Class A: Mohr takes MVP in Class A tourney
A tournament as competitive as an eight-team field could probably be justly packed at the Butte Civic Center over the weekend and put a lot of basketball talent on display.
Laurel defeated Polson 60-48 for the state Class A boys’ championship in what might prove to have been a special year for talent and accomplishment. This reporter would say that any of the teams entered might have won the state A or, perhaps, the state AA crown in some years over the past 30 or so of witnessing such kind of events.
In a reflective close vote, too, Louis Mohr of Polson edged David Swecker of Laurel for the MVP honor of the tournament. The vote was conducted among media members, table workers and courtside viewers at the tourney. Their ballots also chose the all-tournament team and it featured Mohr and Swecker as the leading vote-getters.
Mohr is a 6-foot-3 junior who missed the early part of the season, then came on to spark the Pirates to the state championship game. Swecker, also a 6-3 junior, was a part of balanced champ-ionship Laurel team that was ranked No. 1 in the state for most of the season.
The two were joined on the state Class A all-tournament first team by 6-foot junior guard Jake McKinney of Laurel, 6-2 junior forward Jonathan Richards of Butte Central and 6-4 senior center Cody Edwards of Browning.
Voters filled the second-team spots with 6-2 senior Sean Condon of Laurel, 6-5 sophomore Austin Barth of third-place Columbia Falls, 6-3 junior Kaleb Johnson of Columbia Falls, 6-1 senior Cole Cattelan of fourth-place Billings Central and 6-1 senior Tim Rausch of Polson.
Honorable mention –Kyle Bagnell, Polson; Riley Bradshaw, Corvallis; Connor Cunningham, Billings Central; Nick Emerson, Columbia Falls; Kyle Howell, Columbia Falls; Trevor Rehm, Dillon; Aschan Richards, Butte Central; Lyle St. Goddard, Browning; and Mitchell Wassam, Columbia Falls.