Area boys teams take on district tournaments

Tournament time is here once again, and several Hi-Line squads will look to capture a top spot amongst their district foes.

The No. 2 Rocky Boy Stars (15-3) will take on the 1B in Cut Bank, while the Harlem Wildcats (3-15) will travel a tough road through the 2B in Malta. And in 10C action, the Chester/J-I Hawks will look to keep their season rolling with a top finish in Conrad.

The Stars have several years of post season success under their belts, mostly in the Class C, but are now looking to grab back-to-back Class B state titles. A season ago the Stars defeated conference rival Shelby for the title.

However, the Stars haven't had the dominating success they have had in past years. They enter the 1B tournament as the top seed with two conference losses, sort of a rarity for the always deep Rocky Boy squad. During the regular season the Stars suffered a loss to No. 1 Cut Bank (10-2) and No. 3 Fairfield (8-4).

But nothing should hinder the Stars come tournament time. They open up play against No. 7 Cascade (0-12) tonight at 5:30 p.m. and enter the matchup as clear favorites. During the season the Stars obliterated Cascade 79-25 in their first meeting and 82-38 in their second. And if the Stars manage to once again get past Cascade, Rocky Boy would then face the winner of the Fairfield/Choteau matchup at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. If the Stars were upset on Thursday, they would then face the loser of the Fairfield/Choteau matchup at 11:30 a.m. on Friday.

Other Thursday games include Shelby vs. Conrad at 4 p.m. And on Friday the Shelby/Conrad winner will face the Cut Bank in semifinal action at 6 p.m. Rocky Boys has lit up the headlines this season and have been led by the likes of Leisen Oats, Skylar LaForge, Shane Bacon, Colby Abbot, Kirby Lafromboise and Nick Henry.

The No. 6 2B Wildcats have a much tougher tournament road ahead of them this weekend in Malta.

They have recorded just a 2-8 conference record, and won a total of three games all together this season. They have a talented group of athletes, but seem to be overwhelmed in one of the tougher conferences around.

Skylar Speaks Thunder has led the Wildcats this season and has a great ability to score. He has put up nearly 30 on a couple occasions this season, but has also gotten some help from Jesse Werk, Bud Buck, Cole McCann, Brandon Hammond and Taylor First Raised.

But with a talent pool with teams such as Wolf Point, a 17-0 team and Malta, a 12-4 team, the Wildcats will have their work cut out for them if they hope to grab a top spot.

The Wildcats will open their tournament play tonight at 8 p.m. against Poplar. And on Friday, if the Wildcats win, they will face Malta in semifinal action at 8 p.m.

The 10C Hawks found themselves in the middle of the pack all season long. And finishing the regular season with a sub .500 conference record at 5-7, they too have somewhat of a difficult path ahead if they wish to keep their post season rolling.

Tonight at 7 p.m. they will face Valier. And if C/J-I can mange a first round win, the Hawks will then face No. 1 Dutton-Brady on Friday at 7:30 p.m. in the semifinals. But if the Hawks lose tonight, they will drop down into the loser out bracket, giving them an even tougher road to travel.

Other games today at the 10C includes Power vs. Sunburst at 4 p.m. and heart Butte vs. Simms at 5:30 p.m.

The Hawks have been led offensively by Grant Lakey, Ryne Tyler, Ceddy Pogue, Lane Harmon and Brandon Graff. They are a solid, athletic core and could potentially surprise some teams if overlooked in the middle of the pack.

The twop four teams from the 1B in Cut Bank and the 2B in Malta advance to the Northern B Divisonal next week. The top two teams from the 10C in Conrad move on to next week's Northern C in Great Falls.