Glacier, Flathead enter state tourney in top form

There is a clear front runner as the Class AA girls travel to Great Falls to kick off the state basketball tournament, yet the boys tournament looks to be as wide open as ever when the event kicks off this morning at the Four Seasons Arena.

The Glacier boys enter today’s games as what is the closest thing to a favorite this season, having dropped just three games this season while winning the Western conference by a game over Missoula Hellgate.

The Wolfpack (17-3) rode the state’s best defense into the state tournament, winning 16 of their first 17 games this season on the way to setting a school record for wins. Glacier is holding teams to 45.0 points per game this season, just 43.8 in conference, both statistics two points better than its closest competitor this season. The Glacier offense is no slouch either, averaging 55.6 points this season, second-best in the West, which has helped the Wolfpack to a point differential better than all but one team in the state.

Glacier also has arguably the best player in the state this season, with senior center Jaxen Hashley causing issues for every team the Wolfpack has played this season. Hashley is the third-highest scorer in the state, averaging 16.7 points, and leads the state with 11.9 rebounds this season.

While Glacier opened the season as one of the toughest outs in the state, once it clinched a playoff spot, the season hit a skid. Glacier lost two of its last three games in the regular season, including a 57-53 loss to Flathead in the season finale.

The Wolfpack opens against Eastern fourth seed Billings West (12-7), a traditionally strong team that again has some of the best athletes in the state. Senior twins Bryson and Braydon Deming lead the way, each in the state’s top 10 in scoring this season. The Bears closed the season strong, losing by two points to Eastern champion Bozeman and pushing Great Falls to overtime. West beat Butte, the only Eastern team to beat Glacier this season, 59-47 in a play-in game to make the tournament. The game is scheduled to tip at 10:30 a.m.

On the same side of the bracket, two-time defending champion Billings Skyview (15-3) opens against Missoula Sentinel (11-10). Skyview senior RayQuan Evans is one of the most dynamic players in the state, averaging 18.2 points per game in leading a side that has lost twice since the start of February, dropping those games by a combined three points. Sentinel routed rival Big Sky to make the state tournament, but has lost its last four games to tournament teams.

The Flathead boys (12-9) enter the tournament as the hottest team in the state, having won their last six games bay an average of more than eight points. Juniors Tyler Johnson and Sam Elliott have powered the program in the stretch, Johnson averaging 19 points and Elliott 14.8 points in the winning streak.

Bozeman (17-3) made the title game last season and has looked the part this season, sharing the best record in the state with Glacier. The Hawks have only lost twice since January, led by a well-rounded offense, the second-best in the state. Five players are averaging at least eight points per game, led by senior guards Drew Huse (12.9 ppg) and Callahan O’Reilly (12.4). Bozeman topped Flathead 67-54 in Bozeman earlier this season. Their tournament game is scheduled to start at 5 p.m.

Missoula Hellgate (15-5) and Great Falls (15-6) play on the same side of the bracket. Great Falls is led by the state’s top scorer in Brendan Howard, who is averaging 24.1 points and 10.5 rebounds per game, and got to the tournament by slugging past crosstown rival CMR 54-50. Hellgate won its last three games to earn a bye into the tournament, including the first conference win over Glacier.

GIRLS

The Missoula Sentinel girls enter the tournament as the favorite after a second straight 19-1 regular season. The girls lost just one player from a team that finished last season in third place, and dominated almost all of its competition.

The Spartans lead a Western conference that looks as tough as ever, including a scrappy Glacier team that has been as stingy as any in the state this year.

Glacier (8-13) made the state tournament on the strength of its defense, a frenzied web of players that has slowed down every offense it’s seen this year. The Wolfpack has the third-best scoring defense in the state at just under 40 points per game, and has only focused that in conference season, holding teams to 38.5 points. Only Sentinel has been tougher on that side of the ball.

Where Glacier has struggled is on offense, posting one of the lowest scoring outputs of any team in the state. That turned around in a play-in game against Flathead last week, when Glacier exploded for 51 points in an eight-point victory over rival Flathead. Glacier is led on the offensive side of the ball by senior post Nikki Krueger, who is averaging 12.1 points and 8.7 rebounds this season, both marks in the top 7 of the state.

The Wolfpack’s first round opponent, top-seeded Bozeman (14-6), won the East in a tiebreaker after winning six of its last eight games. The Hawks, led by a pair of forwards in one of the state’s top scorers, senior Riana Rogers, and one of the state’s most well-rounded players, senior Amber Tarabochia, beat Glacier 43-27 earlier in the season in Bozeman. The Wolfpack and Hawks are scheduled to start at 1:30 p.m. today.

The state’s top two scoring teams face off on the same side of the bracket in a matchup between Helena High (17-3), averaging 57.4 points per game, and Billings Senior (13-6), averaging 51.2.

Great Falls C.M. Russell (14-6) will play Helena Capital (14-7) in the first round in a defensive battle in its hometown. The Sentinel girls host Billings West (13-6) on the same side of the bracket.