BOX ELDER — 52-0.
That's the record for the Box Elder Bears boys basketball team over the past two seasons, as the Bears capped off back-to-back unbeaten seasons with a repeat Class C championship 65-60 over Manhattan Christian this past Saturday night in Butte.
"I felt really relieved that we finally accomplished it," senior Tracen Jilot said at Box Elder High School on Tuesday. "Something we've talked about for so long, like that was our biggest goal at the start of the year, and we knew it wasn't going to be easy. Just all the hard work paid off in the end."
"Felt a big old thing of relief, happiness," senior Tuarie Stiffarm-Rosette said. "Felt a lot of things, you know. People got to experience it more, winning the state championship. It's one of the greatest feelings in the world."
"I just felt on top of the world and untouchable really," senior Alex Four Colors said. "It's an amazing feeling, the general rush is amazing. And just to win it with my boys, it means a lot. You know, it's just so fun, and it was a challenge, but, you know, we got it done."
"It feels really great, it's like an unreal feeling," senior Dreyden Anderson said. "Not many people could do that, and we're just glad to do it, to go 52-0."
Jilot, Stiffarm-Rosette, Four Colors and Anderson are four athletes who just know how to win. Those three haven't seen a loss in football — with the Bears going unbeaten to win the 6-Man state championship this last season — and basketball combined dating back to last November.
Head coach Jeremy MacDonald — who almost stepped away as coach following last winter — has such high praise for the four seniors, and said it was a blessing to be able to finish the journey with them.
"I can't say enough great things about them," MacDonald said. "What they've put in over the years, just a great group of kids, special group of kids, and, you know, they made history."
This group did, in fact, make history by becoming the first boys team to go back-to-back in the school's history.
Finishing on top once again was something the four seniors all said they knew they wanted to do as they wrapped up their high school tenures.
"I always wanted to win the football one, and you always dream big and you want to win four, but two is really cool in my opinion, just winning back-to-back," Jilot said.
"I'm just hoping, like, we leave it and inspire the younger generation," Stiffarm-Rosette said.
"We worked hard, we got a lot of people who believed in us," Four Colors said.
"We just wanted to go out with a bang, you know, just leave it all out on the court," Anderson said.
Box Elder needs five more wins starting next year to match the longest winning streak in Montana boys basketball history, set by Scobey from 2019 to 2021.
