Goal met, but Glacier after more

For being the new kids on the block, the Glacier boys basketball team sure didn't waste time making a name for itself.

Just over two months ago the Wolfpack had wrapped up its first victory against a Class AA opponent. Now, that same team that finished 3-18 a year ago is landing in Butte for its first state tournament.

"We're not going to go in there intimidated," Glacier coach Mark Harkins said. "We want to come in and do our stuff, and enjoy it. Enjoy what they've accomplished, enjoy what they've learned."

The Wolfpack (15-6) faces Bozeman (16-5) at 9 a.m. today at the Butte Civic Center in the opening round of the Montana High School Association state tournament. Eight teams are competing in the bracket from Western and Eastern AA.

Glacier won a play-in game last Thursday against Flathead to earn the second seed from the West.

"They had a great week of practice," Harkins said. "Everybody is very excited and getting a little nervous I think."

The opening round won't be a breeze for the 'Pack either.

In the final power poll, Glacier was ranked third ahead of Bozeman, who was ranked fifth. The Hawks have the third best record in AA behind only Great Falls C.M. Russell (18-2) and Billings West (18-3). Bozeman also ranks third in AA in scoring, 61.4 points per game, behind none other than the Wolfpack, 63.8 ppg.

In other words, it's bound to be a shootout.

"They're a really good offensive team," Harkins said. "They score a lot of points and can get up in transition, and they can get an inside-outside game going real well."

While both teams sound similar, Bozeman differs from Glacier in that it doesn't have a definitive number one threat. This season, four players have traded off as the leading scorer. Tanner Roderick has averaged 12.9 ppg, PJ Burns 12.6, Jacob Owsley 11.1, and Gabe Rucker 7.6.

For Glacier, it's Ben Cutler, the league's scoring champ with a 23 ppg average. Cutler's hot hand shoots 71 percent from the free throw line and 32 percent from three-point range.

The Wolfpack as a team shoot 44 percent from the floor, 57 percent from the free throw line and 30 percent from downtown. But the Wolfpack is the classic run and gun team, and shoots unabashedly.

Senior forward Josh Doty has the same downtown percentage as Cutler, 32 percent, followed by Shay Smithwick-Hann's 27 percent. Smithwick-Hann averages 13.1 ppg and 9.9 rebounds per game. Senior Mike Rasmussen has bounced back from an early season ankle injury and averages 7.2 ppg and 4.7 rpg.

"We talked about some things Bozeman likes to do, but we really worked on our stuff, that's what we really focused on," Harkins said of the week's practices. "We don't have time to prepare for every little thing they're going to throw at us, so we got to just focus on what we do and make it better."

Bozeman comes in with the third seed from the East, but with a lot more swagger than most teams in that position. On Feb. 20, the Hawks dealt C.M. Russell its first loss of the season in a 67-59 upset. To end the season, Bozeman won 8 of its last 10 games and finished 3-0 in overtime games.

But that isn't stifling the buzz around Glacier High School.

"There's a lot of excitement going on around the school," Harkins said. "The whole school community is very excited and I've had a lot of kids coming up saying 'Hey we're coming up to watch.' So it's been real neat."

The winners of today's games advance to the semifinals on Friday. Of the eight teams in the state bracket, Glacier has faced three of them and beat each one at least once.

"We talked a lot about perspective," Harkins said of his team's final meeting before heading to Butte. "I can't tell the kids 'It's just another game,' because it's not. We know that. But at the same time, they've worked real hard. Our goal was to get to the state tournament and they've achieved that goal. Now our goal is to see how we can compete. It's been a lot of fun … There's a lot of good memories."

Today

At Butte Civic Center

First-round games

Boys' 9 a.m. - Bozeman (16-5) vs. Glacier (15-6)

10:30 a.m. - C.M. Russell High (18-2) vs. Missoula Sentinel (12-9)

3:30 p.m. - Billings West (18-3) vs. Missoula Big Sky (11-10)

5 p.m. - Billings Skyview (13-8) vs. Helena Capital (15-5)