*** Polson will play Butte Central at 12:30 PM on Thursday, March 3 in Bozeman ***
Divisional Tournament – Ronan Event Center
Friday, February 25 : Polson versus Whitefish – 4:00 PM (Semi-Final )
Columbia Falls, Polson to battle for crown
RONAN – The rubber match between the fifth-ranked Polson boys’ basketball team and No. 1 Columbia Falls will decide the Northwestern A champion after both schools earned semifinal victories at the divisional tournament Friday.
After the Wildcats downed Ronan 74-55, the Pirates edged Whitefish 52-49.
Polson (14-5) will get a third shot at Columbia Falls (18-1) in Saturday’s 8 p.m. title contest. Earlier this month, the Pirates handed Columbia Falls its lone loss in a 59-52 defeat Feb. 5 before the Wildcats claimed a 34-29 last Saturday in the teams’ regular-season finale.
In Saturday’s loser out games, Libby (9-11) meets Whitefish (11-8) at 9 a.m. with the winner meeting Ronan (9-11) at 4 p.m. in the consolation game.
Polson 52, Whitefish 49
Louis Mohr tallied 17 as the Pirates earned their way into the championship game with the win.
Kyle Bagnell had 15 points and 10 rebounds for Polson.
The Pirates outscored Whitefish 18-9 in the second quarter to take a seven-point advantage into halftime, then held on the rest of the way.
Kyler Blades scored 18 for the Bulldogs.
Semifinal
Whitefish 15 9 15 10 – 49
Polson 13 18 9 12 – 52
WHITEFISH – Kyler Blades 18, Alex Duroche 10, Cooper Olson 9, Drew Galbraith 4, Gage Vasquez 4, Mac Roche 2, Christopher Forest 2, Jace Kalbfleisch 0, Jose Sanchez 0. Totals: 19-49 2-2 49.
POLSON – Louis Mohr 17, Kyle Bagnell 15, Vince DiGiallanardo 8, Shelden Fisher 6, Tyler Krell 4, Cody Fischer 2, Zack Camel 0. Totals: 22-38 2-5 52.
3-point goals – Whitefish 9-19, Polson 6-14. Totals fouls – Whitefish 11, Polson 6. Fouled out – none. Rebounds – Whitefish 21 (Vasquez 6, Roche 6), Polson 20 (Bagnell 10). Assists – Whitefish 1 (Sanchez), Polson 5 (Mohr 2). Steals – Whitefish 1 (Blades), Polson 1 (Bagnell). Turnovers – Whitefish 5, Polson 11.
Divisional Tournament – Ronan Event Center
Saturday, February 26 : Polson versus Columbia Falls – 6:00 PM (Championship)
Pirates fall to Columbia Falls in NWA championship game
RONAN – A crowd of 3,954 fans packed the Ronan Event Center for the Northwestern A divisional tournament title. They most certainly weren’t disappointed.
Nick Emerson hit the game-winning free throw for the Wildcats, as Polson fell in a 60-59 thriller. Columbia Falls needed everything they had to be victorious. They shot 53 percent from the field, got a combined 39 points from Emerson (16) and Austin Barth (23) and outrebounded the Pirates, 22-13.
Polson? Their starters came through in a big way. Junior Tyler Krell had 19 points as the Pirates leading scorer. Senior Lois Mohr dished out 10 assists and scored 14 points for a double-double. Senior Sheldon Fisher showed that ice-water ran through his veins by hitting two huge three-pointers at the end of the game.
In the end, it was a razor thin margin for two teams that should be contenders at the state tournament this year.
Columbia Falls jumped out to a 21-17 lead in the first quarter and had 38-29 advantage at halftime. Polson outscored the Wildcats 30-22 in the second half including one fourth quarter that will be talked about for years in Lake County.
Polson outscored Columbia Falls 15-8 in that final stanza, with contributions from everybody. First, Louis Mohr hit two buckets to pull the Pirates within 52-48, then Tyler Krell scored another two buckets to tie things up 53-53.
Then Sheldon Fisher happened.
