Swishfest or Dunkfest?

The 2019 Malta Athletic Club Swishfest entertained hundreds of people last weekend, while giving athletes from 4th grade to 10th grade a chance to hone their skills on the basketball court.

The event featured 68 teams from around the county and Northeastern Montana.

Mark Kunze, Vice President of the Malta Athletic Club, was heading the Malta High School Gym games that featured high school teams.

“It’s going really well,” Kunze said at the event on Saturday, April 6. “The games are all running on time. The players and fans are all having a good time. We are out here doing it for the kids and it seems everyone has had good sportsmanship. It has been a good day.”

Kunze shared how the event was beneficial to the youth.

“From a youth standpoint it gets kids some extra floor time in the off-season, so they can improve on their ball-handling skills,” said Kunze. “The kids get to meet other kids from different communities from all over the state of Montana.”

Kunze went on to say that Swishfest is also one of the non-profit organization’s biggest fundraisers.

“That money is reinvested into Phillips Couny Youth activities,” Kunze said.

Though basketball is not their primary sport, the Malta Showman, a group of Malta wrestlers from all ages put on quite the show, while remaining somewhat competitive.

In the team’s 55-21 loss to Harlem on Saturday, the team pulled out all of the stops featuring hilarious flops, poor layup attempts, a nutmeg or two (dribble through an opponents’ legs), and even slam dunks.

In the game against Harlem, Malta freshman Shawn Gilkerson, who was listed at 5’7” during the football season dunked so hard that he hurt his forearm. The powerful dunk sent a shockwave through the Malta High School Gymnasium.

“We are the Show,” Cordel Salsbery told the PCN. “We are just having fun. It’s a team of wrestlers just coming out to have fun.”

Gilkerson’s only recorded high jump on Athletic.net in 2018 was a disqualification; that coupled with his height would make it extremely difficult and unbelievable that Gilkerson could dunk.

Gilkerson had some help from Salsbery.

“We called it ‘The Special,’” Salsbery said. “We pulled it out in every game. I get on the ground and send somebody up in the air off my back.”

Salsbery went on to say that ever opponents have used his back for The Special. He believes that there were more than eight athletes using his back for dunking purposes.

Gilkerson shared what it was like to do what most high school basketball players in Eastern Montana couldn’t do.

“It’s pretty awesome,” Gilkerson said. “It’s like you are flying.”

Of the numerous basketball players in Phillips County the PCN is only aware of two athletes that can dunk Dodson’s Corbin LoneBear and North Country’s Jesse Lee.

Lonebear, who started the school year at 6-3 is now 6-5 and was seen during Swishfest warmups dunking with ease. LoneBear shared his opinion of Gilkerson’s assisted dunks.

“I would give that a ten,” Lonebear said. “To see his teammate get on his hands and knees and the other jump of his back; I never seen anything like that.”

Lonebear shared his opinion on being able to dunk.

“It’s good,” LoneBear said. “If I am wide open I am going to dunk it.”

LoneBear, a junior who has aged out of the event, was uneligible to play, but he watched the event at Malta High School.

“It’ been fun to watch,” LoneBear said. “I like watching the older high school teams play, like Scobey and Chinook.”