Columbia Falls settles for 3rd at state

by Dixie Knutson Daily Inter Lake
| March 7, 2010 2:00 AM

BUTTE — Only two teams left the Class A boys state basketball tournament Saturday night on a happy note — and the Columbia Falls Wildcats were one of them.

The Wildcats demolished the Billings Central Rams 51-30 in the consolation game to bring home the third place trophy.

Nick Emerson and Austin Barth each scored 10 points to lead Columbia Falls. Kaleb Johnson added eight rebounds and Michael Williams contributed three assists and two steals.

“I thought we came out and made a statement. We felt that we’re one of the better basketball teams in the state,” said Columbia Falls coach Cary Finberg.

“I wish we were playing in (the championship). But a lot of credit goes to the kids,” he said.

“It was tough losing that first one on Thursday,” said Columbia Falls senior Michael Williams.

“But we battled back and got this one. This one is just as sweet. Last year, we knew what it felt like to be second. That was tough,” he added.

“I’m very happy,” Finberg said.

“My goal at the start of every year is to get to the state tournament and to get better every day. We did that.

“That double overtime game (in Thursday’s opening round) could have gone either way.”

But there’s some luck in every state championship, he said.

In past years in which the Wildcats did win titles, “there were times we got the breaks and escaped with a win,” he said.

As for Saturday night, both teams were a little tired in the early going.

Billings Central got a four-point lead early, but the Wildcats battled back in the final minute of the first quarter to go up 17-16.

“The first quarter, our defense was kind of lackadaisical,” Williams said.

“But the second quarter, we buckled down and dug in defensively. They had no chance,” he added.

“Once we got our legs underneath us defensively ... defense has carried us,” Finberg agreed.

The Wildcats started the second quarter with an 11-4 run to go up 28-20. They extended that to 32-22 by the half.

“I thought we had (the win) at halftime,” Williams said.

“We were sharing the ball, running the floor. People were getting rewarded for their hard work,” he said.

Billings Central edged back a bit in the third quarter — it got as close as seven points.

But the fourth quarter was all Wildcats. The Columbia Falls defense tightened to a stranglehold — it didn’t allow a single Ram point.

And the offense?

It rolled.

That culminated in a Kyle Howell to Nick Emerson alley oop dunk that brought down the house — and caused Finberg to finally empty the Wildcat bench.

“Once Nick got that dunk ... I knew it was over. That was sick. That was surreal for me,” Williams said.

“Put it anywhere near the rim and Nick is going to get it,” he smiled.

Finberg complimented the efforts of senior captains Mitchell Wassam, Kyle Howell and Tim Spencer.

“They provided great leadership for the team. Those three are probably the biggest reason we’re taking home that state trophy,” Finberg said.

“This goes a long way toward who we will be next year. We finished with a win and we’ve got some great kids coming back. Now, the next seven, eight, nine months we need to be very productive and hopefully build on this,” he added.

Columbia Falls 17 15 7 12 — 51

Billings Central 16 6 8 0 — 30

Columbia Falls — Kyle Howell 2 2-2 7, Austin Barth 5 0-0 10, Mitchell Wassam 1 6-6 8, Kaleb Johnson 2 0-0 4, Michael Williams 3 0-0 8, Nick Emerson 3 4-4 10, Tim Spencer 1 0-0 2, Jacob Calderwood 1 0-1 2.Totals 18 12-13 51.

Billings Central — Kevin O’Brien 2 2-2 7, Connor Cunningham 1 0-0 2, Cole Cattelan 1 3-6 5, Jacob Stanton 2 0-0 4, Connor Novakovich 4 0-0 8, Ryan Burke 1 0-0 2, Lucas Blehm 1 0-0 2. Totals 12 5-8 30.

3-point goals: Columbia Falls 3 (Howell 1, Williams 2), Billings Central 1 (O’Brien). Total fouls: Columbia Falls 10, Billings Central 14. Fouled out: None. Rebounds: Columbia Falls 36 (Johnson 8), Billings Central 31 (Novakovich 8), Turnovers: Columbia Falls 13, Billings Central 13. Assists: Columbia Falls 11 (Williams 3), Billings Central 3 (No leader), Blocks: Columbia Falls 2 (Barth 2), Billings Central 4 (O’Brien Cunningham 2, MacDonald 2), Steals: Columbia Falls 3 (Williams 2), Billings Central 6 (O’Brien 3).

