GREAT FALLS — Just two weeks ago, the Box Elder Bears won the 6-man state football championship against Bridger, 84-56.
On Friday night, the same players hit the hardwood to begin the team's Class C state title defense, picking up a win over Lame Deer 93-74 in the Native American Classic.
The Bears will have a target on their backs, as head coach Jeremy MacDonald said after Friday's game, but it's not something they worry about.
"Teams are going to come in and give their best shot," MacDonald said. "It's important to match their level of energy and execute our style of basketball, and when we do that, we like our chances against anybody."
"We got to prove ourselves this season," senior Tuarie Stiffarm-Rosette said. "Last season doesn't mean nothing now. It's just the start of a new season."
Box Elder had less than two weeks between the 6-man championship and Friday to prepare for its first game, but Stiffarm-Rosette, Dreyden Anderson and MacDonald all said it wasn't too difficult to switch from football to basketball.
"Six-man is just like basketball with an extra person," Stiffarm-Rosette said. "We run a lot up and down the floor nonstop. So in 6-man there's a lot of field to get open a lot, so that really helps with the intensity. Just coming off that title too."
"It feels great," Anderson said. "We barely had a break out of football, just like a little under a week, but it feels great to be back on the basketball court."
"Lucky for us, 6-man football is a lot like basketball," MacDonald said. "It's a wide open space so it transitions really well to our basketball game."
The Bears will face adversity for the first month or so of the season, as star senior Tracen Jilot is dealing with an injury suffered in the football playoffs. While it's a hindrance, MacDonald said it provides a silver lining.
"We're missing Tracen, you know obviously he's one of the best players in the state," MacDonald said. "But it's an opportunity for the other guys to show what they can do as well."
"We all got to lock in and do our parts," Stiffarm-Rosette said. "We're just playing for him, you know. It's our brother, just got to do it for him."
