Stillwater boys draw early start state

Face Gallatin Valley at 7:30 a.m.

As far as the Stillwater Christian School boys' basketball team is concerned, the earlier, the better.

The Cougars open Montana Christian Athletic Association State Tournament play today in Helena at Carroll College against Gallatin Valley Home School. Tipoff is set for 7:30 a.m.

Yes … that's right. Seven-thirty a.m.

"For us, being the underdogs, any unusual circumstances are to our benefit," Stillwater coach Dana Hashley said.

"(The Cougars) didn't respond to it negatively. They will deal with it."

The early start is necessary because the MCAA tournament must share the Carroll gym with the school's men's and women's basketball teams. The Saints will practice on their court today from 4-7 p.m.

"Actually, it will be to our advantage," Hashley said. "It will be good for us.

"We have a lot of morning practices - at least once a week."

The Cougars often practice at 6:30 a.m. because of Stillwater's limited gym space.

Stillwater is 5-16 overall, 3-3 in Western division play. They are the division's No. 2 seed.

Flathead Valley Home School, the No. 4 seed from the west, also has an early start. The Crusaders (2-20 overall) face Foothills Community Christian School at 8:55 a.m. Foothills is the Eastern division's top seed.

"If we win the first game, the rest of the bracketing will be very good for us," Hashley said.

"If we lose the first game, we're going into a difficult place to come back from."

Stillwater and Gallatin Valley met back on Jan. 4, with Gallatin Valley posting a 65-49 victory.

"We just had too many turnovers," Hashley said.

"They did (pressure us), a full-court press that bothered us some. It won't bother us this time. We've been working on making the smart pass."

Stillwater, which opened the season with five new starters, closed regular-season action with a three-game win streak, beating Flathead Valley Home School, Missoula Big Sky's sophomores and Glacier's sophomores.

"We're playing together as a team - very aggressive but under control," Hashley said.

"That's been difficult for us in the past few years. We have a hard time playing emotional games that are rough. We're getting much better at it this year. We're starting to play with poise. We've been doing that the last half of the season."

Stillwater is led by senior forward Zach George, averaging 13 points and eight rebounds per game. The other senior starter is center Jon Harrel, averaging seven points and six rebounds.

The Cougars employ three guards with sophomores Ryan Thompson (five points per game) and Jake Meerkatz and junior Logan Ward.

Meerkatz has been a terror from the outside lately, hitting 11 3-pointers in the last four games. Ward has made some clutch treys down the stretch, too.

Helena Christian School won last year's MCAA state championship, with Foothills finishing second. Stillwater, state champions in 2005 and 2006, finished third.

The Cougars' state expectations are modest this time around.

"Really, to win the first game," Hashley said. "That's our priority.

"It seems unusual, but the east side is so strong this year."

The Crusaders struggled through a difficult season under new coach Don Ehlers. The team returned just one starter - 5-foot-8 junior guard Will Heffernen - from last year. He is averaging more than 20 points, with a season high of 38.

Shawn Callan, a 5-10 senior forward, is the team's No. 2 scorer, averaging a double-double in points and rebounds.

Rounding out the starters are 6-1 senior post Cory Goyer, 6-3 sophomore center Nathan Wagner and 5-6 freshman guard Isaac Rajkowski.

"I've enjoyed it," Ehlers said.

"It's been a tough year for them. They had more skilled players last year."

FVHS and Foothills met earlier in the season, with Foothills winning 71-27.

"A hard-pressing team," Ehlers said of Foothills.

"Our team is young, and the pressure got to them really bad."

MCAA STATE TOURNAMENT

Today

At Carroll College

Helena

Boys

7:30 a.m. - Stillwater Christian School (2W) vs. Gallatin Valley Home School (3E)

8:55 a.m. - Foothills Community Christian School (1E) vs. Flathead Valley Home School (4W)

7:50 p.m. - Yellowstone County Home School (2E) vs. Helena Home School (3W)

9:20 p.m. - Helena Christian School (1W) vs. Great Falls Home School (4E)