Now they want to go to state

With a new format, the 2020 Northern C Divisional Tournament is here. And three area boys teams are ready to go.

Following an exciting District 9C tournament last week in Havre, undefeated Fort Benton, defending Northern C champion Chinook and upstart Big Sandy will all battle the rest of a strong Northern C field with state tournament berths on the line starting Wednesday afternoon in Great Falls.

The Longhorns (21-0), led by brothers Garrett and Hayden Diekhans, will be heavy favorites to capture the Northern C crown this week. They are unbeaten and after coming up a game short of reaching the state tourney last year, head coach Tyler Pasha's team is on a mission to reach their first state tourney since 1992, when they were Class B.

"We'll get nine teams that are hot at the time," Pasha said. "We got to come prepared for every single game. We talked about it before, but it's a different animal for tournaments, for divisionals. We'll get the two out of the 10C and we'll be ready to roll."

Fort Benton will be ready to roll when they take on Simms (17-4) Thursday at 9:30 a.m. in a format that now sees the tournament not start until Wednesday afternoon, and both the boys and the girls go through Saturday. Simms meanwhile, led by former Havre Blue Pony and Chinook coach Chris Daniel, had a strong regular season but was upset in the 10C chipper by Heart Butte last week in Shelby.

The Longhorn's half of the draw also includes 8C champion Belt. The Huskies (18-3) have been a perennial Northern C contender but have had a hard time breaking through when it comes to the divisional tourney. Belt opens the fray against Sunburst (13-9), the third-place team out of the 10C Wednesday at 5:30 p.m.

The Northern C opens Wednesday at 4 p.m. when Big Sandy (13-9) makes their return to divisionals by taking on Centerville (11-11). The Pioneers have had renewed vigor this season, led by a strong veteran group of Ryan Roth, Clint Darlington and Kade Strutz. That trio has been playing for the Pioneers since eighth grade, and now, they're finally back at the Northern C.

"We've overcome and overcome all season," Big Sandy head coach Thomas Dilworth said about his team going to divisional for the first time in nearly a decade.

If Big Sandy overcomes Centerville, the Pioneers will face 10C champion Heart Butte (14-5) in the quarterfinals Thursday at 5:30 p.m. In the other first-round game on the top of the boys draw is Chinook (16-5) taking on Roy Winifred (12-8), the runner-up of the 8C, Thursday at 4 p.m.

The Sugarbeeters won the Northern C a year ago, and head coach Mike Seymour's team has the talent to do it again, with Ethan Bell and Reese Elliot being a great one-two combo. But, the Beeters will have a tough road if they want to get back to the championship game, and punch a second straight ticket to the state tourney.

If Chinook wins, the Beeters will play in the second boys semifinal, Friday at 5:30 p.m. The first semifinal is set for 4 p.m. Friday with the boys consolation game at 4 p.m. and the championship set for 5:30 p.m. Saturday night. All of the action takes place at the Four Seasons Arena in Great Falls.

Of course, the top two teams will head to the first-ever combined Class C state tournament, which runs March 11-14 at Dahlberg Arena in Missoula.

"The Northern C is always a very difficult tournament," Seymour said. "Any team coming in can win it. It's just a matter of which teams put games together and which teams play solid basketball."