For the first time since Kalispell has had a two-high school format, both Flathead and Glacier are going to the Class AA boys state basketball tournament.
That’s the exciting news. The less exciting news is that they face the two best teams in the state right off the bat: Billings West and C.M. Russell, winners of the last three Class AA state championships.
The Class AA basketball tournament is held March 11-13 at the Billings MetraPark and Billings Skyview High School. Games begin at noon on Thursday and run until the championship game at 8:30 p.m. on Saturday. It is a double-elimination tournament.
Flathead beat Missoula Hellgate 64-42 on March 4 in a postseason play-in game to earn Western AA’s No. 3 seed. The Braves, who are 12-8 and 7-5 in the conference, face Eastern AA second seed C.M. Russell of Great Falls at 12 p.m. on Thursday.
The C.M. Russell Rustlers, 18-3 overall, have the second-best record in Class AA and are the defending state champions. Last year, C.M. Russell beat Billings West 57-51 to win the title. The Rustlers are led by Stanford recruit Josh Huestis, a 6-7 power forward and the reigning Montana Gatorade Boys Basketball Player of the Year.
On Jan. 2, the Braves lost to C.M. Russell 76-29 in Great Falls.
Glacier, which beat Helena High 54-42 on March 4 to earn the Western AA’s No. 4 seed, has its hands full with Eastern AA top seed Billings West. Glacier is 14-7 and 7-5 in the league play. The Wolfpack play at 8 p.m. on Thursday night.
The Golden Bears are 18-2 on the season. Before losing in last year’s title game, the Bears had won two Class AA state championships in a row. West is led by one of the leading scorers and top three-point shooters in the state, Brian Muller. Glacier hasn’t faced West this season.
This year marks the first time that Kalispell has sent two teams to the Class AA boys state basketball tournament. Kalispell has had two high schools for three years. Last year, Glacier made the tournament before bowing out in two games. Glacier lost to Bozeman 80-58 and Missoula Sentinel 77-65. Flathead, in a rebuilding season, didn’t make the tourney.
Neither Glacier nor Flathead made the Class AA girls state basketball tournament, which is also held March 11-13 at the Billings MetraPark and Billings Skyview High School.
The state tournaments for girls in Class A, B and C are also scheduled for March 11-13. The Class A tourney is held at Hamilton High School, the Class B tourney is at the Belgrade Special Events Center and the Class C tournament is at the Expo Park in Great Falls.
Class A, B and C boys played their state tournaments on March 4-6. In Class A, Laurel beat Polson 60-48 to claim the title. Rocky Boy beat Shelby 58-49 for the Class B crown and Big Sandy defeated Power 51-49 for the Class C championship.
Columbia Falls will try to improve upon its showing at last year’s Class A girls state basketball tournament. Last season, the Wildkats lost consecutive games: 51-48 to Hamilton and 53-40 to Dawson County.
After winning the Northwestern A divisional tournament for the second straight year, the Wildkats again enter the state tourney with the region’s No. 1 seed. Columbia Falls faces Eastern A second seed Billings Central at 12:30 p.m. on Thursday. The winner moves on to face the winner of Butte Central and Frenchtown.
Polson, Northwestern A’s second seed, plays Eastern A No. 1 seed Sidney at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday night in the first round. The winner will play the winner of Anaconda and Havre. Anaconda is gunning for its third straight Class A title.
The other regional team in state action this weekend is Bigfork. The Valkyries are the No. 2 seed in Western B and are scheduled to play Northern B’s No. 2 seed Fairfield at 8:30 p.m. on Thursday in the first round of the Class B girls state basketball tournament.