Thursday, February 06, 2025
17.0°F

Cats roll over Libby, Whitefish to get to 8-2

by Hungry Horse News
| January 29, 2025 7:00 AM


The Columbia Falls boys basketball team got two conference wins last week by big margins, dropping Libby on the road Thursday, 70-34 and hammering Whitefish at home Friday, 79-38.

Bjorn Pedersen and Cooper Ross had the hot hand against the Loggers with 15 apiece, while Pedersen dropped a cool 23 on the Bulldogs — 20 in the first half alone.

Jory Hill had 14 against Whitefish. Reggie Sapa had eight boards and nine points against the Bulldogs.

Against Libby, the Cats didn’t shoot particularly well from the three point line, but they shot 70% on twos. They also had just four turnovers and had 22 defensive rebounds.

Against the Bulldogs, they hit eight treys total on 23 attempts, but were 60% on two-point shots. They also only turned the ball over 10 times and had a total of 36 rebounds, dominating possession.

Coach Chris Finberg said a lot of the offense is fed by the team’s defensive intensity and forcing turnovers.

“We played really well defensively both games,” he said.

Whitefish, for example, was just four of 27 from beyond the arc.

“I thought we did a good job of defending their threes,” he said. This week they’re back on the road against Polson on Thursday, then host Browning on Friday. Whitefish was just their second home game of the year.

The Cats will try to do more of the same against the conference opponents.

“When we play with good defensive energy and share the ball offensively we’re hard to stop,” he said.

They’re now 8-2 overall, 3-1 in conference play.



Columbia Falls 14 18 21 17 - 70 

Libby 9 10 8 5 - 34 

COLUMBIA FALLS — Easton Brooks 8, Stanley Stremick 6, Jory Hill 5, Bjorn Pedersen 15, Reggie Sapa 9, Nico Young 6, Cooper Ross 15, Grady Hutton 4, Silas 

Ypma 2. LIBBY — Aiden Rose 3, Tristan Andersen 12, Ryan Beagle 4, Isaac Lamere 3, Alderic Martineau 8, James Wood 4.





Whitefish 11 11 7 9 - 38 

C-Falls 16 27 14 22 - 79 

WHITEFISH — Carson Gulick 6, Ryan Conklin 3, Calvin Eisenbarth 2, Will Sisson 7, CJ Thew 6, Cooper Dudley 8, Aiden Rickels 2, Scott Dalen 4.

COLUMBIA FLLS — Easton Brooks 6, Stanley Stremick 6, Jory Hill 14, Bjorn Pedersen 23, Reggie Sapa 9, Nico Young 2, Caleb Mee 2, Banyan Johnston 7, Grady Hutton 7, Silas Ypma 3.