Trading places: Flathead, Glacier find themselves in reverse roles
One boys basketball team is riding a wave of success with a group of tested seniors and hardy role players. The other is building a program from the underclassmen up.
It's the same story as last year for crosstown schools Flathead and Glacier. But this season, the roles are reversed. The 2-10 Braves face the upbeat 8-4 Wolfpack at 8 p.m. tonight at Glacier.
That doesn't mean Glacier coach Mark Harkins is resting easy.
"There's no overlooking Flathead. This is crosstown," Harkins said. "Who's done what on the season has nothing to do with this. Throw the records out."
"Hey, we got nothing to lose," Flathead coach Fred Febach said. "It's going to be a heck of a challenge. That's a team (Glacier) that could probably not lose a game the rest of the season. I expect them to be playing Saturday night in Butte (in the state tournament)."
Just a season ago, Flathead added a few lumps to the Wolfpack's already bruised schedule and delivered a 81-51 punishment on Feb. 1, 2008.
Fast forward to this season and the tides have turned. The 6-foot-8 Brock Osweiler, who averaged 24.9 points-per-game last season for Flathead before graduating early to attend Arizona State, has been replaced as one of Western AA's top scorers by Glacier's Ben Cutler, who averages 24.3 ppg.
The Wolfpack has taken down two ranked opponents - No. 3 Helena Capital and No. 4 Missoula Sentinel - and are finishing games with never-before-seen poise for the second-year program. The team has lost only one game by more than seven points, a 66-51 loss to No. 1 ranked Great Falls CMR in the first game of the season.
Harkins said the key for Glacier is dictating the fast-paced tempo that keeps opponents on their heels.
"We want to play our game. We're most comfortable when we're running down and up," he said. "I know that Flathead is very meticulous offensively. They're going to try to work their offense, plus they're very disciplined on defense."
Shay Smithwick-Hann has stepped up as the team's versatile big man. The 6'4 junior averages 12.2 ppg and ranks third in AA with 9.7 rebounds-per-game. Senior Mike Rasmussen averaged 9 ppg and 6.4 rebounds-per-game before missing a pair of games due to an ankle injury. He has slowly started getting back to the court for Glacier.
Then there's 3-point threat Josh Doty, who has hit big shots for the Wolfpack all season. Connor Fuller and Ben Sansaver have been responsible for directing the fast-paced run-and-gun offense, which ranks second in AA with 64.3 ppg, below only No. 2 Billings West at 67.8 ppg.
After Flathead's roller coaster season took an interesting twist when three seniors quit the team, Febach was looking at a lineup of freshman, sophomores, and juniors with little to no varsity experience.
"These kids are good at bouncing back and getting better," Febach said.
Nobody has taken advantage of Flathead's casting call quite like freshman George Sherwood. The 6'4 power forward has become a regular in the starting lineup and averages 8.2 ppg and 3.9 rpg. Junior Karl Ingram had played a significant role in the original team make-up, but since the change he has stepped up as the team's go-to guy. Ingram averages 14.9 ppg and 7.6 rpg.
"We need to show some patience and poise. That's a big key for us," Febach said of tonight's game. "We just got to take good care of the basketball and not get carried away with the emotion of a crosstown game. That's easier said than done."
Although the Braves had to basically hit the restart button on this season, they've shown that their pride is still intact, and if a team overlooks them, it can pay the price. The Missoula Big Sky Eagles found this out when they rolled into town with a two-game win streak after beating Glacier in overtime. The Eagles let the Braves hang around in the game, and it cost them a 44-40 defeat.
Expect the same type of diligence when both team's face off tonight.
"It's just going to be a great place to play," Harkins said.
"Better get there early," Febach said. "I got a feeling the seats are going to fill up fast."