New district? No problem

RONAN — As Charlo sophomore Dillon Delaney let go of the ball, the buzzer went off. The only thing the Arlee boys basketball team could do was watch.

If the ball went in, the championship game was tied. If it didn’t, Arlee would introduce itself to the new district as champions. Last year, the Warriors took first in 13C before switching to 14C this year.

This was the fourth time the Warriors and Vikings had met. Arlee won all three previous games.

“It’s hard to play against a team that many times,” Arlee head coach Clyde Tucker said. “They know you inside and out.”

Delaney had been on fire all night, hitting three three-point shots. He took the final shot a few feet beyond the three-point line.

The ball veered to the left and deflated the boys in purple as Arlee won, 50-47.

Arlee wasn’t always in control, as the Warriors had to battle back from an 11-point deficit in the third to take the crown.

To start the game, scoring was back and forth.

Arlee senior Jesse Pfau put the Warriors on the board before Charlo senior Houston Blevins tied things at the line. Arlee senior John Sansavere hit a three before Delaney entered the game and knocked down a three on his first touch of the ball.

Sansavere hit another three and Blevins put one in at the line for an 11-8 Arlee lead after the first.

Delaney dropped in his second three of the night in the second to take the lead for the Vikings. He scored nine points on the night. Senior Chico Stipe added two on a breakaway.

After an Arlee time out, junior Kasey Bridgewater dished out two passes; one to junior Trae Burland and one to Sansavere, for back-to-back threes and a 19-17 lead.

Pfau pressured Charlo right away, gaining possession of the ball and scoring two.

Senior Kody Morigeau put one in at the line and senior Kyle Felsman, who led Arlee with 15 points and five rebounds, added two for a 24-21 halftime lead.

Charlo came out scoring in the third quarter.

Senior Chance Firestone used his speed for a breakaway in the first minute to bring Charlo within one. Stipe tied the game at 26 with a three-point shot.

The Vikings took the lead and dropped in 11 unanswered points.

Senior Chance Frame made two baskets and Delaney and Firestone dropped in threes, Delaney’s third of the night, during the run.

Then Arlee woke up again.

Burland initiated Arlee’s comeback with an important three, his second of the night, and Pfau continued his dominance at the line, adding two, bringing the Warriors within three at the end of the third.

The Warriors changed from their full court press defense in order to get more steals, Tucker said.

Burland hit his second three of the night to tie the game at 37 before Blevins scored Charlo’s first points in five minutes at the line, going two-for-two.

On the next play Felsman drove to the basket, scored and was fouled, added one at the basket for the lead and Arlee never fell behind after that point.

Charlo’s Stipe took his fifth foul of the night with 5:46 left in the game on a breakaway by Pfau, who put one in on the line.

Firestone made a basket to tie the score but Arlee took it back with two free throws and a basket from Felsman.

As Pfau drove down court on the next possession, Firestone took his fifth foul of the night.

“He was able to foul out two of their top defenders,” Tucker said of Pfau’s part in Firestone’s and Stipe’s five fouls.

Firestone was replaced on the floor by junior Garret Herron who earned his only points of the night with a three-point shot on his first shot.

With 31 seconds left, Arlee senior John Sansavere put one in at the free throw line for a 48-46 Warrior lead. Fourteen seconds later, Pfau did the same and ended the game with 12 points and four rebounds while going six-for-nine at the line.

As Charlo quickly drove down court, Arlee junior Kasey Bridgewater fouled Charlo junior Chance Rosenbaum, who put one in at the line with under nine seconds left. Rosenbaum led with nine points and four rebounds.

Morigeau put one in at the line for a three-point lead, forcing Charlo to take the long shot at the end.

Tucker said he knew the game would be close.

“We’ve beaten them by more than 10, but the score wasn’t always like that,” he said. “We were ahead until the end when we pulled away.”

Arlee also had a scare against Hot Springs in the semi-final round but was able to win 52-32.

With four minutes left in the first half, Arlee was up 21-10 before Hot Springs went on a 10-2 run to end the half.

Hot Springs came out and scored first but Bridgewater stopped the bleeding with a basket and two at the line. He led Arlee with 18 points and four rebounds.

To end the third, Hot Springs made a basket and put two in at the line, shrinking Arlee’s lead to six.

Thirty seconds into the fourth, Sansavere passed to Bridgewater for three. Sansavere also stole the ball twice and scored on a breakaway for a 43-26 Arlee lead.

Morigeau closed the game with two free throws. He had a double-double, with 17 points and 11 rebounds.

Arlee enters the divisional tournament this weekend in Butte with its first game against Twin Bridges, a team the Warriors haven’t faced this year.