Vikings edge Cats, Cats wallop Pirates

The Columbia Falls boys basketball team had an up and down week. At home on Jan. 31, they lost a squeaker to Class B Bigfork, 48-47, but two days later they dropped Polson 57-35 in a Feb. 2 away game.

The loss to Bigfork was the first in 11 seasons. The game was close throughout. Late in the fourth quarter, the Wildcats had a chance to tie when Jared Trinastich was fouled. He made the first free throw but missed the second.

Bigfork clung to a one-point lead with a little more than 30 seconds left. But the Cats had to foul the Vikings three times in order to put Bigfork into the penalty and get the ball back.

After about 20 seconds of fouling, Bigfork went to the line, missed the front end of a none and one, and the Cats got the ball back with about 12 seconds left.

Point guard Alex Presnell kept the ball for the final shot. He drove down to the baseline, but his floater didn’t drop from about 12 feet out. Game over.

The Cats had some nice bench play in the game from Trevor Houston and Nakia Alexander. Houston dropped nine and had a key steal in the fourth quarter, while Alexander led the Cats with 10.

“I was a little disappointed with the offensive production,” coach Cary Finberg said. He noted that Alexnader and Houston accounted for eight of the Cats 13 field goals. It was a positive to see them playing well, but also meant the starters were shooting cold. He also gave credit to Bigfork, noting they were a good basketball team and their length gave the Cats problems. Defensively, he said the team played well and kept them in the game.

Against Polson, the Cats spread the scoring around. Trinastich led the way with 14, followed by Luke Kazlauskas with 10. Houston had another solid game with nine points. Finberg noted this was the sort of effort the team needs. They had 20 assists and shot 50 percent from the field. The two stats go hand-in-hand. This team has to move the ball around to be successful.

The boys are now 10-5 overall and 5-1 in conference play. They face Class B Ronan at home Friday night and then look to avenge their only conference loss as they face Whitefish on Saturday. Both games have 8 p.m. starts.

Against the Bulldogs, the Cats will have to shoot better. Last time they met they only shot 27 percent from the field, Finberg said. He expects they’ll play much better.

“I have the confidence in the world this group will be up for this game,” he said.

Bigfork 10 14 9 15 — 48

Columbia Falls 10 14 7 16 — 47

Bigfork - Seth Roessmann 2 4-7 9, Tyler Kirby 3 2-5 8, Christian Evans 4 0-1 8, Chris Landon 4 0-0 8, Josh Sandry 2 0-0 4, Logan Lamm 2 0-0 4, Cameron Nissen 2 0-0 4, Austin Jordt 1 2-2 3. Totals 20 7-15 48.

Columbia Falls - Nakia Alexander 4 1-2 10, Alex Presnell 3 3-3 9, Jared Trinastich 1 7-10 9, Trevor Houston 4 0-0 8, Luke Kazlauskas 0 6-6 6, Austin Martin 1 2-2 4, Austin Kimmet 0 1-2 1. Totals 13 20-25 47.

Columbia Falls 8 17 18 13 — 57

Polson 4 12 13 6— 35

Columbia Falls — Alex Presnell, 3, Trevor Houston, 9, Jayce Fagerland, 4, Austin Martin, 4, Colin King, 3, Luke Kazlauskas, 10, Nakia Alexander, 5, Ty Morgan 3, Mason Gedlaman, 1, Jared Trinastich, 14.

Polson — Cedereick Smith, 8, Will Davey, 4, Cedric Earthboy, 2, Dyllan Kelley, 6, Hayden Congdon, 7, Riley Sampson, 8.