Wildcats in stride
Kaleb Johnson of Columbia Falls eyes the basket before taking a shot while Whitefish’s Connor Silliker (34) looks on during last Saturday’s game in Columbia Falls. Johnson leads Northwestern A in rebounding (8.5 per game) and is in the Top 10 in scoring (10 per game).
This year’s top-ranked Columbia Falls boys basketball team has already achieved something no other group — not even the state championship squads — ever accomplished over the past 14 years: 10-0.
Under head coach Cary Finberg, the Wildcats’ previous best start to a season was 8-0 in 1998. That team lost out at divisionals. Both the 2005 and 2006 teams, two of Columbia Falls’ three state championship winners this decade, finished 20-3 for the best overall record under Finberg.
Last year’s team (15-8) caught fire late in the season and rode a hot-streak that didn’t end until the final minutes of the state championship game against Dillon. Columbia Falls came up just short in a back-and-forth finale that ended in Dillon’s favor, 54-50.
All but four players returned this season from that heartbroken team, and they appear to be showing how losing can become a motivator.
“We don’t really talk about it. We obviously know what happened last year,” Finberg said of last year’s final loss on March 14 in Great Falls. “Any game your going to lose hurts, but losing the state championship game is probably the toughest loss of them all. They played very well in that game, but we just came up a little short.
“I think the success that these guys had last year has really carried over and at the same time, losing that championship game I think has motivated them also,” he added.
“They want to get back there. We said early on that our goal is to go get back to the state tournament. That’s our only goal.”
On Wednesday, the weekly prep poll showed that the opinion across the state is that the Wildcats are looking bound for Butte, where this year’s state tournament will be held. Columbia Falls was again awarded the top spot in this week’s Class A ranking and earned all 12 first-place votes.
Currently, the Wildcats sit atop the Northwestern A with a 3-0 conference record and is just past the regular season midway point with eight games left to play.
With a more balanced scoring attack than last year’s team, Columbia Falls boasts the top scoring average in league at 59.8 points per game. Senior Mitchell Wassam leads the team with 10.70 ppg, followed closely by Kaleb Johnson (10), who also leads Northwestern A in rebounding (8.5).
“It’s been a different guy night in and night out for us leading in scoring. When you can spread the ball around and have that many guys stepping up, it’s a nice luxury to have,” Finberg said. “We’ve got some taller and longer kids who are still very athletic and that allows us to do some things that we haven’t been able to do in the past.”
Columbia Falls has three more nonconference games left on the schedule before diving into the heart of league play. The Wildcats face a high-powered offensive team in Glacier on the road Friday at 8 p.m. before heading to Missoula to take on Class B’s second-ranked team, Loyola.
Finberg said the team isn’t focused on going undefeated; their only goal is to finish undefeated.
“Everybody’s goal should be to win every game, that’s why you keep score,” he said. “Obviously going undefeated is an unrealistic expectation. It’s something we don’t worry about. Like I said, our goal is to get better every day and to get back to the state tournament. Hopefully we can keep our eye on the big picture and get better as the season goes along. I’m more concerned about that.”
NOTES: Both Polson squads landed in the prep polls. The boys moved up from fifth-place to third. The girls earned fifth-place. The Bigfork boys moved up in the Class B poll from ninth to fifth. Due to an error in the standings, Plains, who Bigfork beat earlier this season, remains ranked above the Vikings.
Prep Poll
BOYS
The Top Ten teams in the Associated Press Montana high school basketball poll with first-place votes in parentheses and won-loss record, total points and position last week at right:
Class AA
Record Pts Prv
1. C.M. Russell (12) 8-0 120 1
2. Billings Senior 8-0 114 3
3. Bozeman 7-1 80 2
4. Billings West 6-1 75 5
5. Billings Skyview 6-2 53
Others receiving votes: Helena Capital 19, Missoula Sentinel 13, Great Falls 6.
Class A
Record Pts Prv
1. Columbia Falls (12) 11-0 120 1
2. Laurel 8-1 108 2
3. Polson 7-2 71 5
4. Glendive 10-3 69 4
5. Browning 6-3 53 3
Others receiving votes: Corvallis 52, Billings Central 7.
Class B
Record Pts Prv
1. Rocky Boy (11) 10-0 110 1
2. Missoula Loyola 9-1 99 3
3. Plains 8-0 89 4
4. Florence 8-1 68 6
5. Bigfork 8-1 60 9
6. Conrad 7-2 52 2
7. Shepherd 10-2 39 7
(tie)Whitehall 10-2 39 5
9. Boulder 8-3 28 8
10. Fairfield 6-4 21
(tie) Malta 8-4 21
Others receiving votes: Huntley Project 12, Shelby 6, Choteau 6, Columbus 5, Manhattan Christian 4, Valley Christian 1.
Class C
Record Pts Prv
1. Culbertson (10) 10-0 117 1
2. Winifred (1) 8-0 103 2
3. Joliet 11-0 88 4
4. Arlee 9-0 74 6
5. Twin Bridges (1) 8-2 62 5
6. Drummond 9-1 51 3
7. Fairview 8-1 45 7
7. Wibaux 8-1 45 8
9. Big Sandy 9-1 31 9
10. Belt 9-1 20
Others receiving votes: Shields Valley 11, Circle 4, Nashua 4, Power 2, Dutton-Brady 2, St. Labre 1.
GIRLS
Class AA
Record Pts Prv
1. Bozeman (9) 7-0 108 2
2. Missoula Sentinel (2) 9-0 98 3
3. Butte 7-1 86 1
4. Great Falls Russell 6-2 80 5
5. Billings Senior 5-3 56 4
Others receiving votes: Missoula Big Sky 12.
Class A
Record Pts Prv
1. Anaconda (10) 7-1 109 1
2. Sidney (1) 8-1 94 5
3. Livingston 6-1 90 2
4. Billings Central 8-2 60 3
5. Polson 8-1 36
Others receiving votes: Laurel 25, Miles City 19, Butte Central 7.
Class B
Record Pts Prv
1. Malta (8) 9-0 107 1
2. Missoula Loyola (2) 10-0 98 2
3. Fairfield (1) 9-1 91 3
4. Choteau 9-1 71 5
5. Shepherd 8-2 52 8
6. Whitehall 7-3 45 6
7. Manhattan Christian 8-2 34 4
8. Broadus 6-2 31 7
9. Florence 8-2 30
10. Wolf Point 6-3 21 9
Others receiving votes: Bigfork 8, Eureka 4, Red Lodge 4, Valley Christian 3, Harlem 2, Glasgow 1, Columbus 1, Huntley Project 1, Three Forks 1.
Class C
Record Pts Prv
1. Hrlwtn-Ryegate (10) 10-0 105 1
2. Fairview 10-0 83 3
3. Hot Springs 10-0 75 6
4. Winifred 8-1 63 2
5. Belt (1) 8-1 48 7
6. Twin Bridges 8-1 47 4
7. Saco 9-1 46 8
(tie) Culbertson 7-1 46 5
9. Roberts 11-1 27 10
10. Seeley-Swan 9-1 22 9
Others receiving votes: Melstone 16, Joliet 9, Drummond 4, Shields Valley 4, Terry 4, Dutton-Brady 2, Ennis 2, Power 1, Chester-Joplin-Inverness 1.
Reporter Dillon Tabish can be reached at 758-4463, or by e-mail at dtabish@dailyinterlake.com.