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2014 Tip-Off: Basketball Season Preview

High school basketball season is underway and the reigning champs in Columbia Falls and Bigfork are ready to defend their hardware

By Dillon Tabish

Larry Schmautz Memorial Court, thumping in the heart of Columbia Falls and its beloved high school, is a vibrant artifact, defined by the prestigious past and ever-prominent present.

Most schools boast trophies, painting their walls in gold.

No doubt, Columbia Falls owns enough hardware to redecorate the halls. But mostly it’s a growing collection of portraits that adorns the walls outside the gym, generations of student-athletes who enjoyed the sweetness of success. It can remind and motivate those who walk past. There’s great history here.

For most of the year, this site can lay quietly dormant.

But come winter, the largest, most popular gathering place in Columbia Falls is full of life, fired up by the community’s storied pastime.

It’s basketball season.

Class A

There’s plenty to cheer about in Columbia Falls this season.

The boys are back as the reigning state champions of Class A while the girls team is a talented and highly touted contender.

The Wildcats graduated a pair of veteran starters — Jared Trinastich and Alex Presnell — but this latest roster is once again chock full of skill and athleticism, meaning there are high expectations for one of Montana’s dynastic programs.

Last season the Wildcats stormed to their sixth Northwestern A divisional title and claimed the team’s fifth state championship since 2003, defeating Dillon 56-47.

“What this team has to realize, they’re trying to do something that’s harder than what last year’s team did. That’s defending the title,” said head coach Cary Finberg. “Teams always give us their best shot most of the time anyway, but when you win (the championship) they’re really going to come after you.”

Finberg has a few veteran leaders to take command on the hardwood this winter. Senior guard Ty Morgan, a second-team all-conference selection a year ago, is already off to a hot start, scoring 25 in the season-opening win over Corvallis. All-conference honorable mention nominees Jayce Fagerland and Grant Wallace are back as well.

There’s no shortage of speed and sharp-shooting in the backcourt for Columbia Falls, but there’s also two towering presences down low — Wallace and Grant Stenger both stand 6-foot-7.

In a 70-45 win over Flathead last week, there were five players who scored nine points or more, led by Morgan’s 16 and Wallace’s 15. Tyler Murphy is also emerging as a standout; he had eight rebounds and eight points.

“Offensively this team is very, very dangerous. Defensively we’ve got to get better,” Finberg said. “I think we can get there. It’s just a matter of guys buying into what we need to do as a team and buckling down on rebounds and on the defensive end.”

For the fourth consecutive season, Finberg is working double duty as head coach for both the boys and girls teams. The Wildkats have a bulk of last season’s squad back, including Finberg’s talented daughters, all-state sophomore Cydney Finberg and first-team all-conference senior Ciera Finberg. Senior Winter Kemppainen nearly averaged a double-double last season and is poised for another standout year. There are a total of six girls back who earned postseason all-conference honors.

The Wildkats went 22-2 a year ago, unseating Frenchtown as the Northwestern A divisional champs and bringing home a third-place trophy from the state tournament, the program’s first hardware since 1988.

With a deep, talented lineup, Columbia Falls has its sights on the program’s first state championship since 1983. But for that to happen, the girls will likely have to get past Hamilton, which returns four starters from last year’s runner-up team.

In Whitefish, the boys team has a new head coach — Curtis Green — and a fresh starting lineup hoping to return to the state tournament for the first time since 2009. Last season the Bulldogs went 11-10 overall, 5-3 in Northwestern A and just missed out on qualifying for the state tournament, falling to Polson in the divisional challenge game. Despite losing four all-conference starters, the boys were picked to tie for second with Polson in league standings this winter, according to a coaches poll.

On the girls side, second-year coach Clint Peters is hoping to rebuild the girls team with a young roster. Sophomore Haley Nicholson and freshman Dani Douglas are already providing bright spots early in the season as the Lady Bulldogs try to improve on last year’s 1-19 record.

In Polson, Randy Kelley is now at the helm of the Pirates and hoping to lead the boys back to the state tournament. Kelley only has two starting spots to fill and three talented players to rely on, including sophomore Tanner Olson, a 6-foot-1 guard with a sharp shot.

The girls team brings back a pair of all-conference honorable mention selections, Skyla Krantz and Nichole Lake, and a young team that gained a lot of experience last season and hopes to keep building.

The Northwestern A boys and girls divisional tournaments are in Whitefish, Feb. 26-28. The Class A girls state tournament is in Hamilton, March 5-7. The Class A boys state tournament is in Bozeman, March 12-14.

Class AA

No doubt, Tres Tinkle and the Hellgate Knights in Missoula will be a force to reckon with in the Western AA.

Tinkle, the 6-foot-7 Oregon State recruit and reigning Gatorade Montana Player of the Year, will lead the loaded Knights after another state championship. Hellgate has played in the chipper the past two years, defeating Helena Capital 58-53 in 2013 and falling to the Bruins a year ago, 51-47.

The Glacier boys graduated a few key players from last year’s state semifinal team, including Evan Epperly, and head coach Mark Harkins will look for new names to emerge and fill in as leaders for the Wolfpack, which went 12-12 a year ago and finished fourth in the West. The boys will try to advance to the Class AA state tournament, which is in Butte March 12-14, for the seventh consecutive season.

Flathead has a young, inexperienced team and will need to learn the ropes fast. Freshman Tyler Johnson has already surfaced as a talented varsity standout, scoring 18 against Columbia Falls last week.

On the girls side, Glacier is loaded with skill and experience as head coach Kris Salonen welcomes back almost her entire starting lineup, including honorable mention all-conference Katie Wiley and junior Hailee Bennet, an all-state guard who led the team in points (12.2), assists (3.7) and steals (2.1) on average per game. The Pack was named the preseason favorite in the West by league coaches. Glacier defeated Flathead in a playoff game last year to advance to state for the third year in a row.

The Bravettes hope to keep building under second-year head coach Lisa Hendrickson. The roster is pretty young, with only four seniors and mostly sophomores. The girls will try to build on last year’s 5-16 finish.

Missoula Sentinel, the two-time defending state champs, has graduated four starters but the Spartans were still picked to vie for the conference crown, along with Helena Capital.

The Class AA boys and girls state tournaments are in Butte, March 12-14.

Class B

The defending state champs in Bigfork are back.

Almost the entire roster returns for the Vikings, although there’s a new head coach at the helm: Sam Tudor. Only two starters are gone, Christian Evans and Cam Nissen, but the rest of the core group is back, meaning the Vikes will no doubt contend for another title. Last season Bigfork went 26-0 en route to the program’s first basketball championship. This latest squad lacks size but makes up for it in speed and athleticism, including multi-sport standouts Josh Sandry, Isaac Martel and Adam Jordt. The boys would like to earn a trip to Great Falls in March to hoist another state trophy.

On the girls side, there’s also a new head coach: Jami Grende, who inherits a team of mostly returning starters who went 19-5 a year ago. The Valkyries will try to defend their District 7B title and advance to the state tournament for the first time since 2012.

The District 7B Tournament is in Columbia Falls, Feb. 21. The Western B Divisional Tournament is at Flathead High School, Feb. 25-27. The Class B state tournaments are both in Great Falls March 12-15.