Boys drop to 1-8, lose heartbreaker to Loggers

The Columbia Falls boys basketball team had a rough weekend at home, losing to Class B Libby Friday in a game they should have won, 60-58. The next night they lost to conference rival Polson 58-43, in a game that was never close beyond the first quarter.

The Wildcats had a 16-point lead against the Loggers at the half, after they outscored Libby 29-3 in the second quarter.

But the Cats couldn’t hold the lead and Libby kept chipping away at the deficit. The Cats were still up by five with about 90 seconds remaining, but Libby put the Cats on the free throw line and Columbia Falls missed the free throws down the stretch. The Cats had one last gasp when Nathan Riley took what looked to be a three-point shot with seconds remaining. Riley was fouled on the play, but the referees ruled it was a pass, not a shot. So Riley only got two free throws instead of three. He made the first, clunked the second one off the rim on purpose to get the ball back. Austin Green grabbed the rebound, but his shot was off and time expired.

Coach John Anderson said the team simply didn’t execute on defense in the second half. They’re playing a “man-to-man” defense, but he explained it’s actually a zone, with the exception of the defender guarding the opponent with the ball. It has a learning curve, Anderson admitted, but he’s sticking with it.

“We’re building a program,” he said.

Against Polson, the Cats looked a bit flat coming off the Libby loss. Anderson noted that a couple of players were suffering from illness as well. The Cats are now 1-8 on the season. They have seen some nice play from their seniors. Both Tyler Murphy and Riley are having good years. Riley had 10 against Libby and Murphy had 19. Against Polson, Murphy had 10 and Riley had 16.

But the team has to get better rebounding. The Cats didn’t have an offensive rebound against Polson.

The Cats face Whitefish at home Thursday and Missoula Sentinel at home Saturday. The Whitefish game is at 6 p.m. and the Sentinel game is at 4 p.m.  

Libby 19 3 16 22 — 60

Columbia Falls 9 29 8 12 — 58

LIBBY — Jonny Cielak 14, Ryggs Johnston 16, Zander Petersen 2, Anthony Johnson 2, Jason Brant 5, Colin Maloney 2, Erik Lauer 19.

COLUMBIA FALLS — Nathan Riley 10, Logan Stephens 4, Austin Green 1, Kyler Burns 3, Tyler Murphy 19, Steven DeCamp 16, Dakota Bridwell 5.

Polson 12 24 17 5 — 58

Columbia Falls 9 14 7 13 — 43

POLSON — Matthew Rensvold 19, Payton Lefthand 12, Shade Main 8, Jvon Niemeyer 5, Hudson Smith 4, Julian Jones 4, Wyatt Ducharme 3, Tanner Wilson 2, Kade-Forman Webster 1.

COLUMBIA FALLS — Nathan Riley 16, Tyler Murphy 10, Austin Green 7, Steven DeCamp 4, Dakota Bridwell 2, Kyler Burns 2, Logan Stephens 2.