Sports Now - Western AA Basketball Recap & All-Tournament Teams w/ Fritz Neighbor

Fritz Neighbor of the Daily Inter Lake joins the program to breakdown the Western AA tournament that took place last weekend in Kalispell. We put together an All-Tournament team to highlight some of the weekend's best hoopers and reflect on an epic weekend of basketball that saw the Flathead Bravettes win their first western AA division title since the 2000-2001 season on a game winning buzzer beater by Avery Chouinard.

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Transcript

"All right, calling in from Missoula to the Daily Inter Lake Sports Now. is the one and only Fritz Neighbor of the Daily Inter Lake. Fritz and I both spent most of our weekend last weekend covering the Western Double a basketball tournament at Flathead High School. Fun stuff, an action-packed weekend. That being said, we put together an all-western double tournament team to highlight the awesome play on display here in Kalispell. Um, real quick, big thank you to Flathead High School for all the fun. Big kudos to all the coaches and athletes involved. That being said, thanks for joining me, Fritz. Just kind of your thoughts on the tourney and we'll dive into the lists."

"Oh yeah, it was fun and you know, I like doing these. It's always fun to do an old tournament team. If I felt better, I might have organized it better on Saturday, then added something for you yesterday, but um, you and I got our heads together. We got, I think, a pretty good list. We agreed on the MVPs. Let's go at it."

"Yeah, awesome. We'll start with the boys. And that being said, about the MVP, I think it's funny that you put this. We were on the same page right off the bat for the boys. Hellgate's Connor Dick led that team to the Western double-a Title. Threw down a couple of monster slam dunks throughout the tournament but just overall dictated the temple. If one of those guys every time stepped on the court, you knew the other team needed to stop him. Guy was a force. Next up, Cohen Castellitz, Glacier. The Dennis Rodman of the valley, we could say. But I mean, just a rebounding machine. Absolute animal on the boards and relentless on both sides of the ball. Next up, Hudson Lukey. Beaut, did I say that right, Luke? Yeah, that's right. The freshman was an extremely impressive player. This is a kid that I can't wait to see grow over the next couple of years. High basketball IQ for his age, son of a coach, so you could see that, but just impressive for a freshman. Next up, the guy we both agreed on on the list here, Donovan Headswift of Hellgate. I kind of saw him as that kind of do-it-all guy in the middle who just does the Dirty Work, hits the mid-range jumper, but he'll guard the other team's big, get rebounds, never really gives up, just a guy every kind of winner needs to have on that team."

Next up, Josiah Chloresma of Big Sky, just a guy who could score non-stop, a walking bucket type of guy, a smooth guy. Yep, you would say he's charismatic. Charisma is all you're saying there?

We have Ty Olson of Glacier, kind of the one who makes that ship go. Ball in his hands a lot of time, kind of point forward, you could almost say. And last up, Jay Stenson of Butte, guys are just relentless scorers as well. It seems like every time he touches the ball, he's looking to get a bucket, and he helped lead Butte to a run to the state. Impressive stuff.

Yeah, Francis, kind of your thoughts on the list, and we'll kind of dive into the honorable mentions there.

Yeah, you know, here, now we're both there on Friday when Connor Deck got those two steals, and he had an impressive dunk right off the bat, and then he had an impressive dunk square on the second one. I thought he got fouled in the second one, they didn't call it. Just a great left-handed ride in the back dude. I think everybody knows which way he wants to go, but they have a hard time stopping him. And he just, you know, he didn't have huge numbers, 15, 21, 11, but it seemed like if they needed the buckets, he got it for them. Yeah, definitely, and they played a real team-centric style, you could tell well-coached. And I did think it was funny you mentioned he got the steal on the dunk. I knew he was about to do something special because I saw the whole bench jump up, and I was like, "Oh, he's throwing this one down." And of course, he did, but no, that was fun. They felt it come, and they knew their guy was feeling it. And yeah, no, easily for me, he was the MVP. And as you said, not the biggest numbers, but as you said, when they needed a go-to guy, he was that guy down the stretch.

