Cats reload for another season, big and fast

The Columbia Falls boys basketball team looks to be in the thick of things again this year. Like the girls team, they have a host of returning talent, but coach Cary Finberg cautions they can’t just assume they’ll have another state title run.

The Wildcats won the school’s fifth state Class A title last season, and they return senior guards Ty Morgan, Trevor Houston and Jayce Fagerland, as well as junior forwards Grant Stenger and Grant Wallace. Those five will make up the team’s starting lineup to begin the season.

They also have seniors Austin Kimmet, Will Johnson, Logan Williams and Justice McManus. The team could also see good things from guard Glenn Morden coming off the bench.

A couple of Cats won’t be able to play the first four games of the year, as they’re ineligible for breaking the school’s alcohol policy during football season. Finberg called it a distraction the team didn’t need, but it’s also an opportunity for other players to step up.

The Cats need to be prepared to see the best out of every opponent they face.

“It’s hard to repeat a state title,” Finberg said. “They’ve got a bulls-eye on their chest.”

But the goal is the same every year — improve in every game, make it to state and give themselves a chance to win.

Wallace and Stenger should be extremely tough in the post. Both are 6-foot-7 inches. Morgan is a sharp-shooter at the point — last season, if he didn’t make the shot, he tried to draw the foul, where he was deadly from the line, particularly in the state tournament.

The Cats will be tested early. They face a tough team in Corvallis this Saturday at home. The Blue Devils have 6-foot-4, 235 pound Jesse Sims, who has already signed with Oregon State to play football. Game time is 4 p.m.

The Cats then face Flathead at home Dec. 11, followed by a Dec. 12-13 road trip for the annual Northwest-Southwest Tip-Off tournament, where they’ll face Dillon and Stevensville. The Cats beat Dillon in the state championship game last year.