Rocky Boy, Harlem begin postseason play

For the basketball teams of Class B and Class C, postseason play is here. And along the Hi-Line that means a number of teams will be in action. While many will compete in the District 9C tournament in Havre, Rocky Boy and Harlem will participate in their own district tournaments at the B level.

Rocky Boy is a member of the District 1B and will take part in that tournament in an effort to qualify for the Northern B divisional tournament next weekend. And this weekend's outlook for Rocky Boy at the District 1B tourney in Conrad is certainly bright.

On the boys side, Rocky Boy comes in with just two district wins on paper, yet, the Stars played well in the district all season long, so even though they will be the sixth seed in a six-team tournament, they have a good chance to advance.

The Stars are led by Cecil LaFromboise, Junior Day Child, Bubby Gopher and Skylar Parisian and will open up the tournament Thursday against the Shelby Coyotes, who are coached by former Havre Blue Pony great Tom Reynolds Jr. The winner of that game, which will tip off at 6 p.m. Thursday night, will advance to Friday's semifinals against the Fairfield Eagles.

On the girls side of things, Rocky Boy comes into the 1B with a solid overall record and a 7-3 mark in district play, which was good enough to earn them the third seed. The Morning Stars, who are led by Jai-Lynn Day Child, Rosie Parker and Minnie The Boy, will open the tournament against Shelby and just like the boys team, will need to finish in the top four to advance. The District 1B girls tourney is, of course, loaded, as the league also features the mighty Fairfield Eagles, as well as the Choteau Bulldogs, who are the only team to beat Fairfield in the last five years.

The Harlem Wildcats will also be in action in the District 2B tournament, competing against the likes of Glasgow, Malta, Poplar, Wolf Point and Plentywood to get to divisionals.

The Harlem boys team finished below .500 in district play and will have their work cut out for them to get into the top four. But, with the recent string of good play from Tristan Gone and Dutch Helgeson, the Wildcats have more than a fighting chance. Four teams will advance to divisionals, so Harlem is really fighting it out with Poplar, Plentywood and Wolf Point as Glasgow and Malta are clearly the class of the league. The Harlem boys open tournament play against Plentywood Thursday at 6:30 p.m.

The Harlem girls team will also need to elevate its level of play if its going to advance past districts. The Wildcats come into the tournament as the fifth-seeded team but after winning just one district game during the season, Harlem will need a Cinderella-like run to finish in the top four. Tesche Ereaux and Ticia Cliff are Harlem's top scores. The Wildcats begin 2B play Thursday against Plentywood as well. That game will tip off at 1 p.m.

The 2B tournament for both the boys and the girls is being held in Wolf Point. The action gets underway Thursday, the same day the 1B tournament gets underway in Conrad. Both tournaments run through Saturday night with the top four teams from each advancing to the Northern B Divisional. The girls Northern B is slated for next weekend in Malta, while the boys Northern B will be held March 5-7 in Shelby.