Wildcats, Bulldogs in boys final at Northwestern A divisional
COLUMBIA FALLS — There were no surprises on the first day of the Northwestern A divisional boys and girls basketball tournament on Thursday.
The same held true for Day 2 — Friday evening.
Columbia Falls, ranked No. 4 in the Class B boys poll, and Frenchtown, ranked No. 3 for girls, both won their semifinal matchups to advance to tonight’s championship round.
Columbia Falls prevailed in a 52-36 triumph over Polson, while Frenchtown took care of Libby 51-18.
Columbia Falls and Frenchtown were both undefeated regular-season champs in league play.
Columbia Falls will now face Whitefish tonight at 8.
In the girls final, it’s Frenchtown and Polson at 6 p.m.
The top two teams advance to state — boys March 1-3 in Butte and girls March 8-10 in Butte.
Semifinals
Boys
Columbia Falls 52, Polson 36
Columbia Falls (16-3) held Polson to single digit scoring in each of the first three periods to win by 16 points.
The Wildcats led 11-2 and 23-11 after the first two quarter stops.
Luke Kazlauskas and Brian Marcille were the Columbia Falls offensive leaders with 12 and 11 points, respectively.
Marcille hit three 3s while Kazlauskas cashed in at the free-throw line by sinking 6 of 9 shots.
For the game, the Wildcats were 14 of 28 at the charity stripe.
Polson (8-12) was led by Riley Sampson’s 10 points.
Polson 2 9 7 18 — 36
Columbia Falls 11 12 9 20 — 52
POLSON — Vince DiGiallonardo 2 2-2 7, Will Davey 0 3-4 3, Ian Laimbeer 1 0-0 2, Cody Fischer 2 0-2 5, Brady Hislop 3 0-0 7, Cedrick Smith 1 0-0 2, Riley Sampson 4 2-4 10. Totals: 13 7-12 36.
COLUMBIA FALLS — Alex Presnell 1 1-2 3, Ronny Gallegos 2 0-2 5, Luke Kazlauskas 3 6-9 12, Anthony Correa 1 1-4 3, Parker Johnson 2 2-2 8, Brian Marcille 3 2-2 11, Austin Barth 3 2-7 8, Jared Trinastich 1 0-0 2. Totals: 16 14-28 52.
3-point goals: DiGiallonardo, Fischer, Hislop; Gallegos, Johnson (2), Marcille (3); Team fouls: Polson 21, Columbia Falls 10; Fouled out: DiGiallonardo.
Whitefish 46,
Frenchtown 44, OT
Jake Slaybaugh scored all four of Whitefish’s points in overtime as the Bulldogs edged Frenchtown.
Slaybaugh wound up sharing team-high honors with Gage Vasquez with 14 apiece.
Austin Blank scored 20 for Frenchtown.
Whitefish (12-7) forced overtime by outscoring Frenchtown (6-13) 15-11 in the fourth quarter.
Frenchtown 13 8 10 11 2 — 44
Whitefish 4 12 11 15 4 — 46
FRENCHTOWN — John Chapman 2 1-1 6, Daniel Lebsock 2 0-0 4, Jackson Mahlum 4 0-0 8, Matt Price 2 0-0 6, Austin Blank 7 6-8 20. Totals: 17 7-9 44.
WHITEFISH — Jake Slaybaugh 6 0-1 14, Bryce Wehrli 1 0-0 2, Logan Harwood 3 1-2 7, Gage Vasquez 5 4-5 14, Cooper Olson 2 1-2 7, Jace Kalbfleisch 1 0-0 2. Totals: 18 6-10 46.
3-point goals: Chapman, Price (2); Slaybaugh (2), Olson (2); Team fouls: Frenchtown 11, Whitefish 9; Fouled out: None.
Girls
Polson 50,
Columbia Falls 37
Polson used a big third quarter to roll by Columbia Falls to move one step closer to the state tournament.
The Pirates (16-3) outscored Columbia Falls 14-7 in the third, giving themselves separation in a close game. With the win Polson advances to play No. 3 Frenchtown in the game.
Columbia Falls (7-12) will play Whitefish at 9 a.m. today in a loser-out game.
Polson 12 11 14 13 — 50
Columbia Falls 8 10 7 12 — 37
POLSON — Mackenzie Banner 4, MaCall Banner 5, Mariah Hamel 14, Anna DiGiallonardo 10, Riley Kenney 15, Jordan Quinn 2. Totals 15 16-23 50.
COLUMBIA FALLS — Kaity Presnell 2, Hope Burlage 16, Madison Sandefer 1, Cortney White 3, Winter Kemppainen 4, Haley Belgrade 11. Totals 16 5-20 37.
3-pointers — Polson 4 (Hamel 2, Kenney, Banner), Columbia Falls 0; Team fouls — Polson 15, Columbia Falls 18; Fouled out — None.
Frenchtown 51,
Libby 18
Third-ranked Frenchtown easily dispatched of Libby to advance to the championship game.
The Broncs ((17-2) outscored Libby 28-8 in the first half to set the tone. Vanessa Stavish led Frenchtown with a game-high 14 points.
Kim Tangen scored 9 to lead the Loggers (5-15).
Frenchtown 14 14 15 8 — 51
Libby 3 5 0 10 — 18
FRENCHTOWN — Abby Indreland 5, Vanessa Stavish 14, Kayla Blood 12, Angel Lowry 6, Emma Oostadyk 4, Sarah Lester 8, Morgan Ray 2. Totals 23 5-9 51.
LIBBY — Hannah England 3, Kelsey Klin 3, Shyla Stevenson 2, Becca Kyriss 1, Kim Tangen 9. Totals 7 2-7 18.
3-pointers - Frenchtown 0, Libby 2; Fouls - Frenchtown 9, Libby 7; Fouled out - None.
Today’s Schedule
Boys
Championship
8 p.m. — Columbia Falls vs. Whitefish
Consolation final
4 p.m. — Polson vs. Libby or Frenchtown
Loser out
10:30 a.m. — Libby vs. Frenchtown
Girls
Championship
6 p.m. — Frenchtown vs. Polson
Consolation final
2 p.m. — Libby vs. Columbia Falls or Whitefish
Loser out
9 a.m. — Columbia Falls vs. Whitefish