Warrior boys drop first game of season, now 11-1

ARLEE — The Arlee boys basketball team was handed its first loss of the season last Saturday at the hands of Lincoln.

“They took it a little hard,” head coach Clyde Tucker said. “But kids are resilient.”

The Warriors had entered the game after beating St. Regis 58-14.

“We didn’t play very well,” Tucker said of the St. Regis game. “After that first quarter, we pretty much knew.”

Ten players contributed points for that win, with junior Trae Burland leading the way with 16, as most of the Warrior team saw time on the floor.

“It was a hard game to manage,” Tucker said. “We didn’t want to run up the score.”

In the second quarter, the Warriors went scoreless for over two minutes before building a 25-point lead at halftime.

Tucker said it was hard to keep his team’s intensity up and that attitude might have carried over into Arlee’s loss against Lincoln.

“It didn’t help us any, that’s for sure,” he said. “Lincoln came to play. They were out to win.”

The Warriors came out with a 12-point first quarter and a 14-point second quarter for a two-point lead at the half.

But, Arlee slumped in the third-quarter in Lincoln’s small gym.

“You get in that cracker box and it was tough for us to play our game,” Tucker said. “It took away our running game.”

In the fourth quarter, Burland hit back-to-back three pointers to tie the game at 48. Arlee went four-for-17 at the three-point line in the game.

“We shot too many threes and missed too many threes,” Tucker said.

With the tie game, Lincoln was sent to the line as part of Arlee’s strategy. The Warriors were taking fouls in order to get the ball back, Tucker said.

Lincoln sunk a pair of free throws with 11 seconds left for the 50-48 win.

“Our kids played hard,” Tucker said. “We just didn’t play our game.”

Burland led with 16 points while senior Kody Morigeau added seven.

The Warriors usually use a combination of up-tempo play and defense to gain control.

“We are still a work in progress,” Tucker said.

The Warriors played Two Eagle River on Tuesday night, but scores were unavailable at press time.

The Warriors have the weekend off and will return to action in one week when they travel to Hot Springs.