With a versatile group of experienced seniors, the Flathead boys basketball team is determined to be a contender in the Western AA conference this season.

The Braves return two starters from last year’s squad — 6-foot point guard Blaine Newman and 6-4 forward Matt Quist — and three other seniors who played heavy minutes coming off the bench.

“I think what really stands out early on is the leadership of my six seniors,” Flathead coach Fred Febach said. “They’re bringing the energy and they certainly have some high expectations going into our season.”

Newman is a savvy ball-handler who showed a knack for hitting big shots a year ago as a first-year varsity starter while Quist is a gifted athlete who can get to the rim or knock down the three-ball.

“He’s gained a little bit of muscle weight and he’s played a lot of basketball since the end of last season,” Febach said of Quist. “He can jump out of the gym. Teams are going to have a little bit of a problem matching up with him because he can play away from the rim a little bit too.”

Senior guards Chandler Escalante and Will Cronk should combine with Newman to give Flathead a potent backcourt.

“I think the strength of our team is we’re fairly athletic,” Febach said. “We have decent size. I think we’ll be aggressive, we’ll bring some real determination to what we want to do. Our ability to take care of the basketball and make good decisions offensively and create problems on the defensive end should work in our favor.”

What Flathead doesn’t have is a huge center. The graduation of 6-foot-8 Garth West leaves a hole in the middle that Febach hopes will be filled by 6-4 senior Adam Bradley, who played plenty of minutes off the bench a year ago.

“He’s just rock solid in there,” Febach said of Bradley. “He’s able to hold his ground against bigger guys.”

Six-foot-4 senior Tommie Owens will also see time in the post.

“He gives us some length and some versatility playing both the 4 and 5,” Febach said of Owens. “I think he’s going to be a really good role player for us throughout the season.”

Flathead finished last season sixth in the Western AA conference and had a three-year streak of state tournament appearances snapped with a playoff loss to Missoula Hellgate, which went on to win the Class AA state championship. Hellgate returns star forward Tres Tinkle and center Pat Colberg from that team, making the Knights the clear favorite to win the conference in Febach’s eyes.

“They’re head and shoulders (above everyone else) right now,” Febach said.

“They’ve got all the tools needed, it’s just a matter of who can step up and challenge them. They’re certainly the front-runner.”

Flathead opens its season today at Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.

“We played them last year and they were a young team, they were very athletic and they showed some signs of being good,” Febach said of Coeur d’Alene.

“I’m not quite sure what to expect, but based on how we played them last year I think they’re going to be a good challenge for us.”