Wildcats nearly capture state title

Only two boys basketball teams are still playing in the final game of each Class A season, and Columbia Falls was one of them for the fourth time in the last nine years Saturday.

The Wildcats' berth in the state championship game against Beaverhead County (Dillon) proved that a team that was the No. 4 seed at divisionals can work its way to the state title contest. C-Falls opened state tourney play with a 61-44 victory over Corvallis last Thursday, then the Wildcats rallied past defending state champion Browning 64-55 on Friday.

Battling back from a 10-point deficit, C-Falls took a four-point lead over Dillon in Saturday's championship game at Four Seasons Arena in Great Falls, but the Beavers came back for a 54-50 win. It was Dillon's second state crown in the last three seasons.

It was not a game about winning and losing for everyone involved, including C-Falls head coach Cary Finberg. He was proud to be part of a championship game against a Dillon program that his brother, Craig, had coached for 20 years.

It was announced just before the tip-off that the state title game was dedicated to Craig Finberg, who is battling pancreatic cancer in Dillon.

C-Falls has won three state championships since the turn of the century, in 2003, 2005 and 2006. This was the fifth time that the Wildcats placed at state since the 2002-03 season.

On the court during pre-game warm-ups, all the players — on both C-Falls and Dillon teams — wore "Finny" T-shirts as a tribute to Craig Finberg.

"It was emotional for everybody, an emotional night for the crowd," Cary Finberg said. "It was a pretty special night all the way around. You look out and see all those Finny shirts and it was special."

A Dillon player was quoted as saying that "nobody can lose" in the title game.

"If you're going to lose to somebody I'm glad it was them," Finberg said of the Beavers, under Terry Thomas, a long-time coach with Craig Finberg at Dillon.

Getting to the free throw line was a key for Dillon in building a 10-point lead. The Beavers were 9-for-11 from the stripe in the first half while C-Falls was 2-for-2. Dillon led 27-20 at the break.

It was the Barth brothers — senior Tanner and freshman Austin — who sparked the Wildcats in the third quarter. Two Tanner free throws and a three-point play by Austin tied the game at 30-30. After trailing by three with a period to play, C-Falls took the lead twice on pairs of Mackey Nolan free throws.

Back-to-back field goals by senior Grant Getts gave the Wildcats a 45-41 lead, but the Beavers went on a 9-2 run for a 53-49 margin — sparked by the outside shooting of Brandon Boka, Pete Walde and Dakota Norris. Time ran out before the Wildcats could rally again.

"Dillon's kids had a lot of state tournament experience," Finberg said. "We were kind of tentative. Dillon is a great defensive team. Our kids battled and battled and battled.

"You have to give the Dillon kids credit for making the plays when they did."

Finberg was pleased with the fortitude shown by the Wildcats.

"The way we battled back and how we competed all tournament is a tribute to our kids," the coach said. "That's why they were in a position to win a state championship."

Nolan, one of our seniors on the Wildcat team, talked about how the team battled back from the 10-point deficit and take the lead.

"We started being a lot more aggressive and attacking the basket, driving more and not settling for outside jump shots," Nolan said. "If we would have done that the whole game we probably would have come out with a win."

C-Falls was 16-for-18 from the free throw line, going 14-for-16 in the second half. Dillon sank 14 of 19 charities and shot 51 percent from the field.

Getts was 7-for-11 from the field and led the Wildcats with 17 points. He had seven rebounds.

The blossoming Barth was 5-for-5 from the field and 6-for-7 from the foul line, netting 16 points. Junior Mitchell Wassam, who also had a solid state tourney, had eight rebounds and three assists. Nolan had eight points and three steals.

C-FALLS RALLIED from a 12-6 deficit in the first-round win over Corvallis, going on a 25-5 run for a 31-17 lead. The bulge was 39-20 at halftime. Nine Wildcats scored in the first half.

"We were converting our rebounds and steals to easy baskets and pushing the ball," Finberg said. "I'm real happy with the way we played."

