LOCAL NOTES: Hiatt leads Montana Tech Men’s Hoops to first ever four-peat in Frontier Conference history

Adam Hiatt, Montana Tech University Men's Basketball Head Coach

A 1997 graduate of Bonners Ferry High, Hiatt continues to coach the Orediggers to new heights. On Tuesday, Mar. 4, Montana Tech's men's basketball team became the first ever team in Frontier Conference history to win four straight conference tournament titles with a 69-50 road win over the University of Providence (Great Falls, Mont.). Despite a four-game in-conference losing streak near the end of the season after an 18-2 start, the team rallied for four straight wins to close out the regular season and district tournament — all while battling season-ending injuries and other adversities that kept key players out of the lineup.

Coach Hiatt said he never lost faith in his Orediggers, who are ranked No. 21 in the latest NAIA rankings and also were named Frontier Conference regular season champions for the fourth consecutive season this year.

"We felt incredibly proud that last year we were the first team [in the Frontier] to win three regular-season and three tournaments titles consecutively," coach Hiatt said in an interview with the Montana Tech Sports Information Department. "I'm just humbled to be a part of this. Perseverance — that's what this team embodies. They never fragmented. We stayed the course. These guys trusted that we were going to figure out a way to get out of it. This team is really confident right now and I think if we can maintain that confidence, we'll continue to get it done."

Over the previous four seasons, Montana Tech is the only program in the entire NAIA to four-peat as league champions. Hiatt, who began coaching the Orediggers in 2016, now has 247 wins and builds off his last three seasons where he became the first coach in Montana Tech history since Kelvin Sampson (1982-85') to have three straight 20-plus win seasons and conference tournament championships. Sampson is currently the head coach of the University of Houston, ranked No. 3 in the latest NCAA Division I rankings.

Montana Tech (24-6) will looks towards the NAIA National Tournament, set to begin with the first and second rounds on Friday, Mar. 14 and Saturday, Mar. 15. They'll find out their official seeding on today at 5 p.m. (PST) via the NAIA Network/YouTube. The Orediggers have won a first round game in each of the last three years.