Hoops Roundup: Columbia Falls boys make it 9-0; Flathead wins in OT

RONAN — Columbia Falls jumped out to 17-4 advantage and rolled from there to a 67-35 Northwestern A boys basketball victory Friday night over Ronan.

Columbia Falls (9-0), the state’s top-ranked A squad, led 39-13 at the half.

“I thought tonight defensively we played very good again,” Columbia Falls coach Cary Finberg said.

“Offensively we made some strides. Hopefully we will continue to get better on that end of the floor.”

Mitchell Wassam, 15 points, was one of four Wildcats to reach double figures. Austin Barth finished with 14, Michael Williams tallied 13, and Nick Emerson finished with 10. That was a season high for Williams.

Kaleb Johnson led Columbia Falls in rebounding with 12. The Wildcats outrebounded the Chiefs 36-19.

Ronan (1-8, 0-4) had 24 turnovers.

Columbia Falls hosts rival Whitefish today at 4 p.m.

Columbia Falls    17    22    16    12    —    67

Ronan    4    9    15    7    —    35

COLUMBIA FALLS (9-0) — Kyle Howell 1 0-0 3, Nick Emerson 4 2-2 10, Anthony Correa 1 1-2 3, Tim Spencer 0 1-2 1, Austin Barth 6 2-2 14, Mitchell Wassam 6 1-2 15, Kaleb Johnson 4 0-0 8, Jacob Calderwood 0 0-1 0, Michael Williams 4 1-2 13. Totals: 26 8-13 67.

RONAN (1-8) — Jerod Tanner 3 0-0 8, Robbie Gauthier 1 0-0 2, Marcus Hungerford 1 0-0 3, Lucas Black 3 0-0 6, John Dusty Bull 3 5-6 11, Kevin Wreblewski 2 0-0 5, Marley Tanner 0 0-2 0. Totals: 13 5-8 35.

3-point goals: Williams (4), Wassam (2), Howell; J. Tanner (2), Hungerford, Wreblewski; Team fouls: Columbia Falls 13, Ronan 18; Fouled out: None.

Flathead 57,

Missoula Big Sky 54

MISSOULA — Karl Ingram hit a free throw to force overtime, and Flathead scored the first six points in the extra session to dump Missoula Big Sky in Western AA play.

Flathead (3-4 overall and 1-1 league) outscored Big Sky in overtime 9-6.

Ingram finished with a game-high 22 points. Teammate Tanner Salois added 19.

Big Sky (0-9 and 0-3) was led by Drew Owens’ 14 points.

Flathead     15     14     9     10     9     –     57

Big Sky     11     11     15     11     6     –     54

FLATHEAD – Tanner Salois 6 5-8 19, Ian Gillespie 10-0 3, Karl Ingram 6 10-13 22, Joe Pistorese 1 0-0 3 , George Sherwood 1 0-0 3, Mike VanArendonk 1 1-4 3, Connor Tice 1 0-0 2, Jeremy Grosswiler 1 0-0 2. Totals – 18 16-25 57.

BIG SKY – Eric Deneault 2 1-3 6, Drew Owens 3 7-9 14, Ryan Devlin 5 0-0 10, Jordan Shafer 2 1-4 6, Jason Neibergs 1 0-0 3, Ed Apostol 5 1-2 11, Devin Nooney 1 2-2 4. Totals – 19 12-20 54.

3-point goals – Flathead 5 (Salois 2, Gillespie, Sherwood), Big Sky 4 (Deneault, Owens, Shafer, Neibergs). Total fouls – Flathead 17, Big Sky 22. Fouled out – Sherwood, Devlin, Owens.

Libby 35, Troy 29

LIBBY — Kelly May accounted for the bulk of Libby’s scoring as the Loggers tripped rival Troy in a Lincoln County nonconference matchup.

May scored 12 of his game-high 15 points in the opening half as Libby (4-4) enjoyed a 22-14 advantage.

Troy    2    12    8    7    —    29

Libby    15    7    4    9    —    35

TROY — Mikie Ormiston 1 0-0 3, Cory Orr 2 0-0 4, Ryan Rayson 3 0-1 6, Jake Alexander 1 2-2 5, Dillon Curry 1 0-0 2, Trent Cratty 2 0-0 6, Brian Hammerich 1 1-2 3. Totals: 11 3-5 29.

LIBBY (4-4) — TJ Benson 0 0-1 0, Cree Maloney 0 2-4 2, Kelly May 5 2-3 15, Gaqrrett Craig 1 0-0 2, Colton Cannon 3 0-0 6, Nate Broden 2 0-0 4, Alex Cislo 3 0-0 6. Totals: 16 4-8 35.

3-point goals: Ormiston, Alexander, Cratty (2); May (3); Team fouls: Troy 14, Libby 13; Fouled out: Rayson.

Bigfork 60,

Whitefish 57

BIGFORK — Christian Ker tied his season scoring high with 16 points and Lael Richmond pulled down 18 rebounds to go with 13 points as Bigfork held off Whitefish for its sixth-straight victory.

Ninth-ranked Bigfork (9-1) is 3-0 versus Class A competition to date.

 Ker just missed out on a double-double with nine rebounds.

Evan Jordt led Bigfork in assists with five, and Carter Sorenson chipped in with 14 points.

Connor Silliker had a game-high 20 points for Whitefish (3-5).

Whitefish    12    16    10    19    —    57

Bigfork    15    21    9    15    —    60

WHITEFISH — Mac Roche 2 0-0 4, Austin Green 2 4-8 9, Cole Havens 0 2-2 2, Willie Roche 0 2-4 2, Gage Vasquez 5 0-0 10, Cooper Olson 1 0-0 3, Connor Silliker 8 4-6 20, Zach Maassen 2 0-0 4, Drew Galbraith 1 1-2 3. Totals: 21 13-22 57.

BIGFORK (9-1) — Carter Sorenson 5 2-4 14, Lael Richmond 5 1-3 13, Ian Lorang 0 1-2 1, Evan Jordt 2 2-6 6, Travis Knoll 2 2-6 6, Christian Ker 6 2-6 16, Keenan Evans 2 0-0 4. Totals: 22 10-27 60.

3-point goals: Green, Olson; Sorenson (2), Richmond (2), Ker (2); Team fouls: Whitefish 19, Bigfork 16; Fouled out: W. Roche, Green.