Braves rally over C-Falls

6-foot-8 Osweiler gets 28 points, 22 rebounds

COLUMBIA FALLS - So that's what it's like when Brock Osweiler takes over a game.

The 6-foot-8 junior had 28 points, 22 rebounds, six assists, three blocks and two steals Thursday night to rally the Class AA Flathead High School boys' basketball team to a 70-62 season-opening victory over Class A Columbia Falls.

The Braves trailed by as many as 10 points in the first half before cutting their deficit to one at halftime. Then the teams exchanged three leads and knotted up the score twice in the third quarter before Jake Thiesen hit a 3-pointer with 3 minutes, 7 seconds left in the third to give the Braves the lead for good.

Columbia Falls coach Cary Finberg didn't use his customary full-court press against the taller and older Braves, and his boys dominated using a 2-3 zone during the first half. With 3:45 left before the half, the Wildcats held a 10-point lead.

"I wasn't too surprised that (C-Falls) didn't use the press," Flathead coach Fred Febach said. "Coach Finberg is a very smart coach and, in my opinion, I wouldn't have pressed us given our height advantage and experienced guard play. Plus, they might not be as deep as they normally are. You've got to have depth on the bench to press like he usually does.

"But those (C-Falls) boys are well-coached and disciplined and did a great job in their game plan.

"It took us nearly three full quarters to settle down and get into our game."

And settling into their game meant letting Osweiler dominate.

He tallied 10 points and 10 rebounds, including six on offense, in the third quarter alone. Of his 22 boards, nine of them came on offense as the Braves finished with a dominating 50-33 advantage in rebounds.

"That's the kind of player he is, and our other kids understand that when we are leaning on him, they have to be smart with the ball," Febach said.

Osweiler could have been one assist away from a triple-double had teammates converted baskets.

The Braves went on a 19-4 run after Thiesen's big 3-pointer. The run ended with 5:06 left in the game and the Braves holding a 60-45 lead.

Still, Columbia Falls came back and made it a two-possession game twice, 65-60 with 1:11 left and 67-62 with 37.9 seconds left.

Chase Grilley scored nine of his 20 points in that Columbia Falls run.

The game had plenty of early-season jitters. The teams combined for 47 turnovers and 54 fouls. They made 19 of 25 free throws (76 percent) in the fourth quarter and still combined to finish with a 56 percent shooting clip from the charity stripe.

Thiesen hit two treys en route to 13 points in the victory. Post Josh Harris, a 6-5 senior, added eight points and three rebounds. Junior guard Danny Salois hit a 3-pointer early in the third and finished with seven points. Charlie Dotson, a 6-2 senior, had nine rebounds and four points.

For Columbia Falls, Grant Getts had 10 points and five rebounds before fouling out in the beginning of the fourth quarter. Mackey Nolan had nine points and three rebounds. Senior guard Cody Bowman added eight points. Senior point guard Chase Fairbank had five points and four rebounds.

The Wildcats dropped to 1-2 on the season and, in a schedule change, host Frenchtown on Saturday - instead of traveling to Frenchtown.

Flathead is back in action on Saturday when it hosts Libby.

Flathead 14 16 20 20 - 70

C-Falls 17 14 12 19 - 62

FLATHEAD (1-0) - Jake Thiesen 3-9 5-6 13, Sam Tedrow 0-1 0-0 0, Michael Gallagher 2-7 0-0 5, Danny Salois 3-5 0-0 7, Austin Roehl 1-2 1-5 3, Charlie Dotson 1-6 2-7 4, Connor Cavigli 1-3 0-0 2, Coltin Hoffenbacker 0-2 0-0 0, Josh Harris 4-7 0-1 8, Brock Osweiler 10-18 8-11 28. Totals 25-60 16-30 70.

COLUMBIA FALLS (1-2) - Chase Fairbank 2-5 1-2 5, Kyle Howell 0-0 0-0 0, Tanner Perry 0-0 0-0 0, Cody Bowman 0-2 6-9 6, Zane Ridings 2-4 0-0 4, Mackey Nolan 3-7 2-6 9, Austin Robbins 0-0 0-0 0, Chase Grilley 6-17 7-13 20, Mitchell Wassam 0-1 0-0 0, Grant Getts 3-6 3-6 10, Kaleb Johnson 0-1 0-0 0, Michael Williams 1-3 4-4 6. Totals 18-48 23-40 62.

3-point goals - FHS 3-18 (Thiesen 2-7, Salois 1-5), CF 3-16 (Nolan 1-2, Getts 1-2, Grilley 1-8). Rebounds - FHS 50 (Osweiler 22, Dotson 9, Roehl 5, team 5, Harris 3, Cavigli 2, four tied with 1), CF 33 (team 8, Grilley 6, Getts 5, Fairbank 4, Bowman 3, Nolan 3, Ridings 2, three with 1). Assists - FHS 13 (Osweiler 6, Thiesen 2, Gallagher 2, three with 1), CF 9 ( Grilley 4, Nolan 2, three with 1). Steals - FHS 9 (Osweiler 2, Thiesen 2, five with 1), CF 10 (Grilley 5, Fairbank 2, three with 1). Blocks - FHS 6 (Osweiler 3, Hoffenbacker 2, Cavigli), CF 0. Turnovers - FHS 25, CF 22. Total fouls - FHS 29, CF 25. Fouled out - Roehl, Getts.