Wildcats win showdown
Polson senior Louis Mohr, 32, jumps in the air to throw a long shot down the court trying to score one last basket before halftime on Friday night during the game against Columbia Falls.
Columbia Falls senior Kaleb Johnson, 35, shoots for two under pressure from Polson defenders during their game on Friday night.
COLUMBIA FALLS - That ear-ringing tournament atmosphere can be unsettling at first. Even for an experienced group like the Columbia Falls Wildcats.
But when it came down to crunch time on Friday night, the Wildcats remembered who they were.
Conference champs.
In front of a raucous crowd of more than 2,000 people, top-ranked Columbia Falls rallied back in the second half to beat fifth-ranked Polson 34-29, avenging the team's only loss this season and clinching the regular season Northwestern A title. The victory snapped Polson's eight-game win streak and gave the Wildcats (16-1 overall, 7-1 in conference) the top seed at next week's divisional basketball tournament in Ronan.
"We battled and stuck with them. I'm just proud of the kids," Columbia Falls head coach Cary Finberg said.
After Columbia Falls trailed by as many as nine points in the first half, senior Kaleb Johnson scored on a transition layup to give the Wildcats their first lead of the game with 3:03 left in the fourth quarter. The Wildcats forced three straight Polson turnovers in the final two minutes, showcasing that stingy defense that has the boys at the top of Class A right now. The Pirates managed only one basket in the final quarter and eight points in the second half.
"Our defense in the second half was huge. That's what kept us in the game," Finberg said. "Luckily we made enough plays offensively there at the end to pull it out."
"That was a tough second half for us," Polson head coach Brad Pluff said. "They played very good defense. And we had some good looks that didn't go down in the second half that we hit a lot of the times. But that's part of playing on the road."
The conference's leading scorer, Polson senior Louis Mohr, scored a game-high 10 points and teammate Kyle Bagnell had seven with nine rebounds.
"I felt good with the way we came in and played them," Pluff said. "If that's the best team in the state we know we can play with anybody in the state. And I think they are the best team. Until somebody beats them that's the team to beat. Hopefully we get another shot next Saturday (at divisional)."
With two of the highest scoring teams in the state meeting in a storybook rematch, Friday's game seemed destined for a classic. Instead, the excitement translated on the court to a defensive showdown with offensive woes for both teams.
"It wasn't pretty but we got it done," said Columbia Falls senior Nick Emerson, who scored a team-high seven points along with junior Austin Barth, who had 15 rebounds as well. Anthony Correa scored six points.
Mohr gave the Pirates the early spark, scoring eight of the Pirates' 21 points in the first half. Polson strode into intermission leading 21-13 and Columbia Falls sat down after shooting 2-for-17 from the floor.
But the tides turned in the second half. Polson's offensive began floundering and Columbia Falls put together a crowd-awakening 12-0 run in the third quarter.
"The third quarter was definitely big for us. We got the momentum swinging our way," Emerson said.
The Pirates shot 4-for-20 from the floor in the second half. Not much better, Columbia Falls was 6-for-21.
Chalk it up to postseason practice.
"Good crowd, good atmosphere. I think the atmosphere kind of got to both teams a little bit," Finberg said. "But it's going to make both teams better in the long run."
"It felt like a tournament game almost where every possession mattered and every possession counted and they just took advantage of their possessions and we didn't," Pluff said. "Hats off to them."
Columbia Falls wraps up regular season play today against Frenchtown at home at 6:30 p.m. Polson (13-5, 6-2) is done until divisional.
Polson 10 11 6 2 - 29
Columbia Falls 6 7 10 11 - 34
POLSON - Tyler Krell 2 1-2 5, Kyle Bagnell 3 0-0 7, Zack Camel 1 0-0 3, Cody Fischer 2 0-0 4, Louis Mohr 3 2-2 10. Totals 11 3-4 29.
COLUMBIA FALLS - Devyn Rocker 1 1-4 4, Nick Emerson 2 3-6 7, Chris King 0 2-2 2, Anthony Correa 1 4-4 6, Parker Johnson 1 0-2 2, Austin Barth 1 5-8 7, Kaleb Johnson 2 0-2 4, Jacob Calderwood 0 2-4 2. Totals 8 17-32 34.
3-pointers - Polson 4 (Mohr 2, Camel, Bagnell), Columbia Falls 1 (Rocker); Rebounds - Polson 24 (Bagnell 9, Krell 4, Sheldon Fisher 4), Columbia Falls 34 (Barth 15); Turnovers - Polson 24, Columbia Falls 17; Fouls - Polson 21, Columbia Falls 11; Fouled out - Krell.