The Columbia Falls boys basketball team beat the Billings Central Rams 43-32 Friday night in a close semifinal game in Butte.

For the second game in a row in the state Class A tourney, the Wildcats tightened up on defense in the final quarter and closed the game with a 14-1 run in the final four minutes.

The Cats face Dillon in the championship round. A win there will give the Cats their second-straight Class A state boys basketball title game — their third in four years.

The final score in the Billings Central game didn’t reflect the strong defense in the opening half. Neither team scored a field goal for the first five minutes of the game.

After Parker Johnson hit a pair of free throws, Columbia Falls took a slight lead. Both teams traded baskets after that until senior center Austin Barth sparked his team with a putback dunk to give Columbia Falls a 10-8 lead.

Barth brought the crowd to its feet at the start of the second quarter with what looked like another putback dunk. Instead, he flipped the ball to a wide open Jared Trinastich for the lay-in to stretch the lead to six.

Both offenses stalled for the rest of the quarter, with the Rams switching to a zone defense. After both teams hit three-pointers, the Rams closed the half trailing 17-15.

The Rams took control of the game at the start of the third quarter by utilizing their tall postmen. Billings Central went on a 9-2 run, forcing Wildcat coach Cary Finberg to call a time out. Columbia Falls regrouped and scored four straight points, led by Anthony Correa.

The Wildcats trailed 27-25 after the third quarter. The teams traded baskets to open the fourth, as Barth started working his way back into the offense. Trailing 31-29 with four minutes to play, the Cats forced their way through the Rams’ zone defense. Kazlauskas scored a game-high 13 points to lead the Wildcats.

COLUMBIA FALLS (19-3) – Anthony Correa 2-10 3-6 7, Brian Marcille 0-2 0-0 0, Austin Barth 3-8 2-7 8, Ronny Gallegos 1-3 0-0 2, Parker Johnsno 1-6 4-4 7, Alex Presnell 0-2 0-0 0, Luke Kazlauskas 4-7 5-6 13, Jared Trinastitch 3-5 0-0 6. Totals 14-43 14-23 43.

BILLINGS CENTRAL (13-9) – Ryan Burke 5-15 0-0 13, Dylan Hanser 3-4 0-2 6, Daniel Meyer 3-7 1-2 7, Jacob Stanton 1-6 1-2 4, Bobby Keil 0-3 0-0 0, Garrett Flaming 1-1 0-1 2, Conner Cerkovnik 0-0 0-0 0, Ian Byorth 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 13-64 2-7 32.

Columbia Falls 12 5 8 18 — 43

Billings Central 8 7 12 5 — 32

3-pointers – CF 1-9 (Johnson 1-3, Correa 0-2, Kazlauskas 0-2, Marcille 0-1, Presnell 0-1), BC 4-12 (Burke 3-7, Stanton 1-2, Keil 0-2, Hanser 0-1). Rebounds – CF 32 (Correa 7, Barth 7), BC 24 (Meyer 9, Hanser 7, Burke 7). Assists – CF 6 (Correa 2, Kazlauskas 2), BC 9 (Burke 2, Stanton 2, Keil 2). Fouls – CF 14, BC 16. Fouled out – none. Technicals – none. Steals – CF 9 (Correa 7), BC 6 (Burke 4). Blocks – CF 2 (Barth 2), BC 4 (Burke 2). Turnovers – CF 11, BC 17.