BILLINGS — Entering this high school basketball postseason, Glendive had exactly two guys who had played in an Eastern A divisional tournament.
One is a ranch kid with four brothers and a sister.
"Even when we're working cows and stuff, we're always talking smack to each other," Cy Eaton told MTN Sports with a smile.
The other with divisional experience is a gym rat.
"Because my mom (Kayla) was a coach. She coached for the (Glendive) girls so, yeah, I've been in there for as long as I can remember," Ethan Rivas said.
WATCH how the young Red Devils bounced their way to state:
Rivas, a sophomore, and Eaton, a junior, are the engine helping lead Glendive not only to this season’s Northeast A regular-season title, but into the Eastern A divisional championship game and on to this week's Class A state tournament in Great Falls.
Wade Murphy is in his 18th year as Glendive's coach and slightly compares it to being on a hot Vegas run.
"I kind of feel like we're playing with house money because these kids are young, they haven't been here before," Murphy said after his team's opening-round divisional win in Billings.
That house money has these young Red Devils hungry for more.
Rivas is a sound ball-handler who is also a shooting threat from anywhere — including the free throw line. A few years ago, he twice reached the Elks Hoops Shoot National Finals, a prestigious free-throw competition for ages 8–13, and still may not be fully satisfied with his performance.
"I got 23 out of 25 (free throws) and I finished fourth," he said. Asked if it still bothers him, Rivas smiled and replied, "Yeah, I think about it sometimes."
Eaton, a junior, is the big man with intimidating presence, strong rebounding skills — and one more giant intangible.
"The most underrated aspect of his game is his passing,” Murphy said. “He's a really good passer and it's funny, because when he was a kid he wanted to play quarterback on the football team.”
The two players clearly feed off each other.
"It's nice knowing I can just turn around and throw the ball down court and he's there to get it and lay it in," Eaton said.
"It's a lot of fun playing with him," Rivas added. "He kind of just rebounds it and throws it down the court a lot of the time and makes basketball a lot easier."
They may be young and a bit thin on the bench, but these Red Devils aren’t State A-bound by accident. Opening against third-seeded Frenchtown from the West at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, this young team has proven to be a tough out on any court.
All it takes is a ranch kid, a gym rat, a solid supporting cast and a coach experienced enough to piece together this puzzle.
