Vikings topple unbeaten Alberton but lose close one to Arlee

The Charlo Vikings came oh-so-close to winning four games in five days, but lost 52-49 to Arlee Tuesday night after beating top-ranked Alberton the night before.

Against Arlee, the teams battled back and forth, and were tied at 11 after the first. Arlee went up 25-20 after two, and had a four-point lead at the end of the third.

But the Vikings mounted a comeback with a couple minutes left, as Aaron Young hit some key jumpers in the fourth. Down by three, the Vikes had a chance to tie it but couldn't before time ran out. The game was very similar to the loss the Vikings handed Arlee earlier in the year, but things went Arlee's way Tuesday night.

"Shot we normally make just didn't fall. They like to run, and they like to shoot the '3.' They do a lot things that bring us out of our comfort zone," said head coach Tyson Cottet.

Joey Ray led the team with 14, while Bo Herak had 13, Brandon Rollins had 10, Young had seven, Andrew Marcure had three and TJ Kerr had two.

"They hit some big shots and we didn't," Cottet said.

The loss counts against Charlo but doesn't affect the Class B Warriors.

Monday night, the Vikings handed undefeated Alberton their first loss of the season Monday, 55-40, after, beating Hot Springs and Two Eagle River over the weekend as the team gathers momentum heading into the last week of the regular season.

Against Alberton, who beat the Vikes earlier in January, Charlo made it look easy after having a slow start in the first quarter. Rollins got the team on the board after 2:30 of play, and then Bo Herak had a steal and a lay-up to start the team's momentum after they fell behind early on.

Sinclair had back-to-back lay-ups to pull the team to within one, and a dish from Herak to Ray inside gave Charlo its first lead of the game, 10-9. Alberton had a 11-10 lead after the first, but the next three quarters belonged to Charlo.

Herak opened the second by draining a 3-pointer and then firing a bullet into Rollins, who was cherrypicking under the basket to give the team a 15-11 lead. Later, Rollins dished to Andrew Marcure in the lane for the lay-up, and Marcure got the foul and extra point from the line.

Aaron Young buried a trey to give the team a 23-16 lead, and then with 10 seconds left in the half, Herak drove the lane, pulling in the defense before throwing up an alley-oop to Sinclair, who laid it in with two seconds left to give the team a five point lead after two.

Charlo stretched out to a 32-23 lead behind great free throw shooting in the third and some points inside from Ray, while Alberton suffered a bad drought, getting only three points in six minutes. The Vikes finished with a 37-29 lead after three.

In the fourth, Charlo couldn't miss, with Herak throwing a half-court outlet pass to Rollins who dished to Sinclair without taking a step to make it 43-29. Josh Sharbono scored with three seconds left in the game to make it 55-40.

Herak and Rollins finished with 12 points, Sinclair had 10, Marcure had nine, Ray had six, Young had four and Sharbono had two.

The Vikings had no problem against Hot Springs and Two Eagle, winning by 40 and 47 points, respectively. TJ Kerr, Jeff Bucholz, Andy Sieges and Roman Firestone all saw some good playing time and contributed to the team's victories.

Charlo will host Thompson Falls this Saturday for the last game of the regular season before starting the district tourney in Ronan next Tuesday. The team is guaranteed a top seed due to their great performance this year.