Columbia Falls holds off Polson

COLUMBIA FALLS - The Wildcats can be patient, too.

After watching Polson execute its methodical game plan for much of Saturday night's contest, the Columbia Falls High School boys' basketball team controlled the tempo when it mattered most, clawing its way to a 53-47 Northwestern A victory.

The win kept the Wildcats (5-3, 3-0) undefeated in conference play, while the Pirates (4-4, 3-1) suffered their first league loss.

Polson used its zone defense and patient half-court offense to neutralize Columbia Falls' high-octane attack, building a 43-38 lead with 4:58 left in the seesaw affair. But the Wildcats' half-court press held the Pirates to four points the rest of the way, and Columbia Falls took its time offensively after regaining the lead, 46-43, with 3:14 remaining on Grant Getts' old-fashioned three-point play.

Getts, who hit two free throws to tie the game at 43-all just four seconds earlier, scored the go-ahead bucket off an assist from Cody Bowman, who stole Polson's inbound pass.

Columbia Falls' 15-4 game-ending surge marked its second clutch run of the night. The Wildcats scored 10 unanswered points in the final 2:20 of the second quarter, turning a 23-18 deficit into a 28-23 halftime advantage.

Chase Grilley scored 15 points to lead Columbia Falls, followed by Bowman with 11. Possessions were hard to come by, thanks largely to the Pirates' deliberate approach.

"They've got good guards, and they're very well coached and very disciplined," Columbia Falls Coach Cary Finberg said. "Their guards take care of the ball and kind of force you into the style they want to play.

"But give our kids credit as well: They came out and battled back after getting down, and got the win."

Chase Fairbank, Getts and Mackey Nolan combined for 21 points for the Wildcats, who drained three 3-pointers in the second half while going 6-for-6 from the free-throw line.

Finberg said focusing on defense and refusing to panic on offense keyed Columbia Falls, which committed just 10 turnovers.

"I think sometimes when you're trying to get up and down the floor, and the other team's trying to slow it down, you try to force the tempo on offense, and that's the wrong thing to do," Finberg said. "You've got to force the tempo on defense. If you force it on offense, you're going to take some bad shots and maybe have some bad decisions, and that just doubles your problems."

Both teams were sharp from the perimeter. Polson sunk seven 3-pointers, including three by Craig Bagnell, who paced the balanced Pirates with 11 points. John Rausch scored 10 points for Polson, followed by Ryan Kelley with nine.

Polson Coach Karl Tait said slowing the game's tempo gave the Pirates their best chance for victory.

"That's always our plan when we come up here," he said. "We've got to slow it down. We can't go up and down with them."

According to Tait, Columbia Falls' late pressure proved troublesome for Polson, which committed only 14 turnovers, but set a pre-game goal of 10 or fewer.

"It would have been fine if we had the lead, but for us to come back against it, it caused us some problems," he said. "We weren't quite as prepared as we should be, will be, might be, could be, better be next time."

Bowman hit three treys for Columbia Falls, including a halftime buzzer beater. He said the Wildcats' agenda is the same each time out, regardless of their opponent's tactics.

"We just know what we want to do each game," he said. "We want to force some turnovers and get some easy buckets, so we just keep after it on defense - just try to keep the intensity.

"We've got four seniors on the team. We've seen everything."

Though disheartened by the outcome, Saturday's tight tilt reaffirmed Polson's belief that the battle for Northwestern A supremacy will be as fierce as ever.

"I feel good about our chances," Tait said. "Our kids were pretty down (after the game).

"We thought we could beat these guys, and it's not often that you can beat Columbia Falls up here. You've got to be at the top of your game all the time."

Polson hosts Class B Eureka on Friday before resuming Northwestern A play against Libby next Saturday. Columbia Falls faces another stiff conference test on Thursday when it visits Whitefish.

Polson 12 11 13 11 - 47

Columbia Falls 9 19 8 17 - 53

POLSON (4-4, 3-1) - Craig Bagnell 4 0-0 11, John Rausch 2 4-4 10, Waylon Michel 1 0-0 3, Cody Doyle 0 1-2 1, Tim Rausch 2 1-2 5, Aaron Clairmont 1 0-0 3, Ryan Kelley 4 1-2 9, Zach Langston 2 1-2 5. Totals 16 8-12 47.

COLUMBIA FALLS (5-3, 3-0) - Chase Fairbank 3 2-3 8, Cody Bowman 4 0-0 11, Zane Ridings 1 2-2 4, Mackey Nolan 2 2-3 6, Chase Grilley 6 1-2 15, Grant Getts 2 3-3 7, Austin Robbins 1 0-0 2. Totals 19 10-13 53.

3-point goals - Pol. 7 (Bagnell 3, J. Rausch 2, Michel, Clairmont), CF 5 (Bowman 3, Grilley 2). Turnovers - Pol. 14, CF 10. Team fouls - Pol. 14, CF 14. Fouled out - Getts.