Glacier streaks, Flathead rolls to state
BUTTE - The Glacier Wolfpack is back at the Class AA boys state basketball tournament but can no longer claim the role of underdog.
For the third year in a row, Glacier is playing at state but this time the Wolfpack enters the postseason with the longest winning streak and the top seed from the West.
Winners of 11 straight, Glacier (14-6) opens tournament action today at the Butte Civic Center at 5 p.m. against the fourth seed from the East - Great Falls C.M. Russell (14-7).
Flathead (10-10), back at state for the second year in a row and the fourth time in the last eight years, faces top-ranked Bozeman (18-2) today at 10:30 a.m.
"It's been fun to take a group of kids to the state tournament. To experience the tournament atmosphere, those are experiences you remember for a lifetime," Flathead head coach Fred Febach said.
For only the second season in a row, Kalispell has two teams still playing in the final eight-team tournament. The Wolfpack is still after its first victory at state after coming up short the previous two seasons. Last year, Glacier went two and out for the second year in a row but almost upset top-seeded Billings West in the opening round.
"I think we have to remember that game (against Billings). We need to know that we can compete with the teams over there (in the East)," Glacier head coach Mark Harkins said.
"But also, we need to know that down the stretch we have to finish and stay hungry. Last year the guys played a great game."
Both Glacier and Flathead have well-rounded squads that can rely on a few different players to lead the way. The Wolfpack has only one player scoring in double figures - senior Bryan Chery (12.5 ppg) - but has had six different players lead the team in game scoring this season, including a young crop of talent that is playing beyond its years.
"We've talked about that a lot as far as just taking every game one at a time and not letting the pressures of being the No. 1 team interfere with what we have going," Harkins said. "We just have to focus within the team."
"This is a great team in the fact that there's all sorts of parts," he added. "They're all contributing to their part of the team. We've had great kids in the past and great teams in the past but this team is very unique. Every kid is different and every kid has his spot."
Glacier lost to the Rustlers 64-45 in the first game of the season, but it's hard to compare that group to the one playing now. Maturation can be seen in a squad that started 3-6 with a five-game skid then won 11 games in a row with a top-notch defense and a big-small offense with a lot of weapons. Glacier's last defeat came against Class A state champion Columbia Falls on Jan. 20. The Wolfpack narrowly lost to the Wildcats 42-36.
"To see the kids make the turn - and it was the kids deciding what they wanted to be and what they wanted to do - was just really neat," Harkins said. "We've had a lot of great leadership by our seniors and a lot of younger kids step up."
Flathead is similarly talented. With a core group with tournament experience - Joe Pistorese, Ian Gillespie, George Sherwood, Scotty Keller and Mike VanArendonk - the Braves find themselves in the role of potential spoiler. That said, the boys have another tough opener today. Like last year, when Flathead faced two-time defending champ CMR in the opener a la defeat, the Braves face the tournament favorite - Bozeman.
But Flathead has earned confidence and momentum after beating Missoula Hellgate, the second seed from the West who plays Billings Skyview, in the regular-season finale and playing impressively at points this season.
This year the Braves defeated CMR and Missoula Sentinel, the West's third seed who plays Billings West.
Flathead is led by Pistorese (12.8 ppg), a senior, and Sherwood (12.4 ppg), a junior, as well as Gillespie, a senior.
"We've shown we can play very good basketball when we play together as team and when we play solid defense," Febach said.
"You have to look at (state) as a three-game season. Three to win it all. You have to play your absolute best. You can't take a quarter off, you can't take a possession off."
AA Boys
Today
at Butte
9 a.m. - Missoula Hellgate (15-6) vs. Billings Skyview (14-7)
10:30 a.m. - Bozeman (18-2) vs. Flathead (10-10)
3:30 p.m. - Billings West (16-5) vs. Missoula Sentinel (12-9)
5 p.m. - Glacier (14-6) vs. Great Falls Russell (14-7)
Friday
9 a.m. - Hellgate-Skyview loser vs. Bozeman-Flathead loser, loser out
10:30 a.m. - West-Sentinel loser vs. Glacier-Russell loser, loser out
3:30 p.m. - Hellgate-Skyview winner vs. Bozeman-Flathead winner, semifinal
5 p.m. - West-Sentinel winner vs. Glacier-Russell winner, semifinal