BILLINGS — Lewistown’s basketball guys had a bit of a championship hangover early on, so to speak.
“Last weekend we gave up too many points. I think a lot of it was just coming out of football late — we gave them some time off," head coach Scott Sparks said. "Just some of the finer fundamental portions of our defense we hadn't worked on real well. We spent some time on that this week and cleaned it up."
Now the Golden Eagles certainly look every bit the part of a Class A title contender — a moniker that would sound a bit different had a Butte Central buzzer-beater not sunk them in last year’s championship game.
“We went out on the rougher end of things last year, and that's obviously going to drive us," junior guard Fischer Brown said. "We've got a good group of kids that are flying high right now after that state title game for football. We're just confident right now. There's no other way to say it. We feel good about our team and who we're playing with. We enjoy every single week and every day and plan to get better."
But the message from Sparks and the coaching staff stays the same, despite all the trophies these kids have put in the case recently.
“I think the big thing is just to stay hungry. These kids have had a lot of success in basketball, football, everything they do, so just keeping them hungry. I'm excited about what we've got," Sparks said.
“They're the hardest workers I've ever seen. There is not a time where you can find a kid that's not in the weight room, shooting or putting in extra effort," Brown said. "That is a great thing for this team and it shows with games like (Dec. 16's 77-48 win over Billings Central)."
Lewistown, fresh off a blowout win at the Rams, had Tuesday night’s game with Laurel postponed due to inclement weather.
