Mustangs host Montana's No. 1 team on Friday
PATRICK SCHMIEDT Star-Tribune staff writer | Posted: Thursday, January 8, 2009 12:00 am
Non-conference games aren't much bigger than this.
But don't tell the coaches.
The top-ranked Class 4A boys team in Wyoming - Natrona County - will host the top-ranked Class AA team in Montana - Billings West - on Friday.
Both teams are undefeated, and they've combined to win three state championships between them the past two years.
The goal for both this weekend, though, is improvement, not necessarily maintaining perfection. That's especially true for the Mustangs, who are 9-0 but haven't played since Dec. 20.
"I don't know where we're at," NC coach Randy Roden said. "We need to play, I know that. I don't know if we need to play someone as good as Billings West right away, but we might as well jump right into the fire."
Last year, the Bears only had one returning starter, yet went 22-1 on the way to Montana's Class AA championship.
This year, Billings West returns two senior starters, 6-foot-5 post Eric Halverson and 6-3 forward Ben King. Bears coach Doug Robison said his team still has some room to grow, even after starting the season 4-0.
"We're pretty inexperienced now and we still have a lot of games left," he said. "(This weekend) will be a good test to see where we are right now, but we're still a long ways away from the state tournament."
The Friday showdown of undefeateds is only one-fourth of a big weekend for Casper basketball. Kelly Walsh, which enters the weekend 4-4 and is coming off an encouraging 2-1 performance at the prestigious Energy Classic tournament in Gillette last week, will face Billings Skyview on Friday and Billings West on Saturday.
NC will flip-flop and host Skyview on Saturday. Skyview enters the weekend 2-2, with one of those losses a tough 62-55 defeat against West.
Friday's NC-West game is a year in the making. Billings West won last year's matchup in Billings, 60-39. Halverson scored 13 for the Bears, who held Wyoming signee Michael Dietz to just two points in that game.
It was Natrona's only regular-season loss.
With all but one player back from the 2007-08 squad, the Mustangs tore it up last month, with seven of their nine victories coming by 25 or more points. The Mustangs' closest games so far this season are a 53-46 victory over Windsor, Colo., and a 63-48 victory over Kemmerer.
That's why Roden is looking so forward to the test the Billings teams will provide.
"The nine games that we've won so far, Windsor showed us some things, but other than that our weakneeses haven't really shown up against anyone else," he said. " … Both days are going to be tough tests for us, which is what we need."
GIRLS: The Kelly Walsh and Natrona County girls will be on the road this weekend, making the trip north to play Billings West and Billings Skyview.
NC's game against West on Friday will be the Fillies' first game in 20 days. NC (7-2) had its last game at the Flaming Gorge Invitational on Dec. 20.
Kelly Walsh (5-4) picked up a pair of victories at the Energy Classic last week in Gillette. The Trojans will play Skyview on Friday.
West enters the weekend 3-2, while Skyview is 1-4.
Contact high school sports coordinator Patrick Schmiedt at (307) 266-0615 or patrick.schmiedt@trib.com.
Billings Series Schedule
Boys
Friday
Billings Skyview at Kelly Walsh, 7:30 p.m.
Billings West at Natrona County, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday
Billings Skyview at Natrona County, 3:30 p.m.
Billings West at Kelly Walsh, 2:30 p.m.
Girls
Friday
Kelly Walsh at Billings Skyview, Mont., 7:30 p.m.
Natrona County at Billings West, Mont., 7:30 p.m.
Saturday
Kelly Walsh at Billings West, Mont., 2:30 p.m.
Natrona County at Billings Skyview, Mont., 3:30 p.m.