The Great Falls Electric professional basketball team is back for a third season as members of The Basketball League’s (TBL)The Basketball League’s (TBL) West Conference.
There have been some changes to the members of the teams in the West Conference this season. Great Falls and the Oregon-based Willamette Valley Jaguars (Albany, Oregon) remain, but gone are three teams from the state of Washington, including the Seattle Super Hawks, Wenatchee (WA) Bighorns, and Vancouver Volcanoes, and one team from Oregon departed the league, the Salem Capitals. Five new squads joined Great Falls and Willamette Valley this season, including franchises in New Town, North Dakota (4 Bears Roar), two Washington state teams in the Tri-Cities Sun Devils (Kennewick, WA), and the Grant County Red Tails based out of Desert Aire, Washington. The Mesquite Desert Dogs (Mesquite, Nevada) and the Mesa (Arizona) Monsoons round out the five new teams making their 2026 debut in the league.
The Electric also have some changes as head coach Steve Keller is not returning. His replacement is Broc Finstuen, who suited up during the last two seasons for the Electric, makes his coaching debut. Marcus Miller, a former athlete from Butte, Montana, will be assisting Finstuen this season. The Electric have a whole new roster with just two holdovers in Isaac Howard, a former Choteau, Montana athlete, and University of Providence (Great Falls, MT) standout, along with Tremont Robinson-White are back.
The Great Falls Electric made their 2026 debut on Sunday afternoon against the North Dakota-based 4 Bears Roar in front of many local basketball enthusiasts at the Pacific Steel & Recycling Four Seasons Arena.
The Great Falls Electric received 22 points each from Deon Lyle and Manny Izunabor, but it was not enough as the 4 Bears Roar, one of five new squads added to the West Conference this season, topped the home team, 117-92, during the season opener for both teams on Sunday afternoon in Great Falls. Izunabor also had four steals and 11 rebounds in his first action with Great Falls.
4 Bears Roar had six scorers reach double figures, including Jimario Rivers and Tavin Cummings with 16 points each, followed by Deshawn Munson and Kendarius Hamilton with 14 points apiece, and James Moore and Alejandro Rama combined for 21 points for their first-ever victory in the TBL. Munson also led the way for the North Dakota franchise with 13 rebounds.
The 4 Bears Roar jumped out to a 13-9 advantage before a timeout was called three minutes into the first quarter. Izunabor scored four of his 22 points during that frame for the Electric. Watkins and Munson combined for eight points.
Deon Lyle connected on a long-distance trey to give the Electric their first lead (16-15) with 4:10 remaining in the quarter. Great Falls led by as many as seven points (22-15), but both teams were even at 26-16 after twelve minutes of action.
4 Bears Roar started to pull away in the second period, leading by as many as 16 points (51-35), and then led by as many as eight at the half.
In the third, the visiting team outscored the Electric 25-21 and never relinquished their lead. 4 Bears Roar outplayed the Great Falls Electric during the final twelve minutes for their first win in franchise history.
The TBL, which began in 2018, currently features 38 teams across four conferences (East, Midwest, Central, and West) with the West Conference consisting of teams from Montana, Washington, Arizona, North Dakota, Nevada, and Oregon. Great Falls is the only team from Montana and will be in the seven-team West Conference.
During the 2025 TBL season, Great Falls rolled over much of their competition, ending the 24-game regular season with 21 victories and three losses to secure a spot in the TBL. The Electric quickly dispatched the Seattle Super Hawks in two games of their best-of-three series in the West Conference’s Pacific Northwest Division Finals. The Montana TBL team needed two games to get by the San Diego Sharks in the TBL’s West Conference Finals, and then they came up short, falling in two games to the Potawatomi (OK) Fire in the TBL Semi-Finals.
By Kevin Scott: March 3, 2026 – Great Falls, Mt
