Cougar boys knock off 4th ranked Big Timber
The Columbus boys (9-3) used a flurry of first half 3-pointers from Trey Ostrum, along with a smothering defense, to hand Big Timber a 60-50 setback, only the Herders second loss of the season. Ostrum’s corner 3 at the first quarter buzzer, and another on the first possession of the second quarter, built a 15-5 Cougar lead. The senior point guard added two more in the quarter as Columbus led 28-12 at the half. The lead grew to 41-21 in the third quarter before a late Herder rally against the Columbus reserves tightened the score. Brady Exner pulled down a season-high 12 rebounds to go along with nine points, mostly from the free-throw line as the senior made 7-of-8 on the night.
Saturday the boys improved their district 4B mark to 5-1 with a 50-43 win over Joliet as Tanner Osborne scored 18 points, and fellow junior Kiefer McKay added 14.
The Columbus girls (7-5) outscored Big Timber 17-5 in the final quarter to turn a two-point deficit into a 44-34 win, then limited Joliet to eight second-half points in a 47-22 romp that squared their district record at 3-3.
Both teams face a busy week with three games in three nights. The Cougars travel to Roundup Thursday, face Huntley Project at home on Friday, then visit Joliet on Saturday. The boys game against Huntley has major district 4B title implications as the Cougars and Red Devils have pulled away from the rest of the 4B field.
Big Timber 5 7 11 27 — 50
Columbus 12 16 16 16 — 60
BT: Walker Lavoy 9, Reed Moore 5, Brent Finn 8, Cody Hathaway 5, Ryan Morgan 4, Luke Reck 8, Sam Curry 2, Drew Pike 8, Destin Miller 1.
C: Kade Osborne 11, Kiefer McKay 4, Trey Ostrum 17, Tanner Osborne 8, Ryland Stampfel 4, Andrew Wells 1, Jackson Booth 3, Brady Exner 9, Jace Aumueller 3.
Joliet 9 9 9 16 — 43
Columbus 10 12 18 10 — 50
J: Logan Mydland 1, Terryn Bermes 17, Taylor Rowlison 6, Matt George 1, Jared Schwend 3, Ty Olsen 12, Cam Lloyd 3.
C: Kade Osborne 4, Kiefer McKay 14, Trey Ostrum 11, Tanner Osborne 18, Andrew Wells 1, Brady Exner 2.
Big Timber 8 7 14 5 — 34
Columbus 5 13 9 17 — 44
BT: Emily Hughes 5, Teddi Jo Todd 9, Sydney Arant 7, Holly Empter 8, Maesa King 5.
C: Tana House 7, Kyla Rouane 2, Hailey Campbell 4, Madi Sindelar 2, Carli Dyba 8, Rachel Ault 12, Courtney Martinez 9.
Joliet 8 6 4 4 — 22
Columbus 8 15 9 15 — 47
J: Kaylee Rowlison 8, Kinna Olson 8, Vanessa Nowak 1, Madison Unger 1, Annie Cooke 2, Holly Nowak 2.
C: Kyla Rouane 9, Madi Sindelar 3, Tyona Robbins 2, Megan Rouane 2, Carli Dyba 5, Rachael Ault 20, Courtney Martinez 6.
District 4B Standings
Girls
Red Lodge 11-3 6-1
Shepherd 9-5 6-2
Roundup 7-7 4-4
Columbus 7-5 3-3
Huntley 4-9 2-6
Joliet 2-10 1-6
Boys
Huntley 8-6 7-1
Columbus 9-3 5-1
Shepherd 10-4 5-3
Joliet 6-7 3-4
Roundup 5-9 2-6
Red Lodge 3-10 0-7