Bears aim to defend Northern C title

For the Box Elder Bears, winning the District 9C championship for the third consecutive year was just the first step in the long process of repeating at Class C boys basketball state champions.

This week, the Bears will take the next step on that long journey as they will take part in the Northern C divisional tournament, which starts in Great Falls today inside the Four Seasons Arena.

However, the Bears (20-1) were not the only team from the 9C to qualify as Chinook and Hays-Lodge Pole also earned berths in the tournament as each team vies to take one of the Northern divisions two berths in the Class C state tournament.

Chinook will be the first 9C team to take part in the action when the Sugarbeeters take on Power, the third-place team from the 10C, at 5:30 p.m. That game will be followed by Box Elder taking on Highwood for the third time this season at 7. HLP will open its tournament Thursday morning at 8 a.m., when the Thunderbirds will take on Sunburst as part of the new format for the nine-team Northern C tourney.

"We know that every night we are going to get every team's best shot," Box Elder head coach Jeremy MacDonald said. "Chester/J-I and Hays-Lodge Pole both gave us a good game (at the 9C tournament), and we expect Highwood to come out and give us their best shot as well."

The Bears, who have been highly ranked throughout the season, are all too familiar with the Mountaineers, who knocked off Box Elder and ended its 30-game winning streak Jan. 2 when they beat the defending state champs 71-55. Yet, the Bears got payback in a big way in Box Elder Jan. 30 with a 75-37 victory over the Mountaineers in the rematch. This time, when the two teams meet, there will be even more at stake. But, at least one Box Elder player, Brandon The Boy, has not forgotten the loss to Highwood earlier in the season and still wants a little more payback.

"I think we still owe them a little for when they beat us earlier in the season," The Boy said. "I don't like losing, so we want to go out there and get after them. Obviously, we will need to play a lot more like we did the second game than we did in the first game against them."

The Boy will be a huge part of any victory as the junior point guard is the engine that makes the Bears go offensively. Yet, he is not the only star player for Box Elder as Jerrod Four Colors and Clayton Morsette Jr., complete a trio of players that's as good as any in Class C. Quinn Baker and Jake Jones will also contribute in a meaningful way for Box Elder.

The Mountaineers, who are led by head coach Aaron Skogen, boast a number of veteran players such as Darren Malek, Luke Davidson, Jordan LaFontaine, Logan Ferda, Jake Malek, Trayce Hartman, Dayton Decker and Louis Aron.

If the Bears knock off Highwood, they will advance to the semifinals, which is set to take place Friday at 4 p.m., against the winner of Great Falls Central, the champion from the 10C and Denton-Geyser-Stanford, the second seed of the 8C.

"These kids understand the game," MacDonald said. "They know if they take care of the little things, the big things will fall into place. So they do a good job of just keeping the next task in front of them and not looking forward, so right now we are focused on taking care of Highwood."

The Beeters (16-6), who are making their third trip to divisionals in the last four years, are not necessarily thinking state tournament or bust like the Bears, they are just trying to win their first divisional game over the course of this successful three-year run.

Power, which is the third-place team from the 10C, will provide a solid test for the Beeters, who are led by senior Lane Seymour. Chinook will also count on others such as Ian McIntosh, Zack Schellin, Cody McCracken and Wade Schneider to play key roles as they look to finally break their losing streak at the Northern C.

"We have made divisionals in three of my four years but we haven't been able to win a game yet," Chinook head coach Mike Seymour said. "So that is our first objective, just to win a game. Once we do that, we will go from there."

If the Beeters win, they will advance to take on the top-seeded team from the 8C in the Belt Huskies, who enter the tournament with an undefeated record after winning the 8C regular season and tournament titles, Thursday morning at 9:30 a.m.

And finally, HLP will head to divisionals Thursday and will go there with plenty of confidence after knocking off the Beeters in the semifinals of the 9C tournament and going toe-to-toe with Box Elder in the 9C championship game.

The T-Birds (15-6) are led by distinguished coach Charlie Ereaux, who led the T-Birds to a Class C state title in 2006 and will head to Great Falls with a berth in the state tournament on their mind as they open their tournament Thursday at 8 a.m., against Sunburst.

"I feel very good about our chances (of advancing to state)," Ereaux said. "I think that we are peaking and playing our best basketball at the right time. If we can keep playing the way that we have been, then I think we have a good shot."

The T-Birds boast a slew of talented players led by Tyson Shambo, who is coming off a 27-point showing against Box Elder in the 9C title game. He will be joined by Sterling White Cow, Lance Strike, Damon Castillo, Tough Snow and Frank Runs Above. HLP, which faces Sunburst, the second-place team from the 10C in the opening round, would face either Belt, Power or Chinook in the semifinal game with a win. That game would take place at 5:30 p.m. Friday.

The Northern C tournament will run from Wednesday through Saturday and all games will be played in Great Falls at the Four Seasons Arena. The top two teams will advance to the 2015 Class C state tournament in Billings at the Metra which begins March. 12.