In the first game of the 2009 Northwestern A boys divisional basketball tournament, the Columbia Falls’ fan section was dotted with white T-shirts that read “Finny” on the back, in commemoration of local hoops legend Craig Finberg, who was recently diagnosed with pancreatic cancer last month.
The players – and his brother – did their part to honor Finny on Thursday afternoon, as Columbia Falls defeated Ronan 69-47 in a first-round divisional matchup at Glacier High School. The Wildcats are coached by Cary Finberg, Craig’s younger brother. Craig, or “Finny,” was a standout player for the Wildcats in the 1970s and went on to play at Montana State University before becoming a widely recognized coach.
In what has become customary fashion for Columbia Falls basketball, the Wildcats wore down Ronan with a balanced scoring attack and crisp help defense. Ronan, the defending divisional champion, will have to work its way out of the loser’s bracket to have a chance at repeating.
Columbia Falls, the No. 4 seed, was led by senior Mackey Nolan’s 14 points. Junior Kyle Howell finished with 13 points and freshman Austin Barth chipped in 11, all coming in the second half. Mike Fisher, a senior, led Ronan with 12 points.
The Wildcats controlled the tempo from the opening tip, jumping out to a 15-2 lead. They led 30-14 at halftime. Ronan came out of halftime and scored five straight points to bring the score to 30-19. But the Chiefs never got any closer, despite a valiant effort by senior Nolan Harris, who scored 10 points in the fourth quarter.
Midway through the third quarter, Columbia Falls’ Barth killed any momentum the Chiefs might have had by scoring nine straight points. The 6-foot-4 freshman found openings on the blocks and high post, while Nolan and the other guards did a good job of finding him.
Columbia Falls advances to play No. 1 Whitefish at 2 p.m. tomorrow. Ronan will play in a loser-out game on Saturday morning at Flathead High School. All games today and tomorrow are held at Glacier High School.