The Columbia Falls boys basketball team had a tough start to their conference play, dropping two games last week.

On Friday the Wildcats lost to Libby on the road 39-31 and then to Polson 63-50 in their first home game of the season Saturday. In the Libby game, the boys had it tied at 31 apiece and a chance to take the lead with about four minutes left, said coach Chris Finberg. But they missed some free throws and a shot and Libby went on an 8-0 run to seal the victory.

The boys started out flat against the Pirates with just 6 points in the first quarter and never could bridge the gap.

The Cats played better in the second half. Allec Knapton and Dillon Shipp both had 13 for the Cats, but they had a tough time on the boards, as the Pirates had the length advantage.

Finberg said the team has to clean up the turnovers and poor shooting to start games.

“We dig ourselves a hole early,” he said.

But to their credit, they seem to battle back and make a game of it — they just can’t make up those early deficits.

The boys are now 1-6 on the season.

Polson 15 22 17 9 ­ — 63

Columbia Falls 6 18 13 13 — 50

POLSON (4-4, 1-2) – Trey Kelley 5, Xavier Fisher 11, Ryker Wendworth 9, Jarrett Wilson 2, Anton Lefthand 6, Tony Perez 1, Colton Graham 8, Bronson Henriksen 3, Trevor Lake 10, Gunner Grisek 8.

COLUMBIA FALLS (0-1, 1-6) – Jack Price 3, Mason Peters 2, Mikey Tamburelli 7, Danny Henjum 2, William Dyon 9, Dillon Shipp 13, Aaron Trueblood 1, Allec Knapton 13.