Arlee stays on top of conference

ARLEE — In a game between the top two teams in district 14-C, the Arlee boys basketball team came out on top.

The Warriors (9-0, 14-1) beat Charlo (6-3, 8-8) 49-34 last Friday and Hot Springs (3-6, 6-9) 70-47 last Thursday to stay undefeated in league play.

Against Hot Springs, Arlee head coach Clyde Tucker said his team’s strength was defense.

“We can play half-court and get after people a bit on defense,” he said.

The Warriors were up 39-24 at the half and held Hot Springs to nine in the third quarter.

The quick game is something that Tucker doesn’t see many other teams leaning towards.

Tucker said junior Jesse Pfau did well choreographing the offense in both games.

“He’s our point guard that initiates things,” he said.

The undefeated status is just a bonus for the Warriors, whose ultimate goal is to make it to the divisional tournament on Feb. 25. They will have to get through the district tournament next weekend in Ronan and as the team travels to Alberton tonight and hosts Noxon on Saturday.

Against Charlo, the 15-point win was deceiving, Tucker said.

“We won by 15, but 15 was as big as 25,” he said.

Arlee started out with a two point lead before Charlo senior Chico Stipe stepped up and scored eight points for Charlo, including two back-to-back three-pointers. His shots gave the Vikings their only lead of the night.

Arlee rallied when senior Kyle Felsman started two plays for points. He found senior Kody Morigeau inside for two and junior Trae Burland inside on the next play for two more.

Pfau returned the favor with a clear pass to Felsman in the paint for an 11-8 lead.

Charlo pulled within one when Arlee senior Trevor Rubel fouled Viking senior Chance Firestone, who sunk two at the line.

The Viking’s posts were picking up their defensive rebounds to start the charge down court.

Stipe took the defender with him and dropped the ball back to Firestone who had all day to hit the three-point shot with five minutes left in the half.

After Arlee was stopped on its possession, Firestone added two more for the Vikings when he put a rebound in.

Arlee junior Kasey Bridgewater sunk a three-point shot to stop Charlo’s momentum. At the end of the half, he picked off a pass from Stipe intended for Charlo senior Houston Blevins for a 21-16 lead.

The first half of the game was defense-heavy, Tucker said.

 “Most of our shots had one of their hands in our face,” he said.

To start the second half, Pfau got the scoring going for the Warriors before Felsman fouled Rosenbaum. At the line, he put one in and Firestone put the rebound in off the second shot for a 23-19 Warrior lead.

Brown said Arlee was pressing the Vikings, which made Charlo rush its offense.

“If we play them, we have to find a way to slow the game down to our pace,” he said.

The Vikings kept Arlee off the foul line in the first half. In Arlee’s first appearance at the line, Morigeau made it count, going two-for-two. On the next play, Pfau stole the ball from Firestone and went down the court for an easy two points.

Tucker said Pfau had a great game against Charlo, scoring a game-high 14 points.

“He wasn’t really covered and that allowed him to score,” he said.

Arlee continued its strong defense when Bridgewater stopped Rosenbaum’s shot with a well-placed hand.

Charlo started its offense after sophomore Dillion Delaney passed to an open senior Chance Frame inside for two.

Arlee senior John Sansavere stole the ball on Charlo’s next offensive possession and increased the lead to 10 for the Warriors.

Bridgewater also made a steal when Delaney tried to pass to Firestone, but Delaney hustled back to stop Bridgewater before he could score.

To open the fourth quarter, Stipe showed his speed after getting a defensive rebound and heading down court but Charlo was unable to score.

Pfau continued his scoring with two two-point shots from the same spot for a 37-25 lead.

Arlee started to foul Charlo and the Vikings went five-for-eleven for the rest of the game while the Warriors went four-for-five.

With 50 seconds left, Rosenbaum hit two points, showing his never-give-up attitude, Brown said.

“I thought he played hard the whole time, from start to finish,” he said.

Rosenbaum led scoring for Charlo with 11 points and Firestone added nine.

Brown said his guards handled the tempo and pressure well, but they need to step up in upcoming games.

“We’ve got to light a fire under our big guys now,” he said.

Charlo entered the game with Arlee after a 61-48 loss to Thompson Falls last Thursday that lacked energy. The Vikings were up by one after the first quarter but, after an eight-point second, faced a six-point deficit at the half.

Charlo started the second half with an 11-point third, cutting the lead to four.

“I thought we came out good, but lost energy and focus,” Brown said. 

Thompson Falls turned on the heat with a 26-point fourth quarter to end the game.

Brown took out his starters in favor of some of the bench players.

“They came in and played solid defense, under the circumstances I put them in,” he said.

Senior Kaileb Gillingham came off and scored for the Vikings as well as junior Garrett Herron.

“[Herron] had a good game,” Brown said. “He played solid and was under control the whole time.”

This week, the Vikings will play back-to-back games, hosting Phillipsburg on Thursday and St. Regis on Friday, on Charlo’s senior night.

“We can’t use lack of energy as an excuse anymore,” Brown said. “The tournament is back-to-back games.”