FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

To:  Media Outlets

 

From:  MSU-Northern Basketball

 

Re:  22nd Hi-Line Invitational Tournament

 

Montana State University-Northern’s men’s and women’s basketball programs will be hosting the 22nd Hi-Line Invitational Tournament at the Armory Gymnasium March 20-22.  Boys and girls high school all-star teams from the state’s four classifications (AA, A, B, and C) will compete in the three-day, round-robin tournament.  Championship and consolation games are slated for Saturday.

 

The HIT has been a fixture in Montana High School basketball since 1987 and was the state’s first-ever all-star tournament for prep boys.  Girls teams were added to the field in 1993.  The HIT has seen some of Montana’s finest talent over the years and this year will feature some outstanding outgoing seniors as well as a large number of talented underclassmen.

 

Awards will be presented to an all-star team at the conclusion of the tournament.  In addition, awards will be given for slam dunk and three-point contest winners, a tournament Most Valuable Player, and a tournament “Mr. and Ms. Hustle”.  Last year, Andy Garland from Missoula Sentinel and Hayley Pettit from Beaverhead County High School were voted the Most Valuable Players of the tournament.  Chris Spoja holds the boys’ single-game scoring record with a 58-point output in 1991, while Hayley Pettit scored 43 points in the 2007 tournament.

 

Many local players and Hi-Line talent will make up the rosters, including Havre High products Katie Mariani and Tricia Samson on the class A girls team.  Malta’s Laramie Schwenke is set to play for the Class B girls, while Big Sandy’s Laci Keller and Shersteen Cline along with Hinsdale’s Sacarra Molina will represent the Class C girls.

 

Three of the four girls state tournament Most Valuable Players will be in action this weekend.  Anaconda’s Ali Hurley (Class A), Fairfield’s Chelsea Banis (Class B), and Highwood’s Rachel Semansky (Class C) have all committed to play.

 

On the boys side, rosters will also include a strong Hi-Line flavor.  The Class A team feature’s Browning’s D.J. Fish and Andrew Spotted Wolfe.  The Class B team roster includes Shelby standouts Kevin Steiner and Trey Wanty along with Harlem’s Rick Haluszka and Neeko Bigby.  The Class C all-stars feature Corbin Pearson and Blake Brumwell from Big Sandy, Mike Sangrey Jr. (Rocky Boy), Cole McCabe (Hays-Logepole), and Kass Siewing (Saco).

 

The boys teams also include a total of five state tournament Most Valuable Players.  Billings West’s Casey Rogers (Class AA), Browning’s D.J. Fish (Class A), Shelby’s Kevin Steiner (Class B), Winifred’s Brian Foran (Class C), and Foothills Christain’s Emory Henning (Montana State Christian Athletic Association) will all be in action.

 

The format of the HIT is also unique.  The teams play four, ten-minute quarters utilizing a 24-second shot clock.  The game format leads to exciting, fast-paced games.  There is also a rule that allows no players to foul out.  Teams must play solely man-to-man defense, and officials from the Montana Officials Association work all games.

 

Complete rosters and schedules will be released Wednesday.