Cats drop Panthers in squeaker

The Columbia Falls boys basketball team lived to see another day at the state Class A tournament after Ty Morgan hit two free throws with 1.2 seconds left to give the Wildcats a 66-64 victory over the Belgrade Panthers on Friday in Bozeman.

The score was tied with 24 seconds left as the Cats played for the game-winning shot at the Brick Breeden Fieldhouse on the Montana State University campus.

As time wound down, the Cats played for the last shot. Morgan drove to the basket and was fouled. Morgan went 7 of 10 from the free throw line in the contest but had another tough game shooting from the floor.

The Cats were led by Grant Wallace, who scored 23 points and had eight rebounds. Jayce Fagerland was 6 of 8 from beyond the three-point arc, as he scored 22 points and had five steals.

The Cats led by as many as six in the fourth quarter, but Belgrade scored 24 points in the quarter to tie the game up.

The Cats will play the loser of the Havre-Dillon game tomorrow at 11 a.m. to determine who will go to the consolation championship.