Vikings go 1-1, get win over Arlee

The Charlo Vikings went 1-1 on the week, getting a close win over Arlee last Thursday before dropping one to a tough, undefeated Alberton team.

Charlo jumped out to a 10-6 lead behind a 3-pointer from Bo Herak and Aaron Young in the first quarter, but Arlee battled back to take a 20-18 lead at halftime.

The team used post player Brandon Rollins down low, beating the Warriors on the dish inside the lane to give Rollins a game-high 17 points. Young hit another 3-pointer to give the team a 31-21 lead before Rollins drained a trey at the buzzer to make it 34-23 at the end of three.

The team struggled early in the fourth, with Young's two free throws being the first score at the 4:51 mark.

Arlee battled back with back-to-back lay-ups by Buddy Hietala, and the Warriors pulled within two points with 56 seconds left.

An Arlee shot to tie at 35 seconds went wide, and Joey Ray pulled the rebound down. Arlee tried a full court press but Herak broke it and was fouled at the other end of the court.

He missed the front end of a 1-and-1 but grabbed the rebound and wisely took it back out top to eat up the clock instead of putting a shot back up, which could have given Arlee the ball with plenty of time to score. Herak was fouled again and this time made both shots to give the team a 40-36 win.

Rollins was the only one in double digits. Herak had five points, Young had eight, Trey Sinclair had one, Andrew Marcure had two and Joey Ray finished with seven.

"Joey had 14 boards for us, and didn't have any fouls, which was nice," said head coach Tyson Cottet. "Brandon was 7-for-11 from the field. He did a great job for us."

Against Alberton, the team didn't shoot or rebound well, Cottet said. The Panthers jumped out to a 14-4 lead after one and Charlo was playing catch-up the entire time.

"They took advantage of our poor play at times. We had to start fouling, and Albertson is one of those teams you just can't foul. They put us away at the foul line in the fourth," Cottet said.

Ray finished with 12 points, Rollins had eight, Young had nine, Sinclair had five, and Herak had three.

The loss puts the Vikings at 5-3 but tied for second with Victor, whom they beat earlier in the season.

The team will face St. Regis and Two Eagle River this week, numbers 10 and nine in the conference, but will have a tough second-half schedule to go through, Cottet noted.