MCAA state basketball tourney starts today

by The Daily Inter Lake
| February 15, 2012 11:30 PM

The Montana Christian Athletic Association state basketball tournament starts today at Carroll College in Helena, where Stillwater Christian and Flathead Valley Home School could each play deep into the tournament.

Stillwater Christian

Stillwater holds the top seeds from the West in both the boys' and girls' brackets.

The Cougar boys finished the regular season 14-6 overall and 5-1 in conference and feature three players averaging double-digit points. Josh Bray leads the team, averaging 18.8 points per game, with Trevor Holladay scoring nearly 12 and Josh Topp adding 10.4 per game.

The boys open the tournament against the No. 4 seed from the East, (Great Falls) Foothills Christian at 8:15 p.m. today. The Falcons finished the regular season 2-11 overall and 2-9 in conference.

Stillwater's girls earned their top seed in the West after finishing the regular season 17-5 overall and 5-1 in conference. The Cougars are led by Jordan Denz, averaging 15.7 points per game, and Morgan Paolini averaging 11.9.

The Cougar girls will also open against Foothills Chrisitan beginning at 4:30 p.m. today. The Falcons finished the season 4-7 overall and 4-5 in conference.

The boys championship game will be played at 4:45 p.m. on Saturday; the girls will start their championship at 3 p.m. on Saturday.

Flathead Valley

Home School

The FVHS boys will enter the state tournament as the second seed from the West, finishing the regular season 14-6 overall and 5-2 in conference. Josh Jarvis and Josiah Sheeran, both averaging more than 13 points per game, have led the team all season and look to lead the Crusaders deep into the tournament.

The boys open the tournament against (Billings) Rimrock Christian (5-3 MCAA, 10-5 overall) at 8:30 a.m. today.

The Crusader girls earned the third seed from the West and will open against Rimrock at 3 p.m. today.