Wildcats wrangle Whitefish

Nolan nets 19, C-Falls dominates paint

WHITEFISH - It got to be near pandemonium Thursday night in the Whitefish High School gym.

And why not? It was the season's first edition of Columbia Falls versus Whitefish in boys basketball.

Columbia Falls junior Mackey Nolan had 19 points, seven rebounds and three assists while senior guard Chase Grilley added 12 points, eight rebounds and three steals to help lead the Wildcats to a 57-49 Northwestern A victory over the Bulldogs.

The victory improved C-Falls to 4-0 in conference play while Whitefish dropped to 0-3.

But don't let the score nor the records fool you.

Even after the Wildcats tromped out to a 21-10 first-quarter lead on the strength of a 17-3 rebounding advantage (including 11 on offense), the Bulldogs battled back to take the lead and extend it in the third quarter.

Trailing 29-19 at the half, Whitefish started the third with a 16-3 run. Senior Shawn Watterud made a 3-pointer while being fouled - and drained the free throw - to put the Bulldogs within one point. Then junior do-all Colt Idol hit a running jumper while being fouled - and drained the free throw - to give the Bulldogs their first lead with 4 minutes, 30 seconds left in the third.

But that's when Columbia Falls coach Cary Finberg kicked his team into gear.

Frustrated with the no-charge call on Idol, the 12th-year head coach was issued a technical foul. Idol sunk both free shots to put Whitefish ahead, 35-32. But then the Wildcats held the Bulldogs scoreless until a buzzer-beating 3-pointer.

"After that (technical), it seemed like our intensity got back to where it was," said Finberg, who picked up his 155th victory. "Sometimes when you play with a lead, you play not to lose instead of playing to win. We came out flat and they got some offensive boards and some layups right away. They battled back, but we got our intensity back."

From the technical to two minutes into the fourth quarter, C-Falls used a 16-3 run of their own to take back control.

Both coaches agreed that this game was all about emotion. Columbia Falls fed off of it and the crowd; Whitefish didn't.

"We just have to learn how to step up to the plate," Whitefish's first-year coach Eric Stang said. "We did a terrible job on the defensive boards. And we had plenty of good shots, but we just weren't hitting them.

"In a pressure game like this, we didn't fall back on what we are taught. And that's just a matter of confidence."

The Bulldogs made just 35 percent of their shots and suffered their lowest output of points this season. They were out-shot 24-9 in the first quarter and took just 10 shots from inside in the first half. Still, Idol finished with 23 points (on 9-for-15 shooting) and even had a steal and coast-to-coast slam dunk.

"Whitefish is a very aggressive team and we matched their aggressiveness from the start," Finberg said. "(As far as rebounding), it was all about effort and positioning.

"When you play Whitefish, you have to try and contain Idol first. Second, we had to get to their shooters - (Aaron) Tkachyk and Watterud. Our game plan was: If they are going to beat us, they're going to have to take it inside on us."

And inside is where the 6-foot Nolan and the rest of the Wildcats dominated. They were 10-for-20 shooting from inside in the first quarter alone. Nolan had eight of his points in the opening frame as well as two offensive rebounds.

"He's done this before," Finberg said. "We're trying to get it across to him that he can do this all the time.

"He's as good of an athlete as there is in this conference. He can play the one (point) for us or he can play the wing for us. He does a lot of things for us. Defensively, he's strong and physical and athletic. He can play defense with the best of them.

"Plus, he knows what his role is. Tonight, his role was to take it to the basket and force Whitefish to penetrate with the ball and he did that. Then he hit some big shots from the outside in the second half as well. He's a competitor and when you play as hard as Mackey does, good things are going to happen."

Grant Getts, a 6-3 junior, led C-Falls with nine rebounds. He also had seven points. All told, the Wildcats finished with a 39-27 advantage on the boards and made 42 percent of their shots (21-for-50) with only two 3-pointers. Sophomore Mitchell Wassam added seven points in the victory. Zane Ridings had four offensive rebounds in the first quarter and finished with four points.

The Wildcats (6-3) are back in action tonight in a huge conference showdown at Ronan (7-1). Whitefish (3-5) plays at Bigfork (3-5) tonight.

C-Falls 21 8 12 16 - 57

Whitefish 10 9 19 11 - 49

COLUMBIA FALLS (4-0, 6-3) - Chase Fairbank 1-4 1-2 3, Cody Bowman 0-3 2-4 2, Zane Ridings 1-7 2-2 4, Mackey Nolan 8-13 2-3 19, Chase Grilley 5-14 1-6 12, Mitchell Wassam 2-3 3-4 7, Grant Getts 3-5 1-2 7, Michael Williams 1-1 1-2 3. Totals 21-50 13-25 57.

WHITEFISH (0-3, 3-5) - Matt Whitehead 1-2 1-2 4, Aaron Tkachyk 1-9 0-0 3, Shawn Watterud 3-5 5-7 13, Josh Backer 0-0 0-0 0, Marc Hotzfield 1-2 0-1 3, Brian Flickinger 0-2 1-2 1, Colt Idol 9-15 4-6 23, Jake Smith 0-1 1-3 1, David FauntLeRoy 0-7 1-2 1. Totals 15-43 13-23 49.

3-point goals - CF 2-12 (Nolan 1-3, Grilley 1-5), Wf. 5-12 (Watterud 2-4, Hotzfield 1-1, Idol 1-3, Tkachyk 1-4). Rebounds - CF 39 (Getts 9, Grilley 8, Nolan 7, Ridings 5, Bowman 3, team 3, Wassam 2, two with 1), Wf. 27 (FauntLeRoy 6, Watterud 5, Idol 5, Smith 5, team 5, Hotzfield). Assists - CF 9 (Nolan 3, Grilley 2, Bowman 2, Fairbank, Ridings), Wf. 4 (Idol 2, Tkachyk, FauntLeRoy). Steals - CF 11 (Ridings 4, Grilley 3, Fairbank 2, Getts, Bowman), Wf. 4 (Smith 2, Idol, Watterud). Blocks - CF 0, Wf. 1 (Smith). Turnovers - CF 17, Wf. 19. Totals fouls - CF 20, Wf. 19. Fouled out - none. Technicals - CF coach Cary Finberg.