Picking up the Pace

ARLEE - Faster than the speed limit in Montana? Paced like a

Jerry Bruckheimer film? New York Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni's

dream?

ARLEE - Faster than the speed limit in Montana? Paced like a Jerry Bruckheimer film? New York Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni's dream?

There are many ways you could describe Arlee's game against Lincoln last Friday, but perhaps the most telling sign was this. One free throw for the Warriors (4-1) in the game.

"I've never coached a game in 15 years where we shot one free throw in a game," Arlee head coach Dustin Keltner said.

The Warriors pulled away in the fourth quarter for the 70-63 victory, but the score wasn't indicative to just how entertaining the contest was.

"Lincoln caught us off-guard with their pace of the game," Keltner said. "They almost ran a Loyola Maramount type offense with shots on goal. They caught us with the cherry picking."

But what Lincoln also possibly did was underestimate the speed of the Arlee.

"Our team isn't afraid to run," Keltner said.

Arlee made the proper adjustments and after falling behind 24-17 in the first quarter, going on a 9-2 run at the end of the second to even things up 36-36.

Lincoln had already dropped 94 on Drummond, but Arlee wasn't about to get lit up on the scoreboard.

"I felt pretty comfortable going into the fourth quarter," Keltner said. "We had fresher legs than they did."

In the fourth, Arlee went on a 16-2 run to get some distance between them and the Lynx for the victory.

The catalyst for the Warriors was the play of senior Trae Burland who tourched the Lynx for 24 points.

Thomas McClure added 10 points in the matchup.

"Trae had an exceptional game," Keltner said. "He really exposed their zone defense."

He wasn't the only one in the 20s. Kasey Bridgewater had a huge weekend, scoring 23 points against Lincoln and then 23 in the Warrior's matchup against St. Regis on Saturday.

"Kasey hit big shots in both games," Keltner said.

After a closely-contested first quarter, the Warriors came alive for 29 points in the second.

"We came out in the game a little complacent," Keltner said.

"We put it together in the second quarter."

Arlee had the 45-19 lead at halftime en route to cruising to a 70-30 victory in the district 14-C matchup. Trae Burland had 10 points in the game and McClure added 8.

Keltner said he's pleased with the way his team has responded against the quality Western C divisional teams so far this season.

"I'm pretty happy with the energy," Keltner said.

And if they play any more games like the Lincoln matchup, they'll need the energy.