BELGRADE – Big Timber’s win in the District 5B boys basketball championship game was probably the biggest of the weekend across Montana.
The 5B’s second-place team draws undefeated Colstrip in the first round at the Southern B divisional. That now falls on Three Forks, after the Wolves’ 60-49 loss to Big Timber Saturday night in Belgrade. It was their first conference loss of the year – a record that includes two wins over the Herders in the regular season by a combined 31 points.
“We were never in either one of the games, so this time we decided we got to come out and win it on the defensive end,” said Big Timber head coach Dan Smart after Saturday’s win.
What did Smart say in the locker room to his guys afterward?
“That I was dang proud of them. They busted their butts. It took every one of those kids – even the kids who didn’t get in. They earned it,” he said.
Big Timber now draws the third-place team from District 3B, St. Labre. The Braves come in at 10-8 on the year. The Herders also avoid 18-1 Roundup until a possible championship game, meaning a win over St. Labre, and then a win over the Lodge Grass-Joliet winner would clinch a ticket to the State B tournament.
The Southern B Divisional starts March 1 at Rimrock Auto Arena in Billings.