Yeah, and then you know, we talked about Costello, you took over farming Friday night because I was a little under the weather, and thank you for that. But I didn't realize until today, he had 18 rebounds in that Friday night semifinal win. Um, you move on to Luki, his dad played at Ronan High and used to bank in three-pointers. That's how old I am, so it's that way I'm under the Legacy players now at my age. And you know, had Swiftly, we both agree there, you know, good around the basket, kind of did the Dirty Work, fouled some dead tiles and things. He's just kind of, uh, just a beast out there at the point. Chris was so smooth, the stance report, and big points for Butte. It's pretty easy to agree on those seven. 

And then we had a bunch of guys get honorable mentions because, well, it's just a bunch of good players in that division. Yeah, it was extremely talented. It felt like they could have gone so many different ways as far as the honorable mentions. I'll read some of them off here. We had Asher top of Hellgate, and Cameron Guernsey of Butte who I watched have one monster performance for sure. He took over the game in the fourth quarter. I think he had like 13 points. He didn't know Pete's of capital just a guy, one of those guys does the Dirty Work and attacks the glass. To tell his impact was felt. Easton Sant of Hellgate was kind of one of those guys who was under the radar, but it also felt like whenever they needed a big shot, came up, hit a three, or made a clutch free throw, just they trusted him with the ball in his hands. Noa Dial of Glacier, local kid. He's one of those guys I feel are kind of similar to guys we've mentioned on the list, but you can't look at the stat sheet and see his impact because he does so much defending the rim, making guys kind of rethink what they're doing in the paint. He just has a big impact beyond the box score. Lieberg of Helena, he's a guy who I almost, I was ready to put on the list just based on his shot-making ability. He was really impressive to get his bucket whenever he wanted, but teams were dialing in on him and he still found a way. So that's always impressive. 

 Another local kid, Noah Cummings of Flathead. Flathead, they didn't get, you know, they didn't get the most win, they didn't get the wins they wanted, they didn't have the most success, but Cummings, it's, there's no denying the talent there. He was, he had some big moments in that first game versus Hellgate. Late in the first quarter, he had a buzzer-beater in that one. So the flashes are there, the talent's there. And then two more guys, Mario Brosman of Hellgate, another guy who just impact was felt the whole time, feels like Hellgate just play team basketball. Glacier, same thing.

"Really? But last up, Nickolotti of Capital. Another one of those big, six-four, six-five guys making plays on the perimeter, plays around the rim. So, yeah, no, I mean, it was extremely talented like you said. So much great basketball being played and really, it was kind of a blur. I'm glad we put this list together because it was able to put into perspective how much great talent we got to watch right here in the valley. Fun stuff, right? And then, I kind of feel bad. His place was kind of the same thing as Hellgate, you know? It's like a great team ball. They have so many shooters and they play second.  

So, we figured out three that we could get on the list. They probably had two or three more guys that had an impact, you know, to get them to the title game. And, yeah, you know, Dollar had 15 boards in one game. Opitz is just a horse, you know? And I had a hard time, you know, Capital's defending Champions. They bowed out in three games. That's a little bit of a shocker. Same thing with Helena. I mean, Weibert's so talented, but you tend to reward the teams that get out of the divisional, so that's where we are. Yeah, definitely. And like we said, just a lot of great team basketball being played. With Glacier, it just feels like I talked to Coach Harkins a long time about a long time ago about this and had a quote in the paper, but just, you know, they just always are looking for that next man up. They always are moving the ball. Do you know who's ever the hot hand, feed them. They don't have that one guy who, you know, maybe taking over the game. It's just a full team's team-centric thing, and you love to see that. As far as the girls, if you're ready, we can move through that list, but great stuff with the boys and shout out to all those mentioned and the honorable mentions as well."

"Yeah, let's move on, all right? So, for the girls, we also agreed with the MVP here: Flathead's Kennedy Moore, a local Valley kid, was balling out the whole time. She had that 25-point semi-final performance, and similar to what we said about Conor Dick, just any time Flathead needed somebody down the stretch, to put the ball in their hands, make a play, get a rebound, whenever it was, Kennedy Moore stepped up and made those plays. 

