Rocky Boy and Harlem set to begin an exciting Class B postseason

If you are a fan of high school basketball, then you are going to enjoy the next few weeks, as postseason basketball is here, and it's getting started this week with district tournaments being played around the state.

Locally, there are a number of different tournaments to keep an eye on. The District 9C tournament will be held in Havre, but as far as Class B is concerned, the District 1B and District 2B combined tournaments will be played in Conrad and Wolf Point.

Each year, the Northern B is loaded and this year, it's going to be extremely competitive once again. As an example of just how deep it's been, last year, Malta was third at divisionals in the Northern B, but went on to win the Class B state championship.

This season, the 1B might be the toughest district in Class B boys basketball. In last week's rankings, three of the six teams were ranked in the top 10, as Rocky, Shelby and Choteau fifth, sixth and ninth. Of course, Rocky Boy finished as best team in the 1B with a record of 9-1, which earned the Stars an opening-round bye. That also moves Rocky Boy one win closer to advancing to the Northern B Divisional.

Teams just have to finish in the top four to qualify for divisionals, meaning a win in the semifinals would clinch a spot. Otherwise, a win on the consolation round would be needed. But both teams in the championship and consolation games Saturday night will advance.

The Stars, who will be led in action by Kendall Windy Boy, Ben Iron Eyes and Kordell Small, will face either Fairfield (6-4) or Cut Bank (1-9) in the semifinals. Those teams will meet Thursday at 2:30 p.m. On the other side of the bracket, Shelby (7-3) has a first-round bye. The Coyotes will play the winner of Choteau (6-4) and Conrad (1-9), the host team. That game will kick off the tournament at 1 p.m.

The semifinals will be played at 6 and 7:30 Friday night. The two winners there will play for the championship Saturday at 8 p.m. The third-place game will tip-off at 6:30 p.m.

While the four qualifying teams from the 1B will fill up half the bracket, the other four will come from the 2B, which also sends for teams to divisionals. The 2B is a little different format because it has just five teams. Poplar is the top seed and gets a bye. The first-round matchups are Harlem vs Glasgow Thursday at 8 p.m., as well as Malta and Wolf Point, the host team, who will go head-to-head Friday at 4:30 p.m.

Yet the really important game is between Harlem and Glasgow. Malta and Wolf Point are playing in what is essentially a semifinal game. But as it stands, both teams will head to divisionals. Harlem and Glasgow, on the other hand, are taking part in the play-in game, which is also a play-in game for divisionals. Whichever team wins that game will advance to semifinals against Poplar Friday at 8 p.m. The loser will be eliminated and their season will be over.

Harlem, which is under the direction of first-year head coach Cole McCabe, is hoping to get back to the divisional tournament and, to do so, the Wildcats will need to beat a team it defeated 66-41 on Jan. 5. However, the Scotties returned the favor Feb. 2, winning in Harlem by a score of 51-43.

Both tournaments get underway Thursday and end Saturday, with championship games at 8 p.m. The top eight teams will advance to the Northern B Divisional in Glasgow, which is scheduled to start Feb. 22.

Harlem, Rocky Boy girls both favored

Not only are the Rocky Boy boys geared up for postseason play, so are both the Harlem and Rocky Boy girls.

In Conrad, the Rocky Boy girls will be the No. 1 seed at the district tournament for the first time since the school moved to Class B a decade ago. The Morning Stars (11-5) went 7-1 in league play this season, with their only loss coming to defending state champion Fairfield.

The Morning Stars, who have a bye in the first round of the district tourney, have been a scoring machine all season, led by Adrienne Gopher and Jaylynn Mitchell, who are both double figures scorers. But Rocky Boy's depth also sets them apart. Sean Henry, Sasha Coffee, Jaynah Gopher and Rochelle Pease are also capable double-digit scorers for head coach Cameron McCormick's team.

Rocky Boy will be the favorite this week in Conrad, but Fairfield and Shelby are both strong as well. Fairfield is the No. 2 seed and has a bye Thursday, while Shelby plays rival Cut Bank and Choteau takes on Conrad. Rocky Boy will play the winner of the Choteau/Conrad matchup Friday at 2:30 p.m., with a spot in the championship game on the line. The 1B girls title game is set for 6:30 p.m. Saturday.

Playing for a championship is also the goal of Harlem. The Wildcats went 17-3 this season, and tied Poplar, a state tournament team a year ago, for the 2B regular season title. This week in Wolf Point, the Wildcats and Indians are expected to meet for the district title, after they split their two meetings in the regular season.

Head coach Laramie Schwenke's Wildcats are having their best season in almost 20 years, thanks to the young core of L'Tia Lawrence, Skylee Dirden and Mystic Striker. The trio combines to score nearly 40 points per game, but Harlem has depth too, including veteran Autumn Eagleman, who hit a game-winning shot to beat Poplar last month in Harlem.

As for this week, Poplar is the top seed, while Harlem takes on Wolf Point Thursday at 3 p.m. for a spot in the championship game. Malta and Glasgow kick off the girls tournament with an elimination game. The winner of that game will automatically make it to the Northern B, along with the Wildcats, Indians and Wolf Point Wolves. The 2B championship game is set for 6:30 p.m. Saturday night.

The top four teams from the 1B and 2B will advance to the Northern B Divisional, which will be played in Cut Bank March 1-3.