Columbia Falls’ Austin Barth scored to give the Wildcats the 55-53 lead near the one minute mark of the game. Fisher answered back for the Pirates, nailing a three-pointer with 54.2 seconds to go to give Polson a 56-55 advantage. Barth answer back with a three-point “And one” play to put Columbia Falls up again 58-56.
Who did the Pirates go to? Fisher. Again. For three.
Polson had the 59-58 lead and after Columbia Falls was unable to score, it appeared they had the game.
Then the Wildcats’ press worked, caused a turnover and the Pirates were forced to foul with just seconds left. Emerson calmly sunk his free throws for Columbia Falls and gave them a one-point lead. Polson couldn’t convert in one last-gasp effort.
Now their focus will turn to the state tournament next Friday.
Columbia Falls Wildcats 60, Polson Pirates 59
Polson Boys Polson Pirates – 17 – 12 – 15 – 15 – 59
Columbia Falls Boys Wildcats – 21 – 17 – 14 – 8 – 60
Field goals – Polson – 25-47 (53.2%) – Columbia Falls – 22-44 (50.0%)
3 point field goals – Polson – 6-18 (33.3%) – Columbia Falls – 6-16 (37.5%)
Free throws – Polson – 3-6 (50.0%) – Columbia Falls – 10-12 (83.3%)
Rebounds (Total-Off.) – Polson – 13-2 – Columbia Falls – 22-9
Assists – Polson -18 – Columbia Falls – 13
Turnovers – Polson – 10 – Columbia Falls – 13
Steals – Polson – 0 – Columbia Falls – 1
Blocked shots – Polson – 0 – Columbia Falls – 0
Total fouls – Polson – 12 – Columbia Falls – 9
Points in the paint – Polson – 18 – Columbia Falls – 22
Bench points – Polson – 0 – Columbia Falls – 5
Polson Boys player statistics
Player – MIN – PTS – REB – AST – BLK – TO – STL – PF
#4 Krell, Tyler – 29 – 19 – 3 – 1 – 0 – 1 – 0 – 5
#22 Fisher, Sheldon – 29 – 14 – 3 – 2 – 0 – 1 – 0 – 0
#32 Mohr, Louis – 31 – 14 – 4 – 10 – 0 – 2 – 0 – 1
#12 Bagnell, Kyle – 29 – 10 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 3 – 0 – 2
#10 DiGiallanardo, Vince – 29 – 2 – 3 – 5 – 0 – 2 – 0 – 1
#24 Fischer, Cody – 9 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 2
#20 Camel, Zack – 4 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 1 – 0 – 1
Total – 32 – 59 – 13 – 18 – 0 – 10 – 0 – 12
From the Missoulian
Emerson steals title for Columbia Falls
RONAN – Nick Emerson’s steal and two free throws in the final seconds gave No. 1 Columbia Falls the Northwestern A boys’ basketball divisional title Saturday, with a 60-59 victory over Polson.
The Wildcats, 20-1, and Pirates, 14-6, both punched their tickets for the State A tournament beginning Thursday in Bozeman.
In the consolation game Whitefish edged Ronan 54-52 – also with some late free throws – to finish 13-8. The Bulldogs lost to Polson in Friday’s semifinals, so there will be no challenge game.
Earlier Saturday Whitefish edged Libby 51-49 to make the consolation.
Columbia Falls 60, Polson 59
Emerson finished with 16 points and eight rebounds for the Wildcats. Austin Barth hit a pair of 3-pointers and scored a game-high 23 points, helping Columbia Falls to a 58-53 lead with a minute left.
Then Polson’s Sheldon Fisher hit a pair of 3-pointers, sandwiched around a Wildcat turnover, to put the Pirates up 59-58.
Polson got the ball back on another turnover, before Emerson made a steal of his own and was fouled on the way to the basket with 8 seconds left.
He hit both free throws, and the Wildcats held on.
“Typical Columbia Falls-Polson game,” said Wildcats’ coach Cary Finberg. “It comes down to a possession here and a possession there.”
Devyn Rocker added two 3-pointers and eight points for Columbia Falls, which also got eight points from Kaleb Johnson.
Tyler Krell scored 19 points for the Pirates. Fisher had 14 points, and he and Louis Mohr each hit three 3-pointers. Mohr had 14 points and 10 boards, and Kyle Bagnell had 10 points.