Next up, Alex Coville of Hellgate, a six-foot-six center, was an absolute playmaker in the middle. She had a triple-double based on blocks. I believe it was like 26, 20, and 10, or something like that. I could be off, but remarkable stat line there.

Next up, we have Chloe Larson, also of Hellgate. Hellgate, and like the same thing with the boys' side, the girls' as well, it just felt like they had so many contributors. Cadence Couture of Big Sky is just a Hooper, an absolute bucket-getter, and then Olivia Huntsinger of Sentinel, maybe one of those players that, looking through the stats, the stats don't always jump out the most, but is always in the middle of things, making plays, playing basketball the right way.

Next up, Maddie Moya of Flathead, somebody who was just, one of those players who, anytime Flathead needed a big bucket or needed somebody to guard the other team's best player when they were getting hot, seemed like she stepped up and made a play.

Avery Decoy of Big Sky is also on the list. Big Sky was having a great tournament. I caught that game versus Hellgate they were playing, and they play hard. That Big Sky Team, bodies are flying all over the floor. It was fun.

And then last up for our girls here, Avery Shoenard of Flathead hit the game-winning buzzer-beater to seal the deal for Flathead. Overall, another one of those players maybe the stats aren't always the craziest, but when you watch that team play, it's balls in her hands a lot, kind of a de facto point guard, maybe in just high IQ players, so it's a solid list right there.

 We do have some honorable mentions as well. Aquila Kubia of Flathead, Cadence Graham of Butte, who is an eighth-grader, which is remarkable, so watch out State of Montana in a few years she'll be taking over. Wren Stewart of Butte had a 36-point game in the tournament, which is falling out. We had Emily McElmery of Sentinel, and then last up, Alex Bullock of Helena, who had a couple of big double-doubles. Quite the list there, a lot we agreed on, and just kind of your thoughts on it all."

"Yeah, you know it's a good get to put for you to add Alex because I kind of forgot about Alex Bullock, and she had the 15-rebound game, 16-rebound game. Emily McElmurry, you know, she's a really good junior. She was a good sophomore last year, and you knew she'd be good. Going back to the top, Kennedy Moore had a huge tournament. I thought she played Alex Colville to pretty much a standstill, had more block shots, and was good in the final. For the tournament, she had 64 points, 26 boards, and seven blocks. That's over 20 points a game, and she's a bucket. They needed points from somebody consistently, and then she was the one. Coville is just such a force. 

Chloe Larson scored the last seven points of the game after Colville fouled out, so you've got to put her on there. Coach is so smooth, a lot like Charisma is on the Big Sky boys' team. You had to move Avery up, Abraham aren't in there when that shot fell in to win it, yeah, the second time Flathead beat Hellgate this year, both have been last-second shots on Flathead's court. Kennedy Moore did it to them the first time, that shot by Shoenard, and I accept you posted that, just amazing. I've watched it probably half a dozen times since Saturday night. Maybe Decoy, you failed to mention that she's a freshman, so she's gonna be around a while. That's all. Again, her dad played for the Grizzlies football team. And you know, Maddie Moy, I think she was due for a big game, and she had a really good game when they needed her to have one the most against Hellgate in the championship. And yeah, apologies to Kila Kubi, but she had a tip-in in that title game. You know, and I think I've seen maybe a handful of girls that get off the floor and get a tip-in at the high school level in Montana." 

"Um, of course, I missed about 13 years of high school basketball while I covered degrees, but it just takes athleticism and talent. You don't see a lot of girls do that, a lot of female athletes do it at this level, at least in Montana, so that was amazing. Bryn Stewart, I think only one girl in history scored more points to gain than the 36 she had, and that girl played for the Lady Grace and she's from Washington, so that's quite a list. A little bit tighter than the boys' list was and we agreed on a lot more, and I like it. And Kenny Mark deserving MVP. Yeah, well said. Deserving MVP. I like how you mentioned she did go write it Alex Coville of Hellgate. That was something I kind of going into the game was thinking about because I know Candy Moore likes to let it rip, shoots the ball, doesn't afraid, and hey, took it right at her and they both were going at it. It was a great contest, but you saw that confidence on display, and that goes a long way. Gonna be fun to watch her for another year at Flathead and see what they do at State. As far as kind of just, it's just kind of want to get your thoughts on the tournament as a whole. 

