Arlee wins twice on road

ARLEE — “What time is it?”

“Game time.”

“What time is it?”

“Game time.”

“Who are we?”

“Warriors.” The Arlee boys basketball team stated with intensity during its pre-game huddle before taking the floor against Charlo last Thursday.

The same intensity carried the Warriors to a 63-46 win.

“It didn’t go was well as we had hoped,” Charlo senior Chance Frame said after the game.

It started out with a 2-2 tie before Charlo senior Chico Stipe drove to the net and was fouled. He couldn’t put any in at the line and Arlee took advantage, grabbing the rebound and running down the court.

Arlee senior John Sansavere passed to senior Kyle Felsman, who passed back. Sansavere took a shot and Felsman put in the rebound.

Arlee grabbed a defensive rebound and junior Jesse Pfau wove through every Viking player before scoring.

The Warriors started to pull away as Sansavere put two in on the line and Felsman added three from a field goal and one free throw after Charlo junior Chance Rosenbaum fouled him.

Facing a 11-point deficit, senior Houston Blevins drove hard to the basket and was fouled. He put one in on the line.

Arlee head coach Clyde Tucker said fouls weren’t a big factor in the game.

“It wasn’t anything like when we played each other in Victor,” he said.

Arlee junior Thomas McClure had the ball at the top of the key and found Felsman sitting wide open back door for two points and a 17-5 lead at the half.

To start the second half, Arlee junior Beau Couture went up for the shot, but Charlo’s Frame stole the ball. Frame ran up court and missed but Rosenbaum was fouled trying to get the rebound.

Felsman hit two points before Charlo’s Stipe was fouled. At the line, Stipe drained two for Charlo’s second and third points from the line.

Arlee countered on the next play when McClure found Pfau open for an easy two points.

Hustling down court, Charlo sophomore Dillan Delaney found Blevins open under the net. As Blevins tried for the shot, he was fouled but unable to put any in at the line.

Frame was fouled on the next play and went 1-for-2 at the line for a 14-23 Arlee lead.

Arlee junior Trae Burland added two points before getting a technical foul. Charlo head coach Mike Brown sent Stipe to the line where he went 2-for-2, cutting the Warrior’s lead to nine.

Sansavere fouled Blevins on the next play and Blevins went 2-for-2 as well.

Charlo got the ball back and senior Chance Firestone reconnected with Stipe for two points. This was Firestone’s first game back after injuring his ankle against Arlee in the Victor tournament in December.

“I wasn’t really nervous to come back,” Firestone said. “I wanted to go out and play well.”

Charlo called a time out with 25.4 seconds left in the first quarter and Blevins emerged to score two points and cut Arlee’s lead to seven.

Arlee came out and scored six points after Charlo’s Firestone picked up a basket.

Pfau put out a quick pass to McClure for two points. The Warriors got the ball back and made five quick passes before McClure made a three-point shot for a 40-27 lead.

Frame charged the basket for two points before Arlee’s Pfau had a give and go with senior Kody Morigeau.

“Our shots were going in and our team is working pretty well together,” Tucker said.

Charlo’s Rosenbaum cut down the lead when he drained a three but Arlee fought back after junior Kasey Bridgewater stole the ball and passed to Burland for two more points. Bridgewater added a three-pointer to increase the lead to 16 in the fourth quarter.

Felsman fouled Frame as he went to the basket, and Frame put one in at the line.

Frame said after the game that Arlee’s fouls only helped Charlo.

“It wasn’t good for them, but it was for us,” he said.

A couple plays later, Stipe found Firestone wide open to score two for the Vikings. Frame added two more on the next play.

With three minutes left, Firestone picked up the pace, proving his ankle injury was a distant memory.

He stole the ball and went down on a 2-on-1 with Stipe. Firestone passed around the defender and Stipe put the ball in the hoop.

On the next Charlo possession, Firestone hit a three-pointer.

With 17 seconds left, Frame added three from the free throw line on two separate fouls but it wasn’t enough as the Warriors won 63-46.

“We had a lot of turnovers, that didn’t help,” Firestone said after the game. “We did a good job of feeding it to the post. Our posts are doing a pretty good job and were strong tonight.”

Frame agreed with Firestone.

“We were strongest under the basket,” Frame said.

Arlee wasn’t concerned with Charlo’s height before the game.

“Our kids don’t seem to think about people being taller than them,” Tucker said. “Our kids are good jumpers and have quickness.”

The Vikings went on to lose to Thompson Falls the next night 54-47.

The Bluehawks took a 30-15 lead after the first half. Charlo stepped up its offense, outscoring Thompson Falls 30-24 in the second half, but it wasn’t enough for the win.

Rosenbaum led the Vikings with 12 points while Stipe and Firestone each contributed 11.

Charlo travels to Phillipsburg tonight and St. Regis tomorrow.

Arlee took the momentum from Charlo into its game with Hot Springs but came out flat.

“If we would have played like that at Charlo, we would have been beat,” Tucker said. “We had to battle. [Hot Springs] was ready to play.”

The Warriors held a seven point heading into the second half and won 57-48. 

“It was a matter of spreading the floor and getting fouled,” Tucker said.

The Warroirs were 12 of 16 at the line in the fourth quarter. Felsman had seven and Sansavere added four.

This allowed Arlee to control the end of the game, which was Hot Springs’ first since the Holiday break.

“They were hyped and we were tired,” Tucker said. “Our quickness didn’t seem to be there.”

Felsman and Sansavere led with 15 points each while Morigeau added 12.

The Warriors travel to Seeley on Friday and Noxon on Saturday.

“It’s going to be a rough week,” Tucker said.