Back-to-Back state titles

Building a championship team

Two years, two state titles. And a glowing 52-4 record. In Class 3A.

For Lovell head boys basketball coach Shane Durtsche, who grew up cheering the likes of Joey Mickelson, Tim Winland and Brian May while growing up in a basketball town, Lovell High School’s return to glory has been an amazing ride.

Now in his fourth season as head coach, Durtsche and his staff have taken the Bulldogs to the top of 3A, winning one game at State in 2023, winning two games and the consolation championship in 2024, then taking the title in 2025 and 2026 with identical 26-2 records.

“You know, it happens so fast, and when you’re going through it, that’s just kind of how it is,” Durtsche said. “But when you say 52-4 and in 3A, even just a few years ago, we wouldn’t have even fathomed this.”

Durtsche graduated from LHS in 1992 and coached some in Lovell and Laurel, Montana, then worked in the pharmaceutical industry (in sales) and the oil and gas industry for many years. But he always followed the Bulldogs and kept his hand in the game through youth travel ball and officiating, then returned to his hometown with wife Marci in 2021. Before long, his interest in coaching was rekindled.

“I always followed the program from afar, and what kind of got me into this was helping my brother (Steven) that year in middle school, and it was this group of kids, and that’s when I personally kind of re-found that passion for it,” Durtsche said, adding that when Steven and Stephany’s baby Archie was born, he took over as head coach for about a week “and just really enjoyed it.”

“I’d had them in football, as well, and I fell in love with the coaching,” he added. “This group of kids was very talented, but I’ll be honest, I wasn’t sure. I had conversations with people and coaches (saying) like, ‘yeah, they’re really good, but I don’t know if they have the mental side for this.’ I knew they were talented, and I just knew that I enjoyed them and liked it. I didn’t know that Coach (Brian) May would resign and all this would happen. I didn’t even think about that. But when it came open, I thought, ‘You know, I want to do this again. Let’s see what we can do.’

“I definitely fell in love with these dudes in middle school. They were kind of my guys, so I took it, hoping to give the kids the best chance. That doesn’t always mean winning, but we wanted to get back to playing hard -- and I know everybody says that -- but getting after it, being gentlemen on the floor, playing hard, but not getting technical fouls and not mouthing off to officials, that kind of thing. … You have to hold those kids to that standard.”

Durtsche said he’s been blessed with the athletes he has had on the team but also by parents that allow him to coach them the way the staff believes they need to be coached.

“That’s huge,” he said, “because in this day and age, that’s not always the case. The parents have put their trust in us as a staff, and that goes further than you can even imagine. We’ve had great support. The support we get in this town is unbelievable. You know, we’ve been to different places, and it’s not like this.”

Buying in

Durtsche said it comes down to the players buying into the system, noting, “Ultimately, it’s the kids. The kids have to buy into what you’re doing. The kids have to believe and trust in you, or none of this matters.”

The basic message to the team was simple, Durtsche said: “Let’s just get back to being Lovell. We’ve got to play hard, and we’ve got to compete. We’ve tried to instill a toughness where you’ve got to rebound, and you’ve got to play defense, because rebounding and defense travels. … Your shots aren’t always going to fall, and there’s going to be a team that’s just grinding and going to try to beat you up. And if you can’t play that style, you don’t have a chance.”

In light of that philosophy, Durtsche said he always has had his players in the weight room, realizing when he started four years ago how physical Worland, Powell and Cody were.

“I told these guys, “Listen, we don’t look like those guys do. We can’t compete. If you can’t be bigger, faster and stronger, you can’t (compete with them),’” he said.

With all of the hard work the players have put in, the championships have been truly rewarding, Durtsche said, noting, “I want that for them, and I couldn’t be more proud and pleased because they got that. That’s what we’re here for, and that’s why I took it. I wanted to give these kids the best experience I thought they could have. And that doesn’t always mean winning but a chance of success and a chance to compete and a chance to be the best they can be. It’s not necessarily results driven, although in the last few years we’ve had some good results. It’s more of a process, and it’s more of a standard. We might be up 30, and I don’t like how we’re playing.”

Durtsche knows he has enjoyed “a great run of kids” with the current senior class, but in the years ahead he still wants to see his teams play hard and compete at a high level, adding, “It’s all you can ask.”

Ultimately, the players have to “buy into what you’re selling” in terms of the program, Durtsche said, and they have to see results in the win column. And with four all-conference and three all-state players on the roster, the Bulldogs were always happy to share the ball – and the glory.

“They’re getting 20 a night, but they’re sharing the basketball,” Durtsche continued, “and they bought into, ‘No, we want to win, even if that means I’ve got to give up a couple points here.’ And they’re great. And so I’d like to think that’s part of what our culture is. We got them to believe in it, for sure, but again, the kids are the ones that are out there playing, and you can have the best game plan, and you can preach all that, but they have to do it. And they did, and you could see them genuinely be happy for each other. And I’ll tell you they came a long way, because when I had them in like eighth grade, that wasn’t the case.”

Building the program

Durtsche said it started with players like Joel Padilla and Parker Anderson over the first two seasons as the team built a winning culture and the current players worked their way into the varsity lineup, then continued with last season’s championship team led by Jace Nichols and Davin Crosby, with most of the current players playing and excelling as juniors. He also noted the contributions of coaches Nicc Crosby and Michael Jameson in building the program, along with current assistants Steven Durtsche, Jacob Lohof, Jared Nicholls and Kevin Walker.

 The result is an 85-27 record over the past four years, nine wins in the state tournament, three trophies and two state titles.

If the Bulldog players have learned one thing of importance under the current staff, Durtsche said, it’s learning what it means to play hard. He said he thought he played hard in high school but then when he played in college, he realized that he didn’t.

“What I believe I’m doing is I’m going to get kids to play hard,” he said, “but I have to show you what I mean to play hard, (saying) ‘That’s not good enough. That effort right there, that’s not good enough. This is what I mean.’ And I truly believe most kids don’t. They think they’re playing hard, but it’s my job to teach them what it looks like to play hard. I’m a big believer in that. You’ve got to compete and just play your tails off, and whatever else happens happens. We can’t control that. But you can control your effort and your attitude and your good energy.”

Durtsche praised his coaching staff, noting that brother Steven is a perfect buffer between himself and the younger players, Lohoff is a patient teacher who works well with the freshmen and Walker knows kids and is invaluable in that way. Nicholls had more time to help last season than this year due to his job, but Durtsche said he is a strong analyst working with game plans, films and player development.

“I can’t say enough about the staff that I have,” he said. “You don’t do this alone. You’re as good as your staff is. The trust is 100%, and they’re great for kids. They keep me grounded. Almost nothing I do isn’t discussed with my staff.”