Like you said, that Flathead game-winner, I mean, that'll be the Talk of the Town for a while. For me, I've like, same here. I've watched that video so many times already. It's kind of a little morning Joel crowd going wild. I mean, that's really what it's all about as somebody who loves sports. I mean, doesn't get much better than that. Just kind of your reaction to the tournament as a whole, the game-winner, and just thoughts on the Western Double-A tournament wrapping up a heck of a weekend of basketball. You know, it's been a, it's been a long time or it had been a long time until a couple of years ago since I've seen any kind of divisional tournaments or much of a state tournament, but I love divisions. And for a long time, Double-A didn't even have a play-in game, so they reintroduced them, and man, it's been so much fun. Had such a great time."

 "Wish I felt better, but still had a good time. Thought the study room is great. Bryce Wilson got a stats shout-out to uh Josh Moet for taking care of us. And uh can't wait to do it again this week. Yeah, no, well said Fritz couldn't have said any better myself. That everyone at Flathead chipped in, they did such a great job. They, I mean, it was really like clockwork. You look over, they got the stats ready for you. I mean, it was really impressive, and it made the tournament just that much more special. I mean, it was a great time. Shout out to all the athletes involved, and shout out to you, you know, you and all the other, you know, everybody else there covering it because we had quite the weekend as well, you know, non-stop. It's like, you know, I love basketball, but I go, I joked I might not want to hear basketball dribble for another couple of days. I'm joking, but awesome stuff for it. 

If there's anything else you want to throw out there, feel free. If not, thank you so much for the time, and yeah, just a heck of a weekend of Hoops, and I'm glad we had a chance to break it down. Yeah, I enjoyed it too. Thanks again Josh, we'll talk again. All right, thank you, Fritz. Talk to you soon. Have a great rest of your day. 

Yep, all right, thanks. 

Alrighty, y'all, the one and only Fritz neighbor of Daily Inter Lake. I mean, just an epic weekend of basketball. That's the easiest way to put it. I was there Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, for most of the day. Caught the semi-final games Friday and Saturday. We have the Championships games featuring Glacier on the boys' side, and Flathead on the girls' side, and it was just awesome. 

The last thing I'll mention as far as, you know, these all-tournament teams and who got made the team and who didn't, there was a lot of talent on display in this tournament. It was hard to sort through it all, so some names were left off the worthy list. As we mentioned, there are a couple of these teams as well where they play such team-centric basketball unless you watch it in person. It's hard to break down the stat lines and say, "Oh, this person is the star of the team or whatever." It just doesn't always work like that as we know. Well-coached team basketball is being played here in the western double-A. It was really impressive and I mean you look at Hellgate on the boys' side and Glacier on the boys' side, both had multiple guys making an impact, and some names didn't even make the list who easily could have. And on the girls' side, the same thing as well. It took multiple contributors. Flathead, I think that four kinds of core players that we mentioned here, you remove any of those players who knows where that team is. Hellgate, you move one or two pieces, who knows where?

So it's awesome to see such team-centric, selfless basketball being played here and gotta love it. It was great, and like Fred said, your shout out, Flathead, shout out to everyone involved, thank you guys for making it great. All right, thank you everyone for checking this one out. As always, the show is brought to you by Nomad GCS. Check him out at Nomad gcs.com. I'm your boy Josh Dugan.

This was epic! Got the Grizz and the Bobcats going in the Big Sky tournament this week. We'll keep you updated there soon, but a lot of prep basketball to dive through. Had to get our man Fritz on here, and soon enough, we'll get back to all the Big Sky stuff as well as the rest of the state tournament action.  

So thank you, guys, for watching. Have a great rest of your day and enjoy! [Applause]