Sharbono's put-back lifts Charlo over Noxon
Trent Makela/Leader Staff - Viking Clay Hoyt floats one up in the lane at home against the Noxon Red Devils.
Junior center Josh Sharbono's rebound and layup with three seconds remaining sent the home crowd into a frenzy and the Charlo Vikings to victory in their final District 14-C home game Saturday night. The Vikings (2-4, 2-9) topped first-place Noxon (5-2, 8-3) for their second win in a row after starting the season on a nine-game skid.
"Our boys played 32 minutes without any downfalls. We didn't allow one big scoring run," head coach Jered Miller said. "After losing four seniors we had a lot of shoes to fill early in the season. We're getting more comfortable with our style now. We control the ball and play agressive defense. That's how we got this win."
Charlo trailed Noxon, leaders of District 14-C entering the game, 41-40 with 18 seconds remaining before senior Peter Ferrell missed on the front end of a one-and-one for the Red Devils. Charlo senior forward Jeff Bucholz then drove the right side of the key and his runner missed just left, but the ball fell to Sharbono under the rim.
"We used our last timeout with about eight seconds left and drew up the play for Jeff," Miller said. "Sharbono told us to get the ball in the air so he had a chance to rebound it and that's what he did. It was good to see him step up as a leader and want the ball at the end of the game."
Noxon inbounded the ball but was unable to get a shot off after a charging call went against them and time expired.
Sharbono paced the Vikings with 16 points and five rebounds and Bucholz added 11 points, five rebounds and six assists. Sophomore post Houston Blevins also provided some impact minutes for Charlo in the second half, finishing with four points.
"Houston doesn't score a lot for us but it's his job to rebound and not turn it over," Miller said. "He played great."
Clay Hoyt added five points, Chance Firestone two, Ed Dumont two and Shiloh Kerr two for the Vikings.
The Vikings face two more teams atop Division 14-C this week, traveling to Two Eagle on Thursday and to Hot Springs on Saturday. All four of Charlo's remaining conference games are on the road, though they have three non-conference home games left.
Editor's note: We misidentified Josh Sharbono in a picture in last week's Leader. We went off the jersey number listed on a program from earlier in the season, which has since been updated. We regret the confusion.