Cats bust out against T. Falls

The Columbia Falls boys basketball team stopped its skid, downing class B Thompson Falls 74-48 at home last Thursday.

Prior to the win, the Cats (11-2, 3-0) lost two in a row after starting the season 10-0. Kyle Howell led the scoring with 17, Kaleb Johnson had 12 and Michael Williams drained three treys and scored 11 in a lopsided victory.

Thompson Falls made it interesting for a short time in the second quarter, when they closed a 19-5 Cats lead to 19-10.

That was as close as they got. The JV squad played most of the fourth quarter as coach Cary Finberg cleared the bench. Devyn Rocker brought the crowd to its feet when he knocked down two treys in the closing minutes.

"It was good to get a lot of time to a lot of different players in the game," Finberg said. Howell also had six rebounds, three steals and was seven of nine shooting. He was named player of the week. Williams also had a good game with six steals and Johnson grabbed seven rebounds and six steals. Nick Emerson had six points, five boards and eight assists.

JV player of the week is Jacob Calderwood, who had 17 points in two quarters and scored six points in the varsity game. Frosh player of the week is Blake Ladenburg with 13 points in a win against the Bluehawks.

The Cats have a nice home stretch and a big test this week as they face Libby and Polson. Win both games and the Cats are in the driver's seat for the conference crown.

"We have to be ready to go both nights," Finberg said.

Polson has the top two scorers in the conference in Tim Rausch and Kyle Bagnell. But the Cats have had a stingy defense all season long. It could turn into a shootout and should be fun to watch.

Libby is Thursday and Polson is Friday. Both games start at 7:30 p.m.