Nolan paced C-Falls with 19 points, going 9-for-10 from the foul line, and seven assists. Wassam had 14 points, and Austin Barth grabbed eight rebounds and blocked several shots.

Browning had 12 offensive rebounds in the first half of the semifinal game and led 27-23 at halftime — with as many as 4,000 Running Indians fans in the stands.

Going 8-for-8 from the line in the third period, C-Falls led 45-39 with a quarter to go. The Running Indians got within 50-48, but junior Kyle Howell scored on a key putback for a seven-point Wildcat lead with two minutes remaining. Howell scored eight of his 12 points in the fourth period.

Nolan had a phenomenal game, netting 23 points and grabbing 13 rebounds and dishing out four assists. He was 8-for-11 from the field and 7-for-10 from the line.

"We felt like that was the championship game for us," Nolan said after he and his teammates watched the Running Indians put up 82 points in their first-round win over Laurel.

Tanner Barth had a great game off the bench, contributing nine points. Wassam had eight points, and Getts added seven points and nine rebounds.

"We withstood what they threw at us," Finberg said, adding that keeping Browning off the offensive boards in the second half was a key.

Columbia Falls 61, Corvallis 44

CORVALLIS — Drew Zeiler 1 1-2 3, Matt Smith 6 5-6 19, Rodee Anderson 3 2-3 10, Riley Bradshaw 0 1-2 1, Jordan Waldo 0 2-2 2, Dalton Sybrant 4 1-4 9. Totals 14 12-19 44.

COLUMBIA FALLS — Kyle Howell 1 0-0 2, Tanner Barth 2 1-2 6, Mackey Nolan 5 9-10 19, Austin Robbins 2 0-0 4, Austin Barth 1 3-4 5, Mitchell Wassam 7 0-0 14, Kaleb Johnson 1 0-0 2, Grant Getts 2 2-2 6, Michael Williams 1 0-0 3. Totals 22 15-18 61.

Corvallis    14      6    12    12 — 44

Columbia Falls    16    23    10    12 — 61

3-point goals: Smith 2, Anderson 2; T. Barth, Williams. Total fouls: Corvallis 19, C-Falls 17. Fouled out: Sybrant.

Columbia Falls 64, Browning 55

COLUMBIA FALLS — Howell 5 1-2 12, T. Barth 2 5-6 9, Nolan 8 7-10 23, A. Barth 2 0-0 4, Wassam 3 2-2 8, Johnson 0 1-2 1, Getts 0 7-8 7. Totals 20 23-31 64.

BROWNING — Lyle St. Goddard 6 0-0 15, Shane Red Crow 0 0-2 0, Jeremy Foundagun 3 1-2 7, AJ St. Goddard 3 0-2 6, Sonny Deroche 2 1-2 5, Cody Edwards 1 5-6 7, Daniel Calf Boss Ribs 6 2-2 15. Totals 21 9-16 55.

Columbia Falls    10    13    22    19 — 64

Browning    13    14    12    16 — 55

3-point goals: Howell; L. St. Goddard 3, Calf Boss Ribs. Total fouls: C-Falls 13, Browning 24. Fouled out: A. Barth.

Dillon 54, Columbia Falls 50

COLUMBIA FALLS — Howell 0 0-0 0, T. Barth 0 2-2 2, Matt Triplett 0 0-0 0, Nolan 2 4-4 8, Robbins 0 0-0 0, A. Barth 5 6-7 16, Wassam 3 1-2 7, Johnson 0 0-0 0, Getts 7 3-3 17, Williams 0 0-0 0. Totals 17 16-18 50.

DILLON — Bryce Carver 4 5-6 13, Dakota Norris 3 3-3 9, Brandon Boka 5 1-2 16, Toby Shepard 1 1-2 3, Pete Walde 3 4-6 9, Trevor Rehm 2 0-0 4. Totals 16 14-19 54.

Columbia Falls    10    10    12    18 — 50

Dillon    15    12    8    19 — 54

3-point goals: Boka 5, Walde. Total fouls: C-Falls 17, Dillon 18. Fouled out: Wassam; Rehm.