Vikings get first win
Trent Makela/Leader - Charlo's Chance Frame goes up for a jumper earlier this month. He had some good playing time this week, as well.
The Charlo boys basketball team (1-4, 1-9) broke into the win column in a huge way Saturday night, topping District 14-C rival St. Regis at home by 50 points. The win helped the Vikings break even for the weekend after losing an early lead and the game to District 13-C Philipsburg on Friday night.
Charlo coach Jered Miller said he had noticed a problematic pattern going into last week's games — a boat-load of second-quarter collapses for the Vikings. The curse continued against Philipsburg, as the Vikings dropped an otherwise evenly played game after being outscored 16-4 in the second quarter.
"All season the second quarter has been our worst quarter by far and our biggest weakness," Miller said. "We haven't had that intensity we need going into the half."
The Vikings were finally able to avoid the pre-break slump against St. Regis on Saturday, outscoring the Tigers 15-3 in the period as they raced to their first win.
" We talked about the second quarter coming into both games — it just didn't turn out for us against Philipsburg like it did against St. Regis," Miller said. "I'm looking forward to our next game against division-leading Noxon to see how much we really improved."
The Vikings will host Noxon on Saturday in their only game of the week.
Charlo 69, St. Regis 19
Charlo out-manned, out-sized and just out-played the Tigers for a convincing first victory in the battle of 0-9 teams Saturday. St. Regis dressed only seven players for varsity, none taller than six feet, and struggled mightily against the longer, stronger Vikings.
Charlo's starters limited the Tigers' first-half scoring to a lone 3-pointer that found net with 4:52 remaining in the second quarter. The half ended with the Vikings up 35-3, and their starters saw limited action for the rest of the night.
"Throughout the season we've stuck to a seven-player rotation. This was the first time our JV-varsity guys were able to play," Charlo coach Jered Miller said. "They were in the entire fourth quarter and really helped us play with 32 minutes of intensity for the first time this year."
Josh Sharbono continued to impress for Charlo in his return from an early-season injury, scoring 12 in the first quarter and finishing with a game-high 24 points and 10 rebounds.
"We've had Sharbono for two weeks now and we made it a team goal to get it inside to Josh before shooting from the outside," Miller said. "Obviously we were able to get him involved early and often."
Sophomore post Houston Blevins added 15 for Charlo, junior Clay Hoyt had 9 and senior Jeff Bucholz 8. Shiloh Kerr had 4, Chance Firestone 3, Chance Frame 2, Colt Nagy 2, and Ed Dumont 2 to round out the Vikings scoring.
Phillipsburg 45, Charlo 31
The Vikings ended the first quarter with the lead and the second quarter under the familiar weight of an insurmountable halftime deficit Friday night.
An active man-to-man defense helped grind out a 7-6 lead for Charlo after the first quarter, yet the Vikings were doubled-up 22-11 by halftime. Charlie McDonald single-handedly provided Phillipsburg with their halftime lead, scoring 11 of his game-high 29 points in the second period.
"He plays an agressive style of basketball and I think he got to the line 22 times. He's a face-to-the-basket player and he drives looking to score every time," Miller said. "They used him in a zone to press us and he was all over."
Charlo was able to reset their defense and refocus their offense in the second half, though, and were outscored by only two points over the final two periods.
Sharbono was the only Viking to hit double figures with 12 points. Jeff Bucholz added 6, Clay Hoyt 3, Ed Dumont 3, Houston Blevins 3, Shiloh Kerr 2 and Chance Firestone 2 for Charlo.