Tough week for Cats, lose to Bulldogs, Wolfpack
<p>Wildcat Grant Stenger has his shot blocked by Glacier High School's Ryan Edwards last week. The Cats had a tough time against the 7-footer, who will play for Gonzaga University next fall.</p>
The Columbia Falls boys had a rough week on the hard court, to say the least. The Wildcats were dumped by Class AA Glacier High School 67-42 on Jan. 10 and then upset by Whitefish 50-35 away on Jan. 12.
The loss to Glacier wasn’t necessarily unexpected. The Wolfpack is a very talented basketball team and features 7-footer Ryan Edwards, who swatted away three Columbia Falls shots in the first half alone. Even without Edwards, the Wolfpack was a very good team.
Still, the Cats hung in there at times, cutting Glacier’s lead to single digits on a couple of different occasions, only to see Glacier go on a run. Luke Kazlauskas led the team with 10 points.
“They (Glacier) were who we thought they were,” coach Cary Finberg said. In order to win, the boys needed to hit some outside shots and score some points in transition. They didn’t get either.
Against the Bulldogs, Columbia Falls had another one of its off quarters and never recovered.
“We were very passive taking it to the basket,” Finberg said. For 12 minutes they had a scoring drought from mid-way through the second to halfway through the third.
The game was tied at 19 apiece at the half, but Whitefish went on a 12-3 run in the third, and the Cats couldn’t muster one of their signature comebacks. Jared Trinastich led the scoring for the Cats with 13.
The Cats need to stop the scoring droughts.
“If it’s a trend that continues, it will bite us at the wrong time,” Finberg said.
The boys are now 6-3 overall, 2-1 in conference. They traveled to Flathead on Tuesday after presstime. The Cats are on the road again Saturday at Frenchtown for a key conference matchup. Frenchtown is a dangerous team — the last time the two met, the Broncs had a 15-1 lead in the first quarter, only to watch it evaporate by halftime.
Glacier 15 17 17 18 — 67
Columbia Falls 12 6 12 12 — 42
GLACIER — Kyle Griffith 6-13 0-0 13, Evan Epperly 2-5 1-3 6, Logan Iverson 3-7 1-2 8, Matt Peters 3-6 0-0 7, Ryan Edwards 7-9 1-2 15, Charlie Obermiller 1-3 0-0 2, Reid Siderius 4-4 1-2 10, Bryan Michaels 1-4 2-2 4, Kalen Reed 1-3 0-0 2. Totals: 28-55 6-11 67.
COLUMBIA FALLS — Alex Presnell 3-9 2-2 9, Luke Kazlauskas 3-9 4-6 10, Ty Morgan 3-5 2-2 9, Jared Trinastich 4-10 4-6 12, Mason Gedlaman 1-1 0-0 2. Totals: 14-41 12-28 42.
Columbia Falls 7 12 3 13 — 35
Whitefish 9 10 12 19 — 50
COLUMBIA FALLS — Alex Presnell 7, Grant Stenger 1, Austin Martin 3, Colin King 2, Luke Kazlauskas 4, Nakia Alexander 2, Ty Morgan 1, Mason Gedlaman 2, Jared Trinastich 13.
WHITEFISH — Keaton Nicholson 2, EJ Havens 8, Logan Harwood 14, Jace Kalbfleisch 6, Art Doorn 5, Cooper Olson 9, AJ Wetsch 2, Jake May 4.