Cats barrel their way into state

"Three more games. Three more games," that was the chant of the Columbia Falls boys basketball team after they took the Northwest A Divisional crown last Saturday.

The Cats upended Polson in convincing fashion, 60-46 to earn a trip to state tournament in Butte this week.

The chant was a reference to the state tournament — the boys made it to the final last year, only to fall just short to Dillon, 54-50.

This year, all eyes are on the crown, more determined than ever. This year's state tournament is nearly a mirror of last year's — at least six of the teams that made it to state last year will be in it again. In short, the tournament looks to be a barn burner.

But coach Cary Finberg isn't looking beyond that first game against Laurel, who was ranked No. 1 in the state before they were knocked off in the eastern divisional final by Billings Central. Anyone who makes the state tournament is going to be a tough opponent, Finberg noted.

"Regardless of who we play, they'll be a good team and they'll deserve to be there," he said.

Laurel didn't get into the tourney until they won a challenge game Monday against Glendive.

Finberg likes the Cats' chances.

"If we can defend and rebound like we have all year long and take care of the ball like we did this weekend, we can go down there and do some things," he said.

The Cats left no doubt about who was best in the Northwest.

They hammered Ronan 64-36 Friday to make the final, led by senior Mitchell Wassam with 16 points. Austin Barth tallied 13 and Kaleb Johnson had 12.

The Cats out-rebounded the Chiefs 36-17. Barth had 12, Johnson had 11, Wassam had five.

Against Polson, it was more defense, as the Cats held the Pirates to just 31 percent shooting and had a rebounding advantage 32-28.

Kyle Howell led the scoring with 18 points. Five players had four or more rebounds and Mitchell Wassam came out of the game hot to tally 13 points total. Michael Williams also had the best game of his career, with 10 points, four rebounds and three steals.

The Cats shot out to an early lead, but Polson cut the margin to six at the half. But the Cats responded with a big third quarter, outscoring Polson 19-12. The Pirates would cut the margin to nine with five minutes left in the game, but that was as close as they would get.

The Cats are having just one problem. They're inconsistent from the free throw line. They shot 10 of 20 from the line against Polson.

Since 2002, Columbia Falls has made its mark at state. They won titles in '03, '05, '06, placed third in '02 and came in second last year.