BUTTE — The sustained success that the Montana Tech men's basketball program has built these past four seasons is sometimes difficult to fathom for its head coach, whose team earned just one Frontier Conference victory in his first year.
"It's hard to even process," said Adam Hiatt who took over the program prior to the 2016-17 season and was recently named the Frontier Conference coach of the year for the third straight season. "I get asked about it a lot. You're so focused on the present that it's hard to process all that history."
The Orediggers have made plenty of it, and capped off another unforgettable run through the Frontier by clinching a fourth straight regular-season title and then following that up by claiming an unprecedented tournament crown.
Even a few weeks ago, this might have been hard to see happening.
After bolting to an 8-1 league record, the Orediggers dropped four consecutive road contests to make the final two regular season games — both at home — must-win games if they wanted to secure a fourth straight regular-season title.
But working in Tech's favor was the fact that they hadn't dropped a single home game this season.
"We just told our guys 'doubt your doubts,'" said Hiatt. "We're coming back to the place where we play our best. We're gonna get our mojo back, we're gonna get some stuff figured out."
That's just what Tech did as it won its final two regular season games and both of its tournament contests by comfortable double-digit margins. That four game slide? It ultimately served as a chapter of struggle to set the stage for yet another storybook ending for the Orediggers.
"I'm sure I'll process it when the dust settles and the season's over," said Hiatt. "I'll be able to look back in awe. It's amazing and just so humbling to be part of this historic run."
The Orediggers will now look to carry their Frontier success into the national tournament where seventh-seeded Tech will face No. 11 Southern Oregon in a first and second round pod in Santa Clarita, Calif., on Friday.
The winner of that game will take on the winner of No. 7 Keiser (Florida) and No. 10 Faulkner (Alabama) in the second round on Saturday. The winner of the pod, part of the Duer quadrant, advances to the Round of 16 in Kansas City, Mo.
"We have high potential," said senior Michael Ure. "When we play together and we play the right way and we're all clicking, we're a very good team. Seeing what the future holds is very exciting."
