RESULTS STATE--SAT., 3-14
March 15, 2009 Northwest Montana A Conference
SAT., 3-14
BOYS BASKETBALL STATE
GM 9--BROWNING 50 BUTTE CENTRAL 47;
GM 10--BILLINGS CENTRAL 86 CORVALLIS 77;
GM 11--BROWNING 52 BILLINGS CENTRAL 68 CONSOLATION;
GM 12--COLUMBIA FALLS 50 DILLON 54 CHAMPIONSHIP
Wildcats come up short in title gameBy DILLON TABISH/The Daily Inter LakePublished: Sunday, March 15, 2009 1:17 AM CDT GREAT FALLS - The biggest basketball game of the season was about more than basketball on Saturday night.
It was about paying a tribute and both Columbia Falls and Dillon did that in an emotional Class A state championship game that finished with Dillon winning 54-50 at the Four Seasons Arena.
Dillon senior Brandon Boka made two of his five 3-pointers in the fourth quarter and the Beavers ran out the clock in the final minute to seal their second state title in three years.
After the game, the entire arena erupted in a 'Finny' chant in honor of Craig Finberg, who is struggling with life-threatening cancer. Craig, the brother of Columbia Falls coach Cary Finberg, grew up in Columbia Falls before moving Dillon, where he coached for almost 20 years and amassed a 281-160 record and two state championships. He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in February.
While warming up before Saturday's finale, both the Columbia Falls and Dillon teams donned separate T-shirts for Finberg, along with the fans in both sections. "Never give up, don't ever give up," ran across each of the Wildcats' shirts.
With 3:48 left, Columbia Falls led by four until Boka came down and nailed a trey to get Dillon within one. After that, the Beavers clamped down on defense and Pete Walde went off for five points in under a minute and the Beavers held onto the lead from there. Columbia Falls was able to get within two points, but was forced to foul and send Dillon to the stripe, where it had been on fire all tournament. Boka finished with 16 points, Bryce Carver scored 13 and Walde finished with nine for Dillon.
"It's indescribable, it's just an emotional roller coaster right now," said Boka, who wore the net around his neck after the team cut it down. "Especially with Craig Finberg battling cancer, even if we would have lost it still would have been all right for Columbia Falls to get a win with Cary Finberg. It's just good to play for him. We dedicated our season to him, and it was just good to get a win."
Columbia Falls trailed by as many as 10 in the first half, but came out in the third quarter reenergized. Mitchell Wassam led the comeback on both ends of the court with a pair of rebounds right off the bat and a spike pass to Austin Barth, who banked it in as part of a 9-0 run. Wassam finished with seven points and eight rebounds, Barth had 16 points and Grant Getts had a game-high 17 points for Columbia Falls.
"The kids are hurting, but I'm proud of their effort. They have nothing to be ashamed of," Cary Finberg said. "Dillon made the plays down the stretch when it counted, all the credit goes to them. Our kids battled their tales off, they just came up a little short. I just love this group and I'm proud of 'em."
With just over six minutes left to play, the Wildcats took their first lead of the game since the first quarter. But Dillon crawled back thanks to the hot hand of Boka and the 1-3-1 defense that stifled every team it played in the tournament.
"They came out at halftime and it seemed like they tried to take away our shooters a little bit and that gave us some problems," Dillon coach Terry Thomas said. "But our defense kept staying consistent and kept working hard and just kept us in the game until we got a little bit of rhythm right there at the end. And then our kids stepped up and made some huge, huge shots to win it."
The emotions afterward seemed to transcend that of a typical sporting event, and the name 'Finny' took over the shirts, minds and hearts of everyone around.
"Craig Finberg is a very special friend," Thomas said. "Our coaching staff and everybody in Dillon has a fond relationship with (Craig, Cary and their families). So it's a very emotional evening."
Columbia Falls 10 10 12 18 - 50
Dillon 15 12 8 19 - 54
COLUMBIA FALLS - Tanner Barth 0 2-2 2, Mackey Nolan 2 4-4 8, Austin Barth 5 6-7 16, Mitchell Wassam 3 1-2 7, Grant Getts 7 3-3 17. Total 17 16-18 50
DILLON - Bryce Carver 4 5-6 13, Dakota Norris 3 3-3 9, Brandon Boka 10 1-2 16, Toby Shepherd 1 1-2 3, Pete Walde 3 4-6 9, Trevor Rehm 2 0-0 4. Total 23 14-19 54
3-point goals: Columbia Falls 0, Dillon 6 (Boka 5, Walde); Total fouls: Columbia Falls 17, Dillon 18; Fouled out: Columbia Falls (Wassam), Dillon (Rehm); Total rebounds: Columbia Falls 28 (Wassam 8, Getts 7), Dillon 13 (Rehm 5); Turnovers: Columbia Falls 13, Dillon 11 |
NATIONAL
MONTANA