Columbia Falls 54, Butte Central 31

Nick Emerson scored 12 points and had three steals and two assists as the Columbia Falls Wildcats rolled to a morning loser-out victory over Butte Central.

Kaleb Johnson contributed seven rebounds and every member of the Columbia Falls team scored as the Wildcats (20-3) advanced to the consolation game.

Butte Central finished the season at 15-8.

In the other loser-out game, Billings Central dropped Browning 71-65 in two overtimes.

Butte Central 9 10 2 10 — 31

Columbia Falls 14 12 14 14 — 54

Butte Central (15-8) — Andy Ritter 3 2-2 8, Colin Hollow 1 0-0 3, Aschan Richards 3 2-4 8, Jonathan Richards 3 1-1 8, Zach Kasperick 1 0-0 2, Jake Simkins 1 0-3 2. Totals 12 5-16 31.

Columbia Falls (20-3) — Kyle Howell 2 1-3 6, Austin Barth 0 5-6 5, Mitchell Wassam 2 0-0 4, Kaleb Johnson 2 0-2 4, Michael Williams 1 2-2 5, Devyn Rocker 1 0-0 3, Nick Emerson 3 6-8 12, Chris King 1 2-2 4, Anthony Correa 0 3-4 3, Parker Johnson 0 2-2 2, Tim Spencer 1 1-2 3, Jacob Calderwood 1 1-2 3. Totals 14 2-33 54.

3-point goals: Butte Central 2 (Hollow, J. Richards); Columbia Falls 3 (Howell, Williams, Rocker), Total fouls: Butte Central 24, Columbia Falls 19. Foued out: A. Richards, J.Richards. Turnovers: Butte Central 15, Columbia Falls 19. Rebounds: Butte Central 32 (A. Richards 6, Sean Ferriter 6), Columbia Falls 34 (Johnson 7). Assists: Butte Central 3 (No leader), Columbia Falls 6 (Wassam 2, Emerson 2), Blocks: Butte Central 1 (Ritter), Columbia Falls 4 (No leader). Steals: Butte Central 6 (No leader), Columbia Falls 9 (Emerson 3).

Billings Central 71, Browning 65 (2 OT)

Billings Central 11 7 16 18 6 13 — 71

Browning 10 17 9 16 6 7 — 65

BILLINGS CENTRAL (14-9) — Kevin O’Brien 1-6 4-5 6, Connor Cunningham 4-9 0-0 8, Cole Cattelan 8-16 9-13 26, Jacob Stanton 35 0-1 6, Connor Novakovich 3-13 5-11 11, Nick Anthony 0-0 0-0 0, John Heger 1-4 1-2 4, Lucas Blehm 3-3 4-5 10, James Stanton 0-0 0-0 0, Ryan Burke 0-2 0-0 0, Justin MacDonald 0-0 0-0 0, John Werner 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-58 23-37 71.

BROWNING (16-7) — Lyle St. Goddard 9-20 2-2 23, Chuck Pappan 3-8 2-2 11, Derek DesRosier 3-4 2-3 8, Jeff St. Goddard 3-7 2-2 8, Cody Edwards 2-7 3-7 7, Giles Eagle Feathers 0-3 0-0 0, Jonathan Hall 2-6 0-1 4, Glenn Hall 0-2 0-2 0, Josiah Davis 0-1 0-0 0, Charles Old Chief 2-4 0-1 4. Totals 24-62 11-20 65.

3-point goals — Billings Central 2-15 (O’Brien 0-4, Cattelan 1-5, Burke 0-2, Heger 1-4), Browning 6-18 (L. St. Goddard 3-10, Pappan 3-7, J. St.Goddard 0-1). Fouled out — Cunningham, Edwards, Eagle Feathers, DesRosier. Total fouls — Billings Central 19, Browning 29. Technicals — none. Rebounds — Billings Central 45 (Jacob Stanton 10, Novakovich 9, Cattelan 7), Browning 42 (Edwards 12, J. St. Goddard 7, G. Hall 7). Blocks — Billings Central 3 (O’Brien 1, Jacob Stanton 1, Blehm 1), Browning 4 (J. St. Goddard 2, Edwards 1, G. Hall 1). Assists — Billings Central 7 (Novakovich 3), Browning 10 (J. St. Goddard 3, Old Chief 3). Steals — Billings Central 15 (O’Brien 3, Cattelan 3, Novakovich 3), Browning 12 (J. St. Goddard 3). Turnovers — Billings Central 22, Browning 28.