Rocky Boy, Harlem hoping to advance in the postseason

While the District 9C tournament takes center stage this week in Havre, two more local schools are vying for postseason glory as well.

Thursday through Saturday the Rocky Boy basketball teams will take part in the District 1B tournament in Cut Bank, while at the same time, Harlem is headed to the District 2B in Malta.

For the Wildcats, the formula to make it to divisionals is simple, win and you’re in. The District 2B has just five teams, so a play-in game is used to determine the four teams that advance to the Northern B. On the boys side, Harlem will square off against Wolf Point Thursday. The winner advances to face top-seeded Malta in the semifinals, while the loser’s season is over. Glasgow and Poplar play in the other semifinal and are already moving on to the Northern B.

The Harlem girls, led by young standouts L’Tia Lawrence and Kaylee Henry, are in the same situation in the loaded 2B girls tourney. Thursday night, the Wildcats will have to beat Glasgow to keep their season alive. The winner of that game will play top-seeded Malta in the semifinals. Wolf Point and Poplar play in the other semifinal, and have already advanced to the Northern B.

Meanwhile, in Cut Bank, the Rocky Boy Stars and Morning Stars will need to win at least two games to move on to the Northern B Divisional. But both teams are certainly capable of doing that.

The District 1B boys tournament is going to be a free-for-all. Shelby, under the direction of former Havre great Tom Reynolds, is the top seed, but from top to bottom, the district is loaded. Fairfield, the Stars, Choteau and Cut Bank are all capable of making a push for the district title this week. Rocky Boy, led by Chase Corcoran and Kendall Windy Boy, have beaten every team in the district at least once, and head coach Adam DeMontiney said this tournament is going to be a wild one.

“Anything can happen in our district,” DeMontiney said. “There are a lot of really good teams. We just have to play our best and see what happens.”

The Rocky Boy boys open the 1B as the No. 3 seed and face Conrad Thursday at 8 p.m. The winner will play Choteau in the semifinals.

The 1B girls tourney is also wide open, which hasn’t been the case in years. Fairfield and Choteau have dominated in recent years, but both teams have proved beatable this season. Meanwhile, Rocky Boy fought its way to a third-place finish in the regular season standings, and the Morning Stars, led by Adrienne Gopher, Sean Henry, Jaylynn Mitchell, Rosie Parker and Maya Reed, are looking to get back to the Northern B, and perhaps, even win a district championship.

“They’re going to be a tough out at their tournament,” Havre High head coach Dustin Kraske said of the Morning Stars. “They’re really playing well right now.

The Morning Stars face Conrad Thursday at 2:30 p.m. The winner plays top-seeded Fairfield in the semifinals.

The 1B tourney runs Thursday through Saturday in Cut Bank.

Of course, the goal is to advance, and four teams from the 1B and four teams from the 2B will do just that. The eight girls teams that survive this weekend will move on to the Northern B Divisional next Thursday through Saturday in Glasgow. The top eight boys teams will advance to the Northern B Divisional March 2-4 back in Cut Bank. The combined Class B State Tournament is set for March 9-11 in Billings.

GIRLS

District 1B

At Cut Bank

Four Teams Advance

Thursday

1:00, Shelby vs. Cut Bank

2:30, Rocky Boy vs. Conrad

Friday

6:30, Choteau vs. Shelby-Cut Bank winner

8:00, Fairfield vs. Rocky Boy-Conrad winner

District 2B

At Malta

Four Teams Advance

Thursday

8:00, Glasgow vs. Harlem

Friday

4:30, Wolf Point vs. Poplar

8:00, Malta vs. Glasgow-Harlem winner

District 1B

At Cut Bank

Four Teams Advance

Thursday

6:30, Fairfield vs. Cut Bank

8:00, Rocky Boy vs. Conrad

Friday

1:00, Shelby vs. Fairfield-Cut Bank winner

2:30, Choteau vs. Rocky Boy-Conrad winner

District 2B

At Malta

Four Teams Advance

Thursday

6:30, Wolf Point vs. Harlem

Friday

3:00, Glasgow vs. Poplar

6:30, Malta vs. Wolf Point-Harlem winner