Charlo 5-0 to start season

CHARLO - Having to shoot two technical free throws at the end of

a 48-48 game might put some pressure on a high school kid.

CHARLO - Having to shoot two technical free throws at the end of a 48-48 game might put some pressure on a high school kid.

Never mind that it was a hard-fought rivalry battle between Mission and Charlo last Tuesday night.

"I tell the kids that pressure is what you put on yourself," Charlo head coach Mike Brown said.

The player making those two free throws was junior Dillon Delaney, a guy you can find in practice a lot working on his shot from the charity stride.

"He's smart, he doesn't get rattled a lot," Brown said. "That does a lot when you have a guard like that."

Against the Mission Bulldogs, Delaney hit the first free throw.

"When he made the first one I knew he'd make the second," Brown said.

It gave Charlo (5 -0) a close 50-48 win over their Mission Valley rival Mission (2-2), who had started the season 2-0.

Against the Bulldogs last season, the Vikings also pulled out a 38-37 victory.

"I can tell you that the rivalry is hot," Brown said. "Last year we scrapped right towards the end to beat them."

Against Mission this year, Charlo got a big boost from their big guys as senior post Chance Rosenbaum scored 17 and junior post Stephen Delaney added 10.

"Chance is just a hardnosed player and Stephen is starting to get a grasp of the game," Brown said, adding that Delaney's development should pay dividends come tournament time.

On Saturday, the Vikings kicked off their conference season with a 55-29 victory over Noxon. Charlo jumped out to a 27-9 lead at halftime and never looked back, led by Dillon Delaney's 15 points.

"Those [conference] games are the games that are most important," Brown said. "They're a lot more relaxed

when they play the conference games because they've played these teams before."

The Vikings know what to expect, and Brown said his team didn't turn the ball over as much against Noxon.

Kolten Andrews scored 24 to lead Charlo to a Monday night 69-49 victory over Hot Springs. Dillon had 14 and Stephen had 11 points, while Chance Rosenbaum had 10.

Brown said he likes what he's seeing from the team so far.

"I like the effort," Brown said. "The boys are carrying it over from the football season. If we ever lose a game it won't be because of effort."