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Harlem's R.J. Ramone shoots over the Rocky Boy defense during a Class B boys game last month in Rocky Boy. Both the Wildcats and Stars open play this afternoon at the Northern B Divisional in Glasgow. Harlem is the District 2B champion, while Rocky Boy was the runner-up in the 1B. The Northern B runs through Saturday night.
As far as divisional tournaments go, the Northern B boys tourney is one of the deepest and most difficult fields in all of Montana High School basketball.
And this week will be no different, as the Northern B boys comes to Glasgow. The tournament, which features Hi-Line stalwarts Harlem and Rocky Boy, kicks off this afternoon and runs through Saturday night, with the top two teams advancing to the State B in two weeks in Bozeman.
And make no mistake, both the Wildcats, who won the District 2B last week in Glasgow, and the Stars, who finished runners-up at last weekend's 1B in Shelby, are among the favorites to cut the nets down this week.
Harlem, led by high-scoring R.J. Ramona, opens the tourney with a game against the Conrad Cowboys this afternoon. Conrad finished fourth in the 1B last week, and while the Cowboys won't be an easy out, the Wildcats should be favored.
The winner of that game will play either Rocky Boy or Poplar. The Stars, led by the outstanding Joe Demontiney, Ben Crebs and Sean Gibson, are coming off a tough loss in the 1B championship game, but should be favored to beat Poplar, which finished third in the 2B last weekend. If that happens, the Stars and Wildcats would meet for a third time. Rocky Boy swept Harlem in a non-conference doubleheader in the regular season.
The other side of the Northern B bracket is tough as well.
In game three tonight, 2B runner-up Malta clashes with 1B standout Fairfield at 6:30 p.m. The teams are bitter rivals and seemingly meet every year in the divisional tournament, this time, meeting in the first round. The winner of that game will meet either Shelby or Glasgow in the semifinals. The Coyotes, winners of the 1B, are led by former Havre High great Tom Reynolds, as well as University of Montana signee Rhett Reendows, who averages nearly 25 points per night. The Scotties meanwhile, finished fourth in the 2B, but will have homecourt advantage on their side.
The Northern B continues Friday with a pair of loser-out games in the afternoon, and the semifinals set for 6 and 8 p.m. Saturday morning will see two loser-pout games, followed by the consolation game at 6 p.m. and the championship game at 8. The top two teams from the Northern B advance to the Class B state tournament March 11-13 in Bozeman. The Northern B girls divisional will be held next weekend in Conrad.
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