Libby hoops close regular season, look to divisionals

The Libby Loggers closed their regular season with a Friday loss at Columbia Falls, 60-38. Despite the lopsided final score, the Loggers’ (0-8, 1-17) deliberate game plan left Libby only down 22-20 at half.

“We had a good tempo the first half,” Libby Coach Wally Winslow said. “That lasted until near the end of the third quarter when we made a few mistakes and turnovers that led to them getting baskets. We also gave up some offensive rebounds.”

The game featured a matchup of All-Staters, pairing Libby’s Jared Winslow against the Wildcats’ Jared Trinastich. The duo lived up to their billings, with Trinastich edging Winslow with a game-high 24 points. Winslow scored 23 points along with seven rebounds and six assists.

“Trinastich is 6-feet-5 with a good mid-range jumper,” Coach Winslow said. “He scores well in the post and passes well out of the post. He has a chance to make plays all over. He puts a lot of stress on a defense because he is very unselfish. He’ll find a teammate when he doesn’t have something.”

As usual, the Loggers ran into a team with superior depth. Eight Wildcats scored a bucket compared to five Loggers.

Libby will now prepare to take on Polson (4-14, 2-6) in the Northwestern A divisional tournament Thursday in Glacier. If the Loggers have their way, they will exact revenge for a Senior Night gone wrong when Polson freshman Tanner Wilson’s buzzer-beating three-pointer silenced the Libby crowd and won the game for the Pirates, 50-49.

“Andrew Weltz hurt us the last two times,” Coach Winslow said of the Polson post who led his team with 17 and 19 points in his two games against Libby this season. “We need to keep him off the glass.”

As usual, the Loggers expect a singularly focused defense from Polson.

“They will probably run the diamond-and-one against Jared,” Coach Winslow said. “He will be ready for that.”

Libby: 13 7 8 10 – 38

C. Falls: 14 8 16 22 – 60

LIBBY – Luke Adamson 3, Colin Johnson 4, Jared Winslow 23, Michael Curtiss 6, Brandon Sodderwasser 2.

COLUMBIA FALLS – Alex Presnell 10, Grant Stenger 2, Jayce Fagerland 6, Nakia Alexander 2, Ty Morgan 10, Logan Williams 4, Mason Gedlaman 2, Jared Trinastich 24.

Columbia Falls 64, Libby 18:

At Columbia Falls, the Lady Loggers (4-4, 7-11) struggled against a powerhouse Wildkats (8-0, 17-1) team.

“They’re a good team,” Libby Coach Jim May said. “They make you play bad and that’s what we did.”

The Wildkats’ control was consistent and complete, as exemplified in the symmetrical first- and second-half scoring lines of 32-9.

The Lady Loggers already secured a third-place finish in Northwestern A competition before the tip in Columbia Falls. Libby will meet Frenchtown (6-2, 13-5) in Northwestern A Divsional Tournament action.

“We need to be ready for their man-to-man defense,” May said. “We will spend all week working to get pressure off our point guard. We need to execute a little better under pressure. (Vanessa) Stavish is a good player. It will be critical to limit her scoring.”