Top Cats

Anderson's free throw lifts C-Falls to another state title

BOZEMAN - The Columbia Falls Wildcats carved their names into the pantheon of all-time great Class A basketball programs Saturday night at the Brick Breeden Field House by defeating Frenchtown, 52-51.

Just five years ago, the Wildcats were still searching for their first-ever state basketball title. Now the team has won three of the last four, including this year's repeat.

"Yeah, we're a dynasty," Columbia Falls senior guard Guy Smith said after the game.

Kevin Boyer, the only player on his team to reach double figures with 13 points, was a key player on last year's championship squad, but this year might taste a little sweeter.

"This year, to be with my friends, with my seniors … it's great," he said.

Just as Boyer hit two clutch free throws last week to beat Polson at divisionals, Saturday night was Steffen Anderson's turn.

With eight seconds left in the game, and the score tied at 51, Columbia Falls came out of a time out looking to set Boyer up for the winning shot.

"We wanted to take the ball to the basket," Columbia Falls coach Cary Finberg said. "We had a backdoor screen set up for Boyer, but Frenchtown sort of cut that off. Steffen did a great job reading the defense.

He didn't hesitate."

Anderson received the inbounds pass and immediately headed for the rim. As he went up, Frenchtown's Nathan Lebsock made contact, and the referee blew the whistle.

With .9 seconds remaining on the clock, Anderson knew he'd have to hit at least one free throw to keep the game from going to overtime.

"I knew I had to win it for the team, not just me,"

Anderson said. "But I was nervous."

He drained the first. Columbia Falls 52, Frenchtown 51.

The Broncs tried to send a long pass down court for one desperate attempt, but the ball got loose as time expired.

"The kids did a great job," Finberg said. "This is why you put all the time and energy into this. This is well-deserved for them."

Saturday's game was the first time Frenchtown had made it to the Class A title match.

If it weren't for the exciting fourth quarter, this game would have been remembered more for its sloppy play. The first half certainly didn't make any legends.

"Whether you win by one-point or 20, it doesn't matter," Finberg said. "You still get the title."

Three minutes into the first quarter and the score was just 3-0 in Columbia Falls' favor. The Broncs had committed

four of the team's 14 turnovers in just a few minutes.

The Wildcats came out cold as well. Their squad of hot

shooters couldn't get anything to fall. The players

were committing bad fouls and making little mistakes

as frustration grew.

Only Frenchtown's Steven Pfahler found his shot early,

and he put six points on the board in the first

quarter. He finished with a game-high 20 points.

Columbia Falls had no answer for him.

Pfahler scored often on his untouchable turnaround

fading jump shot, on layups, at the line and even on a

trey.

"He scores a lot of points against us," Boyer said.

"He can do almost everything."

Pfahler was also a big reason Smith went 0-for-3

in the first half.

"He's a great defender," Smith said.

In the second, the Wildcats looked poised to run away

with the game, streaking out on a 9-1 run led by

Boyer.

He was at his slashing best, splitting defenders on

his way to the rim - even squeezing through traffic in

midair for a reverse.

But Columbia Falls' good movement on offense grew

sluggish, and Frenchtown responded with its own 9-0

run to go up 22-18.

The Wildcats looked confused and communication grew

tense between the players on the floor. The second

quarter ended with more missed shots and sloppy play

as Frenchtown went to the locker room up 22-19.

Columbia Falls had hit just eight of 20 field goals in

the first 16 minutes.

The Cats continued to struggle against the Pfahler's

formidable play in the third. Pfahler was doing his

job on both ends of the floor. He drained a three and

then ran down court to block a shot by Boyer.

Frenchtown led the entire quarter, but strong play by

the Cats in the last four minutes narrowed the Broncs'

lead to 37-36.

"We finally started taking it to the rim," Boyer said.

"Things started to click."

The teams traded shots in the fourth. Frenchtown

managed to extend the lead to five points only to

watch Columbia Falls come storming back to take the

lead by one point with three minutes left to play.

The 3,653 fans in the fieldhouse made a ruckus as the

lead bounced back and forth. If the crowd determined

the outcome of the game, Columbia Falls would have won going

away, but it still had to get it done on the floor.

Boyer found Anderson open on the right side, and he

nailed the three to put the Wildcats up 51-49.

Lebsock responded by hitting a tough jumper with a

bunch of hands in his face to tie the game.

On the next possession, Smith was called for

traveling, and the Broncs had the ball back. Greg

Macijunas fouled Josh Vlinkaty down low, but

Vlinkaty

missed both of his shots at the stripe.

Anderson's heroics then sealed the game for the

Wildcats.

"This was our year," Macijunas said. "Last year we

were mostly role players."

"The Juice" finished with six points for the game in a

balanced team effort.

"When you win a state title, it takes everybody,"

Finberg said. "Smith led us the last couple of nights,

and Boyer had led us all year. Frenchtown has tough

kids, we knew it would be tough. They gave us

everything, and we gave everything."

WILDCATS 52, BRONCS 51

Columbia Falls 9 10 17 16 - 52

Frenchtown 12 10 15 14 - 51

COLUMBIA FALLS (20-3)

Kevin Boyer 6-13 0-0 13, Robbie Dakin 2-4 2-3 7, Steffen Anderson 3-5 2-4 9, Guy Smith 2-6 5-5 9, Dillon West 3-3 0-0 6, Greg MacIjunas 2-7 2-3 6, Nick Beckwith 1-6 0-0 2. Totals 19-44 11-15 52.

FRENCHTOWN (16-8)

Nathan Lebsock 7-10 2-3 16, Tom Davis 1-5 0-0 3, Steven Pfahler 8-11 3-5 20, Kyle Amundson 0-4 0-0 0, Logan Mether 0-0 0-0 0, Caleb Degroot 1-1 2-4 4, Brian Lebsock 3-9 0-0 6, Josh Vlinkaty 1-2 0-2 2. Totals 21-42 7-14 51.

3-point goals-Columbia Falls 3 (Boyer, Dakin, Anderson), Frenchtown 2 (Pfahler, Davis). Total fouls-Columbia Falls 14, Frenchtown 18. Rebounds-Columbia Falls 25 (MacIjunas 9), Frenchtown 24 (Vlinkaty 9).