Beeters, T-Birds ready to rumble at Class C boys state tournament

The Chinook Sugarbeeters may have never qualified for a Class C state tournament before, but, with a loaded roster coming into the 2018-19 season, it was never a question of if the Beeters would go to their first state tourney in 33 years, it was a matter of how good they'd be once they got there.

Chinook will find out the answer to that question this weekend in Billings as the Beeters (24-0) make their Class C state tourney debut Thursday against Plenty Coups.

Chinook comes to its first state tournament of any kind since the Beeters won the 1986 Class B state championship. And after winning the Northern C two weeks ago in Great Falls, the Beeters are hungry for more.

"This all means a lot," Chinook senior Isaac Bell said. "It's been 33 years since a Chinook team went to state. This team has been working towards this for a long time. This is just a really special team."

The Beeters have been working and growing toward this goal for some time. With seniors Bell, Schneider and Trajun Hannum leading the way, along with the inside presence of Brendan Edwards and Reese Elliot, the steadily improving play of Ethan Bell, Hunter Neibauer and Riley Kellam, the Beeters have grown from a young team back in 2017 to a veteran, talented and deep group, ready to make a run at a coveted state championship.

"This group, I'm just super proud of them," Chinook head coach Mike Seymour said. "They work hard, they play hard and they've just continued to grow and grow. They're a special group, and we're really excited."

The Beeters do play hard, and, with their rare size advantage for Class C, they are going to be a handful for Plenty Coups on Thursday, and anybody else that gets in their way this weekend in Billings. The Warriors (17-3) though, will present a challenging opening test for the Beeters.

Plenty Coups finished second at the Southern C Divisional, and is a state tournament stalwart. The Warriors are led by the high-scoring Brendan Falls Down, and, they are one of the top scoring teams in the state. But, defense has been Chinook's strong suit all season long.

"We have really gotten better and better defensively as the season has gone on," Seymour said. "That's one of our strengths. Defense and rebounding will be big keys for us at the state tournament."

Should Chinook get past Plenty Coups on Thursday, the Beeters will see either Eastern C champion Scobey (21-0) or Western C runner-up and two-time defending state champion Arlee in Friday's first semifinal. The Spartans, like Chinook, are undefeated this season and are hungry after finishing fourth at state a year ago. The Warriors (22-2), who won the state title a year ago, and who have gained national attention for their amazing work with issues off the court, are back to defend their title even after graduation hit them hard. Head coach Zanan Pitts club, which lost the Western C title two weeks ago, is still a talented bunch, however, led by top scorer Lane Johnson and returning star Greg Whitesell, so, both the Spartans and Warriors would be a tough matchup for Chinook in the semifinals.

The other side of the state bracket may be even tougher, and that's where the second District 9C team in the field resides. After finishing third at the 9C last month, the Hays-Lodge Pole Thunderbirds (15-8) had to go the long route to state, winning a Northern C challenge game to punch their ticket.

"This team has come a long way this season," HLP head coach Derrick Shambo said. "We were a pretty new team at the start of the year, and they've had their ups and downs. But they have really come together, and I think we've been playing really good basketball at the right time."

The T-Birds, led by point guard Gilbert Snow and center Jeremy Pretty Paint are playing great right now, but their reward for reaching the state tourney is a first-round matchup with one of the favorites this week, Melstone. The Broncs (23-1), finished third at state a year ago and returned their entire roster, led by star senior Brody Grebe, who is considered one of the top players in all of Montana high school basketball. Grebe has an excellent team around him, and the Broncs, winners of the Southern C, will certainly be a tough first game for the T-Birds, who are back at state for the first time since 2016.

The winner of the HLP/Melstone game will then likely see another one of the Class C heavyweights in Manhatten Christian (23-0). The Eagles are the third undefeated team in the field, and they are led by Montana State Bobcat signee Caleb Bellach, who is also one of the top scorers in the state. The Eagles play the Fairview Warriors (18-3), runners-up of the Eastern C, and who have only lost to Scobey three times this season. But, while the Warriors are another state-experienced squad, Manhatten-Christian appears to be on a mission this weekend having finished second to Arlee at state a year ago, and everybody is expecting a Melstone/Manhatten-Christian semifinal on Friday night.

Of course, expectations are only part of the equation, and both Chinook and HLP have high expectations of their own. The T-Birds are a dangerous club, and the highest-scoring team in the field, and they're not just in Billings to be there. Meanwhile, the Sugarbeeters are certainly one of the deepest and most talented teams in Class C, and they have aspirations of keeping their season perfect, and bringing home the school's first state title in boys basketball in three decades.

"We're excited, the whole community is excited about this," Seymour said. "This is something these kids have worked really hard for, and anytime you have a chance to win a state championship, that is phenomenal."

Chinook will begin its state championship quest Thursday 12:30 p.m. against Plenty Coups. HLP finishes the opening day of the state tournament by taking on Melstone at 8 p.m. The 2019 Class C state boys tournament will run through Saturday night's state championship game, and all of the action will take place inside the Rimrock Auto Arena at the Metra.