C-Falls boys win 6th straight divisional title

Columbia Falls held off a spirited Whitefish team late to win its sixth straight Northwestern A divisional boys basketball tournament, topping the Bulldogs 51-37 Sunday night at Glacier High School to claim a top seed at next weekend’s state tournament in Great Falls.

Whitefish will play Polson at 7:30 p.m. tonight at Glacier for the Northwest’s second seed.

Columbia Falls controlled play for most of the game, making the Bulldogs looked overmatched for the first three quarters of the contest.

The Wildcats limited Whitefish to a handful of rushed jumpers in the first half to amass a 27-13 lead at the break. By the midway point of the third quarter, the game looked in hand. Wildcats senior Alex Presnell nailed a 3-pointer with 3:23 left in the frame that pushed the lead to 20 points at 35-15, causing Columbia Falls coach Cary Finberg to pump his fist as Whitefish called a timeout to stem the momentum.

“He’s an experienced point guard,” Finberg said of Presnell. “You can’t discount that experience. He’s been there. He’s played big minutes for us in the divisional tournaments and state tournaments. He’s a gamer, definitely led us tonight.”

Whitefish made a run shortly after, cutting its deficit to 15 points by the end of the quarter. Senior guard EJ Havens scored seven straight points a few minutes into the fourth to narrow the score to 43-34 with 3:21 to play, the closest the Bulldogs would get after failing to find an open jumper down the stretch.

“I’m proud of the way the guys played in the second half,” Whitefish coach Mark Casazza said. “They came out fighting. They seem to play their best basketball with their backs against the wall.”

After missing six straight free throws during Whitefish’s final push, Columbia Falls closed the game making six of seven from the stripe to ice the victory.

“We knew Whitefish was going to make a run,” Finberg said. “In the second half of the fourth quarter, we shot our free throws well and maintained our lead. The guys played tremendous defense throughout.”

Presnell had 11 points and Jared Trinastich had 14 to lead Columbia Falls. EJ Havens and Art Doorn each had 13 for Whitefish.

The Wildcats will play Havre, the second seed from Central A, in the first round of the state tournament on Thursday.

Whitefish will need to pull out a third win over Polson to make its trip to Great Falls. The Bulldogs won 49-38 on Feb. 22 in Polson and 52-45 on Jan. 24 in Whitefish.

“(Polson is) playing great basketball right now,” Casazza said. “Any time a team has confidence they’re going to be tough.

“We have to play like we did in the second half for all four quarters. Both teams will be playing their best basketball of the tournament. We both want to get to Great Falls.”

Columbia Falls 15 12 10 14 — 51

Whitefish 7 6 11 13 — 37

COLUMBIA FALLS — Alex Presnell 4 0-2 11, Nakia Alexander 3 2-2 9, Ty Morgan 1 4-7 6, Jared Trinastich 5 4-5 14, Trevor Houston 1 1-1 3, Jayce Fagerland 1 1-3 4, Grant Wallace 1 2-2 4. Totals 16 14-23 51.

WHITEFISH — Keaton Nicholson 0 2-4 2, EJ Havens 4 4-5 13, Arthur Doorn 5 1-2 13, Garrett Anderson 1 0-1 2, AJ Wetsch 3 0-1 7. Totals 13 7-13 37.

3-point goals - Columbia Falls 5 (Presnell 3, Alexander, Fagerland), Whitefish 4 (Doorn 2, Wetsch, Havens); Team fouls - Columbia Falls 15, Whitefish 21. Fouled out - None.

Consolation Game

Polson 58,

Frenchtown 38

Cedrick Smith scored 18 points, Abndrew Weltz tallied 15 and Andrew Curley finished with 11 as Polson defeated Frenchtown to finish third.

Polson outscored Frenchtown 32-18 in the second half to secure the victory.

Bridger Truett led Frenchtown in scoring with 18 points.

“It says a lot for the boys coming back from a tough loss last night,” Polson coach Brad Pluff said. “We put together our best three games of the year in this tournament ... I think if we come out tomorrow night with the same intensity, if we get a shot at Whitefish, we have a good chance.”

Frenchtown advanced to the consolation final by defeating Libby 73-40 earlier in the day in an elimination contest.

Andrew Honken led Frenchtown in that outing with 15 points. Truett had 11.

Jared Winslow poured in 20 points for Libby.

Frenchtown 13 7 6 12 — 38

Polson 11 15 16 16 — 58

FRENCHTOWN — John Chapman 0 1-3 1, Quintin Mazzola 1 0-0 3, Andrew Honken 3 1-2 7, Bridger Truett 6 2-2 18, Jordan Moe 2 2-2 7, Andrew King 1 0-1 2. Totals 13 6-10 38.

POLSON — Hudson Smith 2 1-2 5, Cedrick Smith 6 4-4 18, Andrew Weltz 3 9-12 15, Andrew Curley 4 1-1 11, Tanner Wilson 1 0-2 3, Matthew Rensvold 2 2-2 6. Totals 18 17-23 58.

3-pointers - Frenchtown 6 (Truett 4, Moe, Mazzola); Polson 5 (Smith 2, Curley 2, Wilson); Team fouls - Frenchtown 14, Polson 10. Fouled out - Truett.

Elimination Game

Frenchtown 13 19 21 20 — 73

Libby 4 2 17 17 — 40

FRENCHTOWN — John Chapman 6 0-3 13, Quintin Mazzola 4 0-1 8, DJ Dimmick 2 2-4 6, Andrew Honken 5 4-4 15, Bridger Truett 4 2-2 11, Jacob Price 2 0-0 4, Levi Lind 2 0-0 4, Jordan Moe 1 0-0 2, Bobby Erbaugh 3 0-0 6, Austin Means 0 1-2 1, Andrew King 1 1-2 3. Totals 30 10-18 73.

LIBBY — Luke Adamson 0 1-2 1, Jonny Cielak 1 1-2 3, Collin Johnson 1 1-2 4, Jared Winslow 7 3-5 20, Michael Curtiss 1 4-4 6, Quinn Sullivan 2 2-2 6. Totals 12 12-17 40.

3-pointers - Frenchtown 3 (Honken, Truett, Chapman); Libby 4 (Winslow 3, Johnson); Team fouls - Frenchtown 14, Libby 13. Fouled out - None.