Mission drops Arlee in second half

Craig Moore

Leader Staff

ARLEE- Mission complete.

Arlee was up 38-34 at the half, but could not hold back Mission during the second half. The Bulldogs defeated the Warriors 85-68 and were led by junior Gus McDonald, who scored 35 points. McDonald drained a three-pointer at 6:01 in the third quarter to give the Bulldogs their first lead since the game started.

"Once we got the jitters out we started going on a run and our team could not stop," McDonald said after the game.

McDonald also recorded seven assists and 13 rebounds during Monday night's reservation rival game.

Mission, who only has three seniors on the roster, was learning how to play as a team during live game action. Practice is one thing, but being in a game scenario means the Bulldogs have to deal with how other teams will react. Many of the Bulldogs have not played together since junior high.

"I have not played with these guys since 8th grade," McDonald said.

The Warriors were led by senior Danny Miles, who finished the game with 21 points. The Warriors had control of the fast-paced game during the first half. At the start of the third quarter, the Bulldog's full-court press was to much for the Warriors to handle.

"We played a good first half. The pace changed in the second half - we could not handle the press." said Arlee head coach Cole Maxwell.

Maxwell rotated in some sophomores who got a chance to make a impact but the Bulldogs pressure proved to be over powering. During the fourth quarter the Warriors only scored 16 points, which could be atributed to the combination of Bulldogs pressure and the tiring Warriors.

"Our shots were short in the fourth quarter," said Maxwell.

In the second half the Bulldogs forced the Warriors to make mental mistakes, and bad passes, including throwing the ball in the stands.

The Warriors shot 40 percent at the foul line, which did not help their cause.

"We were trying to force passes," said Maxwell.

Mission head coach Steve Woll said he made some adjustments at half time which seemed to make the difference.

"We swung the ball to the weak side and Zach Allen hit a couple three pointers in a row," said Woll.

During the fourth quarter the Bulldogs started making their shots and Arlee could not catch up.

"Once you hit a shot the basket gets bigger," said Woll.

Mission's Jeremy Woore saw some action in Monday night's game. The 6-foot-8-inch senior scored nine points to make an impact on the inside.

"I just wanted to go out and prove myself," said Woore.

The rival game is a big one and the next time they will meet will be Jan. 28 at Mission.

"People picked them (Arlee) fifth, but I'm not sure if they are a fifth place team. We could turn around and play tomorrow night and it could go the other way," said Woll. "I am happy with the kids and the win down here."

With the win Mission moves to 1-0 and will play in the Eureka Tourney this weekend and will be at home against Charlo Dec. 14.

"We don't have much size and they have those two big kids (Zach Allen and Woore) in the middle. The boys are just exhausted (after the emotional loss)," said Maxwell.

Arlee, now 0-1, will face Darby at Darby today (Thursday) and Darby at home Saturday (Dec. 11).

Mission 85, Arlee 68

Mission 16 18 24 27 - 85

Arlee 19 19 14 16 - 68

Mission: McDonald 35, Woore 9, Trudeau 7, Allen 11, Trahan 2, Schock 6, Coyote 8, Geis 5, Morigeau 2.

Arlee: Miles 21, Santos 10, Peterson 3, Azure 3, Baker 3, Mesteth 11, J. Santos 1, Hitchcock 8, Hendrickson 8.