Cats derail Locomotives for third at state

They were run over by a train once. But they derailed it the second time.

The Columbia Falls boys basketball team dropped the Laurel Locomotives at the Billings Metra Park on March 9 to take third at the state Class A basketball tournament, 48-46.

The Wildcats lost the tourney opener to the Locomotives 59-50 after a spirited fourth-quarter rally fell short. The Cats didn’t give up, though. They downed Browning the next day in loser-out action, 72-56 to stay alive.

Then on Saturday morning, they dropped Butte Central 64-47 to set up a rematch against Laurel. The win against the Maroons came with a price however — starting junior point guard Alex Presnell sprained his ankle in the first half and couldn’t play most of the game against Laurel.

Running the point fell on the shoulders of sophomore Ty Morgan, who did an admirable job in a tight match-up that literally went down to the wire.

“The way these guys played, I was real proud of them,” coach Cary Finberg said.

The rematch against Laurel came down to free throws in the closing minute of the fourth quarter. Both teams made it to the line, but Columbia Falls hit its shots, including two clutch free throws by Presnell, who sat on the bench except for the second to the last possession.

Laurel had to foul to stop the clock, and Finberg put in Presnell to get the ball, bum ankle and all. Presnell, who shoots about 90 percent from the line, was fouled, limped to the line and calmly dropped in both shots.

“I told him to be ready,” Finberg said. “To step in cold and hurt and to hit those shots shows his mental toughness.”

The Cats had great contributions from a host of players. Senior Luke Kazlauskas was the rock for the team, scoring in double figures in every game. Senior Austin Martin had some clutch shots to spark the offense, junior Jared Trinastich was key at the post, and the play of Nakia Alexander, Austin Kimmet, Colin King and Mason Gedlaman all led to a complete team effort that never gave up.

In the opening loss to Laurel, the Cats kept up with the Locomotives in the first quarter and were down by just two points, 17-15. But like many games this season, they couldn’t keep the offense on track and scored just six points in the second quarter and just four in the third.

Meanwhile, the Locomotives shot 57 percent from the three-point line and built a 20 point lead with eight minutes left in the fourth quarter.

The Cats had a spirited fourth quarter charge, cutting the lead to just six late in the quarter to make a ball game out of it, but they simply ran out of time. Presnell led the Cats with 13 points for the game, while Kazlauskas had 12 and Trinastich had 11.

That fourth-quarter charge was the momentum builder for the rest of the tourney, Finberg said. The Cats took that confidence and carried it through the rest of the games, including holding off a second half charge by the Indians after building a 20 point lead against Browning.

The future looks bright for the squad — Morgan, Presnell, Kimmet, Gedlaman, Trevor Houston and Trinastich all return next year, all with valuable state tournament experience. The boys finish the year at 18-6 overall. It was the fifth year in a row they were playing for hardware Saturday night at the state tournament.

Laurel 13 2 13 18 — 46

Columbia Falls 13 8 9 18 — 48

Laurel — Dylan Meccage 0-1 0-0 0, Taylor Maida 4-7 0-0 11, Shawn Nardella 2-4 4-5 8, Bryce Herman 2-2 0-2 4, Jake Anderson 0-3 1-2 1, Brett Thompson 4-10 4-4 13, Evan Jones 2-5 3-5 9, Zac Allen 0-0 0-0 0, Jarred Simons 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 14-32 12-18 46. 3-point goals: 6-13 (Maida 3-6, Jones 2-2, Thompson 1-4, Meccage 0-1). Fouls: 17. Fouled out: Nardella. Rebounds: 14 (Nardella 4). Assists: 8 (Heman 3). Steals: 5 (Nardella 2, Herman 2). Blocked shots: 4 (Allen 2). Turnovers: 10.

Columbia Falls — Alex Presnell 0-0 2-2 2, Austin Martin 4-5 0-0 9, Colin King 2-3 0-0 4, Luke Kazlauskas 4-9 4-7 12, Nakia Alexander 1-1 1-1 3, Ty Morgan 1-4 2-4 4, Mason Gedlaman 0-0 0-0 0, Jared Trinastich 3-5 3-5 6-7 12, Austin Kimmet 1-2 0-0 2. Totals: 16-29 15-21 48. 3-point goals: 1-4 (Martin 1-2, Kazlauskas 0-1, Morgan 0-1). Fouls: 15. Rebounds: 21 (Kazlauskas 6). Assists: 5 (Kazlauskas 3). Steals: 7 (Martin 2). Blocked shots: 2 (King, Kazlauskas). Turnovers: 13.

