BUTTE — The Frontier Conference basketball tournaments returning to the Butte Civic Center will represent a full-circle moment for Montana Tech head men's basketball coach Adam Hiatt.
The last time the tournaments were held at the Civic Center? The 2003-04 season, when Hiatt was a senior guard for Westminster (Utah) and the Griffins fell to Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) by two points in the championship game.
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"Twenty-two years later, here we are and now I'm a coach and coaching in it," said Hiatt. "It's interesting how it goes full circle. It's exciting, it's a great venue. I think all the participating teams are really going to enjoy the experience.
"They're going to love the support that the community of Butte is going to give for all the teams. Just to see high-level basketball for four straight days is a treat for Butte."
The top eight Frontier men's and women's teams qualified for the postseason and will open the tournament with quarterfinal games on Friday and Saturday, followed by the semifinals on Sunday and then concluding with the championship on Monday.
After winning the past four regular-season titles, the Tech men will enter this tournament as the No. 4 seed and face No. 5 Montana Western in the quarterfinals on Saturday at 5 p.m.
The Rocky Mountain College men — who are riding a 15-game win streak and went unbeaten on the road in the regular season — won the regular-season title under first-year head coach Danny Neville and will be the top seed at the tournament. The Battlin' Bears will face No. 8 Mayville State (N.D.) in the quarterfinals on Friday at 5 p.m.
The other men's quarterfinals will see No. 2 Bellevue (Neb.) face No. 7 MSU-Northern on Friday at 7:30 p.m. and No. 3 Carroll College take on No. 6 Dakota state on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
In the women's tournament, Dakota State (S.D.) emerged as the regular-season champion to earn the tournament's No. 1 seed and will face eighth-seeded Bismarck State (N.D.) in the quarterfinals on Friday at noon.
The Montana Tech women went undefeated at home in the regular season — toppling Dakota State in the finale — and locked up the No. 2 seed. The Orediggers will take on No. 7 Providence on Friday at 2:30 p.m.
In the other women's quarterfinals, No. 4 Rocky Mountain College will play No. 5 MSU-Northern on Saturday at noon and No. 3 Carroll College will take on No. 6 Montana Western at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday.
The semifinal round will start at noon on Sunday. The women's championship will take place on Monday at 5 p.m. and the men's title game start at 7:30 p.m.
The Tech men have won the past four tournament championships and the Providence women have won the past two.
