'Cats go wild in Whitefish

C-Falls boys hit 69 percent with 7 treys in 2nd, 3rd quarters

WHITEFISH - The Northwestern A boys basketball conference was served with a notice Friday night.

Columbia Falls proved it is comfortable playing in the upcoming site of the Northwestern A divisional tournament by making 59 percent of its shots in the first three quarters against Whitefish en route to a 77-52 victory.

Karsten Peterson led four Wildcats in double-digit scoring figures with 17 points and eight rebounds in the electric atmosphere of the Whitefish High School gym. Seven Wildcats scored seven points or more in completing the regular-season sweep of the Bulldogs.

Trailing 15-14 early in the second quarter, Chase Grilley and Chase Fairbank hit back-to-back 3-pointers to give the Wildcats the lead for good. Whitefish got back to within one point, 20-19, with five minutes left before half. But Grilley drained another 3-pointer and Peterson followed with four straight points in a 7-0 run. Bobby Pearce hit a 3-pointer with 6 seconds left in the half to put the Wildcats in full control with a 32-23 halftime lead.

The game and its fans were intense.

Whitefish coach Julio Delgado had his sport coat off (a sign all fans seem to wait for) just 70 seconds into the game. The first nine minutes of action saw four lead changes and two ties. And with Whitefish into bonus free-throw shooting in the first quarter and Columbia Falls not far behind, both Delgado and Columbia Falls coach Cary Finberg seemed on the edge of getting technical fouls called on them.

"It was a tournament atmosphere and, like I told the guys, this is the tournament floor in a couple of weeks," Finberg said. "This was our chance to go out and prove that we can play well here too. That was our focus."

After winning six straight Class A games, Delgado and Co. packed the gym for the regular-season finale between the Flathead Valley foes and the Bulldogs took the lead heading into the second quarter. But with Columbia Falls in full control in the fourth quarter, the back-and-forth chanting of the student sections absorbed most of the attention.

"This was a pretty crazy atmosphere with our crowd in here," Peterson said. "They just blow other crowds away. I love playing for them. It's awesome.

"Whitefish was just coming off six wins and beating (first-placed) Eureka so we knew we had to come out and get 'er done. The rivalry - and in a place like this - it was all out. You don't hold anything back at all."

On the other end of the spectrum was Delgado.

"This was real disappointing because we were playing much improved - especially defensively and rebounding - but we just didn't show up and got out-played in every facet of the game," he said. "We've got to be up for a big game like this with 2,000-plus people here. We've been looking to get people back in our gym and for us to just not show up was real disappointing."

Whitefish sophomore Colt Idol scored 11 of his 17 points in the first quarter to put the Bulldogs in the lead. But he had just one shot in the second quarter as the Wildcats' three-quarter court press affected the mindset of the Bulldogs and they started taking quick, lower-percentage shots. The Wildcats forced only seven first-half turnovers.

"Their pressure took us out of what we wanted to do on offense," Delgado said. "It pretty much turned into us into helter-skelter and that's their style."

Finberg and Peterson said the Wildcats' defensive focus was on Idol, but the team didn't do a good job on him early.

"Our plan was the same thing as (Thursday against Libby's Jim Mee), but we did a better job early last night," Finberg said. "The final three quarters was just as good as (Thursday). He didn't get any comfortable looks and we did a good job harassing him."

"It was something we talked about in between quarters," Peterson said. "It was like Libby and finding Jim Mee. Both are great scorers and great athletes so you have to find them on the court and try to shut them down. It was everybody's job to find him."

Once Idol was shut down, the baskets seemed to flow on the other end of the court for the Wildcats. They made four of five 3-point attempts in outscoring the Bulldogs, 20-10, in the second quarter. It got even better for the Wildcats in a 28-point third quarter when they went 8-for-10 from inside the perimeter and 3-for-8 from 3-point range. All told, the Wildcats made 69 percent of their shots, including seven 3-pointers, in the middle quarters.

"Once we started moving the ball and getting everybody involved it picked it up for us," Finberg said. "It was just guys trying too hard and taking it upon themselves instead of letting it come to them."

Grilley had 11 points in the victory while Fairbank and sophomore Grant Getts each added 10 points. Dustin Gibson, Pearce and Michael Taylor added nine, eight and seven points, respectively. Fairbank also had four steals and three assists. Kyle Jangula had four assists and two steals.

Jamie Clogg and Aaron Tkachyk had 12 and nine points, respectively, in the loss. Kenny Overcast and Luke Fennelly each had three assists and David FauntLeRoy grabbed seven rebounds.

The Wildcats finished with a 33-26 rebounding advantage. Eight of their 15 assists, and five of their 12 steals, came in the third quarter.

"Where they hurt us was their press because they play so many kids that they can afford to reach and hack and give the fouls away," Delgado said. "If they don't get the call, great. But if they do, that's fine - they'll trade a steal and a layup for a foul at the other end anytime."

C. Falls 12 20 28 17 - 77

Whitefish 13 10 19 10 - 52

COLUMBIA FALLS (12-4, 9-1) - Chase Fairbank 3-4 3-4 10, Jared Jimmerson 1-1 0-0 2, Cody Bowman 0-0 0-0 0, Kyle Jangula 0-1 1-2 1, Dustin Gibson 3-6 3-4 9, Zane Ridings 1-1 0-0 2, Karsten Peterson 6-11 5-5 17, Bobby Pearce 3-4 0-0 8, Mackey Nolan 0-0 0-3 0, Michael Taylor 3-6 0-0 7, Chase Grilley 3-7 3-5 11, Mitchell Wassam 0-1 0-0 0, Grant Getts 4-7 1-2 10, Tanner Perry 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 27-51 16-25 77.

WHITEFISH (6-10, 6-5) - Kenny Overcast 0-3 2-4 2, Aaron Tkachyk 3-10 3-4 9, Shawn Watterud 0-1 0-0 0, Luke Fennelly 1-4 0-1 2, Byron Whitcomb 0-3 0-0 0, Marc Hotzfield 1-1 0-0 3, Colt Idol 7-13 2-3 17, Jamie Clogg 6-6 0-1 12, Jake Smith 1-2 2-2 4, Dane Sjoden 0-4 0-1 0, David FauntLeRoy 1-4 1-2 3. Totals 20-51 10-18 52.

3-point goals - CF 7-18 (Pearce 2-3, Grilley 2-5, Fairbank 1-1, Taylor 1-2, Getts 1-3, Perry 0-1, Wassam 0-1, Peterson 0-2), Wf. 2-13 (Hotzfield 1-1, Idol 1-3, Watterud 0-1, Smith 0-1, Tkachyk 0-2, Whitcomb 0-2). Rebounds - CF 33 (Peterson 8, Getts 6, team 4, Grilley 3, Fairbank 2, Pearce 2, Nolan 2, three tied with 1), Wf. 26 (FauntLeRoy 7, Idol 5, Overcast 3, Clogg 2, Smith 2, Sjoden 2, five tied with 1). Assists - CF 15 (Jangula 4, Fairbank 3, Jimmerson 2, Pearce 2, Nolan 2, Grilley 2), Wf. 8 (Overcast 3, Fennelly 3, two tied with 1). Steals - CF 12 (Fairbank 4, Grilley 3, Jangula 2, two tied with 1), Wf. 5 (Overcast 2, three tied with 1). Blocks - CF 0, Wf. 3 (Clogg 2, Hotzfield). Turnovers - CF 15, Wf. 18. Total fouls - CF 20, Wf. 21. Fouled out - Tkachyk.