Columbia Falls 18 14 15 17 — 64

Butte Central 14 9 13 11 — 47

Columbia Falls — Alex Presnell 4-7 2-2 10, Trevor Houston 2-2 1-1 5, Jayce Fagerland 0-0 0-0 0, Austin Martin 3-4 0-2 8, Colin King 1-2 0-0 2, Luke Kazlauskas 3-8 4-4 10, Nakia Alexander 0-0 2-2 2, Ty Morgan 4-5 0-1 11, Logan Williams 0-0 0-0 0, Mason Gedlaman 0-1 0-0 0, Jared Trinastich 2-4 4-4 8, Austin Kimmet 2-3 4-5 8. Totals: 21-36 17-21 64. 3-pointers: 5-8 (Morgan 3-3, Martin 2-3, Presnell 0-1, Kazlauskas 0-1). Fouls: 12. Rebounds: 23 (Morgan 6). Assists: 13 (Morgan 4). Steals: 6 (Marin 2). Turnovers: 10.

Butte Central — Kale Guldseth 1-8 0-0 2, Danny Peoples 1-2 0-0 3, Conner McGree 0-2 0-0 0, Emmett McCarthy 2-2 0-0 4, Brady Tippett 2-12 2-2 6, Dalton Sessions 4-5 2-2 11, Sean Burt 0-0 0-0 0, Marcus Ferriter 2-3 0-2 4, Nate Bolstad 5-9 4-4 17, Chad Peterson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 17-43 8-10 47. 3-pointers: 5-17 (Bolstad 3-5, Sessions 1-1, Peoples 1-2, Tippett 0-3, Guldseth 0-6). Fouls: 18. Fouled out: Guldseth. Rebounds: 21 (Ferriter 5). Assists: 9 (Tippett 4). Steals: 4 (Guldseth 2, Bolstad 2). Blocks: 4 (four with 1). Turnovers: 18.

Browning 19 9 14 14 — 56

Columbia Falls 27 18 6 21 — 72

Browning (17-15) — Dan Hall 6-10, 0-0 12, Isaac McKay 0-4 0-0 0, Wyatt Mad Plume 0-0 0-0 0, George Hall 4-11 3-4 13, Clarence McNabb 0-1 1-2 1, Trevor Gray 0-0 0-0 0, Emmette Dusty Bull 0-1 2-2 2, DeeJay Lazy Boy 6-21 0-2 17, Jalen Croff 4-11 0-0 9. Sam Croff 1-6 0-0 2. Totals: 21-65 6-10 56. 3-pointers: 8 (Lazy Boy 5, Hall 2, Croff 1). Fouls: 28. Fouled out: D. Hall, G. Hall, J. Croff. Rebounds: 32 (Lazy Boy 7, J. Croff 7). Assists: 10 (Lazy Boy 5). Steals: 13 (D. Hall 4). Blocks: 4 (McKay 2). Turnovers: 17.

Columbia Falls (16-6) — Alex Presnell 6-11 8-11 22, Trevor Houston 1-1 2-2 4, Jayce Fagerland 0-0 2-2 2, Austin Martin 2-4 0-0 6, Colin King 0-0 0-0 0, Luke Kazlauskas 3-11 5-6 11, Nakia Alexander 0-0 2-2 2, Ty Morgan 2-2 9-12 14, Mason Gedlaman 0-1 0-0 0, Jared Trinastich 2-4 3-4 7, Austin Kimmet 2-2 0-0 4.

Col. Falls 15 6 4 25 – 50

Laurel 17 11 12 19 – 59

COLUMBIA FALLS – Alex Presnell 5-16 1-1 13, Trevor Houston 0-1 0-0 0, Austin Martin 1-2 2-2 5, Colin King 2-2 0-0 4, Luke Kazlauskas 5-9 2-5 12, Nakia Alexander 0-0 2-2 2, Ty Morgan 1-2 1-1 3, Jared Trinastich 2-3 7-7 11, Austin Kimmet 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 16-35 15-18 50.

LAUREL – Taylor Maida 4-7 2-2 13, Shawn Nardella 0-0 2-4 2, Bryce Herman 1-3 0-1 2, Dylan Meccage 0-1 0-0 0, Brett Thompson 6-10 10-15 25, Jake Anderson 0-0 0-0 0, Evan Jones 6-9 3-4 17, Zac Allen 0-1 0-0 0, Jarred Simons 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 17-31 17-26 59.