Boys hoops team should be right in the mix again this season

The Columbia Falls basketball team has a lot of ingredients for hoops success this season: athleticism, quickness and shooting strength.

“That’s a good combination to have,” coach Chris Finberg said.

The Wildcats are deep, too, with at least nine players that will see playing time. The starting lineup at this point includes Easton Brooks, Reggie Sapa, Jory Hill, Grady Hutton and Silas Ypma, but look for good things from Cooper Ross, Nico Young, Bjorn Pedersen and Stanley Stremick off the bench this year.

Last year the Cats took third at the state A tourney and will look to build on that success.

But they have a tough row to hoe, especially early in the season. They face Loyola Friday at the Western A tip-off tourney in Frenchtown and then Butte Central on Saturday.

Class B Loyola has two legitimate college level-players and they haven’t lost in 48 games. The Cats were the last team to beat them. Butte Central played the Cats down to the wire in the third-place game at state last year and they look just as strong this year.

They then get tested the following weekend with a tourney in Lewistown, where they’ll face Hardin and Miles City.

Defending state champions Dillon are probably the team to beat again this year in the West, Finberg noted, but they won’t likely meet until the divisional tourney in early March, which is in Whitefish this year.

A host of Wildcats played summer league ball under former coach Cary Finberg, where they traveled quite a bit, including a tourney in Las Vegas.

The Cats first home game is Jan. 11 against Hamilton, which should also be a very good team this year. In the Northwest, Browning is always competitive.

Finberg is in his ninth season coaching the Cats. He’s assisted by Mike Pedersen, Mike Dyon and Austin Barth.

Barth coaches the froshmore team and Dyon the JV squad.