falls in Friday’s boys game against Whitefish, but coach

Cary Finberg feels the Wildcats are headed in the right direction late in the basketball season.

Whitefish rallied from a 10-point second-period deficit and used solid free throw shooting for a 61-58 Northwestern A Conference win at CFHS. That extended the Bulldogs’ win streak to 11 games.

CFHS will have the No. 4 or 5 seed and will play a first-round game on Feb. 26 at Glacier High School. The Wildcats have a 3-5 league mark going into Thursday’s game at Bigfork; the Cats host Ronan on Saturday.

CFHS doubled Frenchtown in the first quarter and led 36-15 at halftime last Thursday in Frenchtown, and the Cats rolled to a 71-48 win.

Free throws played a key role in the CFHS-Whitefish game, as the Bulldogs converted 16 of 18 and the Cats were 10-for-16.

“The 10-point lead disappeared to four in less than 10 seconds,” Finberg said. “That’s a huge turning point in momentum.”

Josh Backer sank two free throws for a 58-56 Bulldogs lead with :41 left, then the Cats suffered a key turnover. Backer was fouled and made one of two free throws.

After two CFHS time outs, the Cats missed a shot but got the ball back on an inbound play. Matt Triplett took the pass inside and was fouled. His two free throws cut the deficit to 59-58 with 6 seconds remaining.

Aaron Tkaychk was fouled and sank two free throws with :04 to go. Nolan’s 21-footer at the buzzer was off line, and Whitefish had the win.

“Last week was a positive sign as far as the kids playing hard and getting after it. We have to continue it this week,” he said.

CFHS dominated the boards, outrebounding the Bulldogs, 32-17, including 14-4 on the offensive end. Getts led the Cats with eight rebounds.

Kyle Howell led the Cats with 12 points, and Mackey Nolan had 11 points and four steals.

Finberg said freshman Austin Barth played very well against both Whitefish and Frenchtown. He had four assists and no turnovers in Friday’s game.

Idol led Whitefish with 24 points. Backer added 11.

THE CATS led Frenchtown 18-9 after one period last Thursday and led by 21 at halftime.

“We responded from the previous week,” Finberg said. “We played with intensity and energy. We did it for the entire game.”

A focus was getting the ball inside. They did, as the Cats were 25-for-35 from the charity stripe.

CFHS was 21-for-41 from the field, just over 50 percent, and outrebounded the Broncs, 30-25. Getts led in rebounds with seven.

Nolan paced the Cats in scoring with 16 points. Howell had 13. Mitchell Wassam had seven assists and no turnovers.

Finberg said sophomore Kaleb Johnson and Barth were both “tremendous” against Frenchtown. Johnson had a career-high 11 points in eight minutes of court time. Barth had nine points and three steals in 13 minutes.

COLUMBIA FALLS (71)

Kyle Howell 4 3-4 13, Tanner Barth 1 0-0 3, Matt Triplett 1 2-2 4, Nick Emerson 0 2-2 2, Mackey Nolan 4 7-9 16, Austin Robbins 0 0-2 0, Austin Barth 3 3-6 9, Mitchell Wassam 1 2-2 4, Kaleb Johnson 4 3-3 11, Grant Getts 2 1-1 5, Michael Williams 1 2-2 4. Totals 21 25-35 71.

FRENCHTOWN (48)

Cody Kirk 5 0-0 11, Tyler Normand 1 0-0 2, Daniel Aichlimayr 1 0-0 2, Carson Hochhalter 1 0-0 3, Derrick Dauenhauer 1 1-1 3, Tyler Wilde 1 0-0 2, Richard Weber 2 0-0 4, Jack Willis 3 0-0 6, Jake Anderson 6 3-13 15. Totals 21 4-13 48.

Columbia Falls    18    18    19    16 — 71

Frenchtown    9    6    22    11 — 48

3-point goals: Howell 2, T. Barth, Nolan; Kirk, Hochhalter. Total fouls: Columbia Falls 14, Frenchtown 24.

WHITEFISH (61)

Matt Whitehead 2 0-0 6, Aaron Tkaychk 3 2-2 8, Willie Roche 1 1-1 3, Josh Backer 2 7-9 11, Connor Silliker 1 0-0 2, Colt Idol 9 5-5 24, David FauntLeRoy 3 1-1 7. Totals 21 16-18 61.

COLUMBIA FALLS (58)

Howell 3 4-4 12, T. Barth 3 1-1 8, Triplett 0 2-2 2, Nolan 5 1-4 11, Robbins 4 1-1 9, A. Barth 2 0-2 4, Wassam 3 0-0 7, Getts 2 1-2 5. Totals 22 10-16 58.

Whitefish    14    17    9    21 — 61

Columbia Falls    16    19    6    17 — 58

3-point goals: Whitehead 2, Idol; Howell 2, T. Barth, Wassam. Total fouls: Whitefish 16, Columbia Falls 17. Fouled out: none.