C-Falls defense downs Braves
COLUMBIA FALLS - Defense wins basketball games.
Columbia Falls basketball coach Cary Finberg has been preaching that at least since the season began.
Looks like the message has hit home.
The host Wildcats (4-0) held the Class AA Flathead Braves (1-3) to a mere 33 points Friday night en route
to a 54-33 victory.
"That's the best basketball we've played to date," a happy Finberg said afterward. "We made good strides. If we can continue to get better, we'll have a lot happier Christmas break.
"The one thing that was consistent for us was the defense," he said. "If we can play defense like that the rest of the year …"
"We knew (the Braves) were going to come at us. We wanted to give it right back to them," Finberg said.
Offensively, the Wildcats were hot at the start. They scored 22 points in the first quarter.
Junior guard Kevin Boyer scored eight while seniors Anthony Minson and J.D. Fields chipped in with five each.
That put the Braves in a 13-point hole - from which they never escaped.
"I felt we got off to a slow start shooting the ball. They jumped to a quick lead. We lost a bit of confidence," Flathead coach Fred Febach said.
"You lose that edge in confidence shooting, it's tough to get that back."
That led to a night of catch-up for Flathead.
"We were out of sync, shooting-wise - and they converted any mistake we made. We couldn't put together any runs for ourselves," Febach said.
"We just shared the basketball tonight. Contributions from so many people - that was nice to see," Finberg said.
Boyer wound up leading the team with 15 points and six rebounds, but Guy Smith added 14 points and Jace Ladenburg scored eight.
"Kevin Boyer and Guy Smith - we've been waiting on those guys to step up and tonight they did," Finberg said.
"J.D. Fields did a great job," he added.
Fields and teammate Drew Perry were involved in a serious car accident on Wednesday. Perry is sidelined
for at least another week as the result.
"For J.D. to play, and gut it out when his body is hurting is a tribute," the coach said. "He's a competitor.
"We're just thankful those kids weren't hurt worse," Finberg added.
The Wildcats have one game before the Christmas holiday. They play host 7:30 tonight to Hamilton.
The Braves have two games remaining before the break. They play host Tuesday to Helena, then travel Thursday to Helena Capital.
"Without a doubt, it doesn't get any easier for us," Febach said.
Geoff Hogan led FHS offensively with nine points. Andrew Cavigli pulled down nine rebounds.
Wildcats 54, Braves 33
Flathead 9 5 11 8 - 33
Columbia Falls 22 5 14 13 - 54
Flathead - Beau Watkins 3 0-0 6, Ryan Gregg 1 0-0 2, Stefan Malkuch 0 1-2 1, Andrew Cavigli 2 0-0 4, John Farrier 2 0-2 4, Geoff Hogan 3 3-4 9, Jeremy DeHerrera 3 0-0 7. Totals 14 4-11 33.
Columbia Falls - J.D. Fields 1 2-2 5, Kevin Boyer 7 1-4 15, Robbie Dakin 1 1-1 3, Guy Smith 6 2-3 14, Jace Ladenburg 4 0-0 8, Anthony Minson 3 1-2 7, Greg Macijunas 1 0-0 2. Totals 23 7-12 54.
3-point goals: Flathead 1 (Hogan), Columbia Falls 1 (Fields); Total fouls: Flathead 15, Columbia Falls 12. Fouled out: None.