BASKETBALL: Columbia Falls, Polson advance at Western A divisional

BUTTE — Columbia Falls and Polson each went 2-0 as the Western A divisional tournament tipped off Wednesday at the Butte Civic Center.

The Polson boys and Columbia Falls girls, the conference champions in Northwestern A, cruised to easy wins, while their counterparts — the Wildcats boys and Pirates girls, both last place finishers in the conference — also came away with victories.

The Whitefish girls will be forced to win tonight after a quarterfinal loss on Wednesday, while the Bulldogs boys’ tournament begins today at 11 a.m. against Butte Central.

The double-elimination tournament continues today and runs through Saturday. The top four finishers on the girls and boys sides will advance to the state tournament, March 3-5 in Missoula for the boys and March 10-12 in Belgrade for the girls.

BOYS

Columbia Falls 48, Corvallis 40, OT

BUTTE — Tyler Murphy drilled a buzzer-beating 3-pointer at the end of regulation and Columbia Falls scored the first 11 points of overtime to upend Corvallis in the first game of the day at the Butte Civic Center.

With the clock winding down, Murphy rose up over three defenders in front of the Wildcats bench and knocked home a deep 3-pointer, tying the game at 37.

The Wildcats (4-15) trailed 31-22 entering the fourth quarter before things clicked into gear. Columbia Falls’ pressure forced 15 Corvallis turnovers and the Cats made 11 of 17 free throws in the second half and overtime.

“We hit our free throws, we took care of the ball and we played really smart basketball,” Columbia Falls coach John Anderson said. “Our boys finally understand what momentum can do. I think we really grew up tonight.”

Murphy and Matt Morrison each had nine points to lead the Wildcats. Morrison added 11 rebounds in the win. All nine players who saw the court for Columbia Falls scored.

Chase Jessop led Corvallis (6-13) with 19 points. Jacob Geary scored nine and pulled down a game-high 15 rebounds.

Columbia Falls had won seven straight Northwestern A divisional titles — the postseason format was changed this year, combining what had been separate Northwestern A and Southwestern A tournaments into the Western A tournament — but struggled through an uncharacteristically difficult regular season.

Despite that, Anderson, in his first year as the Wildcats’ head coach, still sees some of that championship meddle in his team, especially in seniors like Murphy.

“The boys seem to be in a really good frame of mind,” Anderson said. “There’s just such a successful tradition in Columbia Falls. We’re really focused.”

Columbia Falls will take on Southwestern A regular season conference champion Dillon next, in a quarterfinal game today at 2:30 p.m. Corvallis will play a loser out game today at 6 p.m. against Frenchtown.

C. Falls 7 10 5 15 11 — 48

Corvallis 12 11 8 6 3 — 40

COLUMBIA FALLS — Tyler Murphy 9, Matt Morrison 9, Austin Green 8, Mason Tucker 8, Dakota Bridwell 5, Nathan Riley 3, Logan Stephens 2, Steven DeCamp 2, Quintin Schriver 2.

CORVALLIS — Chase Jessop 19, Jacob Geary 9, Caleb Powell 4, Spencer Jessop 3, Tylor Nixon 3, Dillon Lewis 2.

Polson 55, Stevensville 35

BUTTE — Matthew Rensvold missed only two field goals in a 19-point outburst and Polson blew out Stevensville.

The Pirates (15-4) held the Yellowjackets to just 23 points in the first three quarters, building a 43-23 lead entering the fourth.

Rensvold went 9 for 11 from the floor and added seven rebounds. Shade Main chipped in 10 points off the Pirates bench. Polson held a 34-17 rebounding edge in the game.

Liam LeCoure, Jarod Kingsberry and James Fry each scored seven points to lead Stevi (5-14).

Polson is off until Friday when they will match up with Hamilton in a semifinal game at 3 p.m. The Yellowjackets will take on either Corvallis or Frenchtown in a loser out game at 11:30 a.m. Friday.

Stevi 6 9 8 12 — 35

Polson 15 8 20 12 — 55

STEVENSVILLE — Liam LeCoure 7, Jarod Kingsberry 7, James Fry 7, Bryce Torrey 6, Jordan Thomas 4, Dalton Bragg 2, Cody Coleman 2.

