by Scott Sacry
The Hamilton boys are the top seed from the West and play Havre, the East’s #4 seed, on Thursday, March 7th at 5 p.m. at the Butte Civic Center. Billings Central and Dillon are the other two teams on Hamilton’s side of the bracket. With only eight teams left, every team is dangerous and Havre is no exception. They are 15-6 on the season and are a solid group.
Hamilton’s head coach Travis Blome said of Havre, “They have an excellent team. They are well coached and have an elite player in Tre Gary. And his supporting cast is very good and they complement each other well. They had a great regular season – winning their league. So it’s going to be a very tough test for us.”
The Hamilton boys have been ranked near the top of Class A most of the season and some may think they have a target on their back, but Blome said his team doesn’t see it that way. “For us, it all starts over again at State, we are now 0-0 on the season,” said Blome, “and we’re going to take it one game at a time, and try and do everything right and play our best basketball next weekend.”
Coach Blome outlined the keys to success for the Broncs at State. “It starts with defense and sticking to our defensive fundamentals,” said Blome. “Next, to be successful we must rebound well to limit our opponents’ possessions. Then on offense we need to have good ball movement and take good shots.”
Teams forge their own identity each year, and Blome is proud of this year’s group. “We have a great group of kids this season,” said Blome, “from 1 to 12 they all have a role and a job to do. They work hard together and have a lot of fun together, it’s a great group to be around.”
See the Class A Boys bracket here: