HELENA — The Helena Capital boys basketball team won four of its final five games to qualify for the Class AA state tournament.
But the Bruins’ season started off on a much quieter note as Capital limped out to an 0-3 record through three games.
“I think one of the biggest things is we just started to play more together as a team,” said senior shooting guard Brenton Belzer. “Especially offensively. I think when we were 0-3, we were kind of taking some difficult shots, and we weren’t moving the ball as much.
“And I think as the season started to go on, we started to focus on ball movement — just getting everybody touches and sharing the ball. And we were able to get really good shots, and we started knocking them down.”
Capital players and coaches pointed to a Jan. 14 road win over Missoula Hellgate as having helped fuel their season turnaround. But it wasn’t until Capital beat crosstown rival and Western AA top seed Helena High on Feb. 8 that the Bruins’ self-belief reached its peak.
“So, to beat them here at home — I think our guys were like, ‘If we play our best, we can beat anybody,’” said Capital coach Guy Almquist. “And so, I think our kids have that mentality. We don’t have anything to lose as we go through this state tournament. And as we like to say, we’re going to be able to go there and let it rip.”
And it’s that underdog mentality that’s trickled through this Capital team from the top down.
“I mean, just let it rip,” said senior point guard Dylan Almquist. “We’re not the favorites. We know that, but we don’t mind. We’re going to go out there and give it our all.”
And that idea of just letting it rip certainly becomes a whole lot easier when your on-court teammates are also your off-court friends.
“Everyone talks about the games,” said Dylan Almquist. “Everyone talks about trying to win a state championship and all that, but I think I’m just going to enjoy the last time and all that — hanging out with my buds, playing basketball, in the hotel, and just take advantage of the experience.”
Belzer agreed with Almquist’s sentiment that their team is tight-knit.
“Yeah, I’ve grown up with these guys a really long time,” said Belzer. “I’ve played basketball with every, y’know, obviously all the seniors but all the other guys too. And a lot of them are siblings or I’ve known for a really long time. We really have a great team chemistry. And I think everybody on the team likes each other as well.”