POLSON — Matthew Rensvold 19, Shade Main 10, Payton Lefthand 9, Julian Jones 8, Tanner Wilson 5, Wyatt Ducharme 4.

GIRLS

Columbia Falls 67, Corvallis 39

BUTTE — Kiara Burlage went off for 23 points and 10 rebounds, and top-seeded Columbia Falls opened its postseason with an easy win against Corvallis.

Burlage shot 7 for 11 from the field and led all players in points and rebounds. Peyton Kehr added 15 points and six boards for the Wildkats.

Columbia Falls (18-1) slowly pulled away from the Blue Devils throughout, opening up a 38-22 lead at halftime and extending the margin to as many as 35 points in the fourth quarter.

The Wildkats shot 49 percent from the field in the game and limited Corvallis to just 28.3 percent shooting.

Corine Sanderson led the Blue Devils (7-12) with 15 points.

Columbia Falls will face off with Dillon on Friday at 4:45 p.m. in the tournament semifinals. Corvallis will get either Stevensville or Whitefish in a loser out game at 1:15 p.m. Friday.

Corvallis 6 16 8 9 — 39

C. Falls 13 25 12 17 — 67

CORVALLIS — Corine Sanderson 15, Calla Haldorson 11, Taia Tully 4, Lainie Albright 3, Penny Jessop 2, Genesis Keith 2, Tayle Wright 2.

COLUMBIA FALLS — Kiara Burlage 23, Peyton Kehr 15, Sydney Hovde 8, Miranda Livingston 7, Cydney Finberg 6, Sydney Grilley 4, Allyson Gimbel 4.

Polson 42, Stevensville 31

BUTTE — Polson raced out to a 15-5 lead in the first quarter and never looked back, cruising to first round win against Stevensville.

The Pirates (7-12) led by as many as 21 points in the second half and were up 24-9 at halftime. Polson’s defense forced 26 turnovers and limited the Yellowjackets to on 16 field goal attempts in the first half.

Nichole Lake led the Pirates, and all scorers, with 19 points. She added eight rebounds, also a game high.

Mariah Hinson scored 11 points to pace Stevensville (3-16).

Polson moves into the quarterfinals and will take on undefeated Southwestern A regular season champion Butte Central today at 4:15 p.m. Stevi will face Whitefish in a loser out game tonight at 7:45 p.m.

Polson 15 9 12 6 — 42

Stevi 5 4 13 9 — 31

POLSON — Nichole Lake 19, Brenna Clarke 8, MaKenna Weltz 5, Lauren Lefthand 4, Erin Sampson 2, Kaelyn Smith 2, Mollie Fisher 2.

STEVENSVILLE — Mariah Hinson 11, Makayla Davids 7, Megan Pendergast 5, Deanna Blair 3, Ashlynn Harrington 3, Angel Richards 2.

Dillon 60, Whitefish 41

BUTTE — Dani Douglas scored 18 points but Whitefish could not overcome a miserable first quarter, falling to Dillon in the quarterfinal round.

The Beavers (13-6) jumped in front 22-8 after one quarter and never looked back. Dillon shot 58.3 percent from the field in the game and made 10 of 20 3-point attempts.

Douglas made four 3-pointers but was the only Bulldog in double-figures. Coral Schulz was next for Whitefish (6-13) with eight points.

Rachael Nye led Dillon with 24 points.

The Bulldogs face an elimination game today at 7:45 p.m. against Stevensville while Dillon advances to the tournament semifinals. The Beavers will square off with Columbia Falls on Friday at 4:45 p.m.

Whitefish 8 10 8 15 — 41

Dillon 22 13 9 16 — 60

WHITEFISH — Dani Douglas 18, Coral Schulz 8, Allie Schulz 5, Cailyn Ross 4, Annisa Brown 4, Haley Nicholson 2.

DILLON — Rachael Nye 24, Alex Rouse 12, Brynley Fitzgerald 12, Bailey Berriochoa 6, Kylie Christiansen 2, Kyndall Petersen 2, Kathleen Tatarka 2.