Cats basketball looking for wins open season this weekend
The Wildcat boys basketball squad is looking to improve on a 3-17 season a year ago as they open the 2019-2020 season against Glendive at the Tip Off Classic in Frenchtown Friday.
This year’s team will consist of a somewhat strange mix of six seniors and several younger players, few of which have extended experience at the varsity level.
“We are just going over our basics and installing a few new things for this year. Once we get that down, we can add some more things to what we are wanting to do this season. Right now, we just need to make sure everyone is on the same page,” head coach Chris Finberg said about the team’s early practices. “I’ve been pleased with our early practices so far and things have been going well. The kids who are new to the varsity level are picking things up quickly and we are progressing at a pretty good pace.”
The team does return its second leading scorer from a season ago in senior Dillon Shipp, who averaged 8.5 points and 3.6 rebounds for the Cats last year. Others returning who saw significant playing time last season include William Dyon and Danny Henjum, but Henjum is recovering from injuries sustained during football season. The team will be without senior Brad Nieves, who tore his ACL and MCL ligaments in the football game against Butte Central earlier this year.
Finberg says he expects a few members from last year’s highly successful freshman team to see playing time at the varsity level this year, including Cade Morgan and Mason Peters.
The Cats opened last season with a home win over Stevensville but did not get another victory until Jan. 22, when they beat Ronan at home, 58-55. Their only other win of the season came four days later as they took down Corvallis, 48-47 on a buzzer-beating three from senior Drew Morgan.
The Cats open the season at the Tip Off Classic in Frenchtown this weekend, where they will face Glendive at 6 p.m. Friday and Corvallis at 5:30 Saturday.
The Cats will have to get used to playing on the road as they will not host a home game until they take on Polson Jan. 11.
“We will have to be road warriors, that’s for sure,” Finberg said. “It should help us get ready for tournament time, so it’s not really a bad thing.”
The Wildcat basketball schedule for December includes:
Dec. 6 @Frenchtown (vs Glendive) - 6 p.m.
Dec. 7 @ Frenchtown (vs Corvallis) - 5:30 p.m.
Dec. 14 @ Stevensville - 4 p.m.
Dec. 19 @ Glacier - 6 p.m.