Wildcats come up short against pair of AA opponents
The Wildcats basketball team finally found the range from three -point territory last week, but still came up short to a pair of AA opponents as they fell to Glacier and Flathead.
The Cats were 6-18 from beyond the arc against Glacier in a 58-44 loss Thursday before hitting nine more triples in a 57-43 loss at Glacier Saturday.
“We had an up and down weekend, that’s for sure,” head coach Chris Finberg said.
The Cats found themselves in a tought battle through the first three quarters against Glacier at home Thursday. Columbia Falls trailed 13-9 after one quarter of play and fell behind by as many as six midway through the second quarter.
A pair of threes by Drew Morgan helped get the Wildcat offense going late in the half and a pair of free throws after the buzzer by Danny Henjum gave Columbia Falls a 24-23 lead at the break.
The Wolfpack opened the second half with a 10-0 run to go up by nine but Dillon Shipp answered with nine straight points for the Cats as Columbia Falls came back to take a 37-36 lead into the fourth.
It was all Glacier in the final period as the Wolfpack outscored the Wildcats 22-7 over the final eight minutes to win by 14.
Shipp finished with 14 points and four rebounds for the Cats in the loss while Morgan added 11 points and three boards.
Logan Bechtel and Sam Hovde both scored six in the contest while Henjum finished with five and Dillon Wanner had two points.
The Cats came out hot in the opening quarter at Flathead Saturday, knocking down five triples to grab a 15-11 lead, but the Braves outscored the Cats 46-28 over the final three quarter to win 57-43.
Despite the hot start, the Cats ended the game shooting just 13-44 from the field and 8-15 from the foul line.
Morgan had 12 points and three rebounds in the loss while Shipp added 10 points and six rebounds. Hovde and Zach Pletcher each scored four and Mikey Tamburelli had three points.
The Cats will be on the road Friday as they open conference play at Ronan before taking on defending Class B state champion Bigfork at home Saturday.
Glacier 13 10 13 22 – 58
C Falls 9 15 13 7 – 44
C FALLS – Scoring: Dillon Shipp 14, Drew Morgan 11, Logan Bechtel 6, Sam Hovde 6, Danny Henjum 5, Dillon Wanner 2. Rebounds: Shipp 4, Bechtel 3, Hovde 3, Morgan 3, Zach Pletcher 2, Wanner 2, Henjum 1.
GLACIER – Scoring: Drew Engellant 18, Bret Michaels 14, Michael Schwarz 11, K.J. Johnson 7, Ethan Baines 4, Kyle Buckingham 2, Drew Deck 2. Rebounds: NA
C Falls 15 8 13 7 – 43
Flathead 11 16 15 15 – 57
C FALLS – Scoring: Drew Morgan 12, Dillon Wanner 10, Dillon Shipp 10, Sam Hovde 4, Zach Pletcher 4, Mikey Tamburelli 2. Rebounds: Shipp 6, Henjum 5, Logan Bechtel 4, Pletcher 4, Hovde 3, Morgan 3, Wanner 3.
FLATHEAD – Scoring: Anthony Jones 12, Stephen Bridges 11, Brett Thompson 10, Seth Moon 7, Tannen Beyl 3, Cooper Smith 3, Blake Counts 2, Andrew Siderius 2, Max Anderson 2. Rebounds: NA