Tournament Time
By Scott Sacry
Basketball season bookends winter in Montana – it starts with the last echoes of fall and ends with spring in sight. This weekend, Montana high school girls and boys basketball teams start the final leg of that journey in post-season tournaments.
From Wibaux to Winifred to Wolf Point and from Havre to Harlem to Harlowton, Montana basketball players, coaches, and communities will be vying for eight state championships.
The majority of these teams will not win the ultimate prize, but they will be better for the journey as the student athletes learn the lessons that come from winning and losing.
But at the start, it doesn’t matter if you’ve won every game or lost every game, once the tournaments begin, everyone has a chance.
The 12 high school boys and girls basketball teams from the Bitterroot Valley will be in the thick of the action.
Class A
The Western A Divisionals are in Butte on February 22-24. In the Southwestern A conference, the top three teams get byes into Divisionals, and the bottom three teams have play-in games to see who will be the 4th seed.
For the boys, Hamilton, Butte Central and Dillon are the top three seeds, and they all get a bye into Divisionals. 5th seed Corvallis hosts 6th seed Stevensville on Thursday, February 15th at 7 p.m., in the first play-in game, with the winner playing at 4th seed Frenchtown on Saturday at 1:30. The winner of this second play-in game earns the Southwestern A 4th seed in Divisionals.
On the girls side, Dillon, Frenchtown and Hamilton are the top three seeds, and they all get a bye into Divisionals. 5th seed Butte Central hosts 6th seed Stevensville on Thursday, Feb. 15th at 6 p.m., with the winner playing at 4th seed Corvallis on Saturday at 1 p.m. The winner of this game earns the Southwestern A 4th seed in Divisionals.
Class B
Both Florence and Darby play in the 6B District tournament in Deer Lodge on February 15-17.
The Florence boys are the 4th seed and play 5th seed Deer Lodge on Thursday at 2 p.m.
The Florence girls are the 3rd seed and play 6th seed Arlee on Thursday at 7:15 p.m.
The Darby boys are the 6th seed and play 3rd seed Anaconda on Thursday at 3:45 p.m.
The Darby girls are the 5th seed and play 4th seed Deer Lodge on Thursday at 5:30 p.m.
Class C
Victor plays in the 13C District tournament in Frenchtown on February 15-17.
The Victor girls are the 5th seed and play 4th seed Seeley-Swan on Thursday at 10 a.m.
The Victor boys are the 5th seeds and play 4th seed Valley Christian on Thursday at 11:30 a.m.