CHARLO BOYS BB ROUNDUP: District Duel
CHARLO - The Vikings (5-0) passed their first big district test
with a 78-69 victory over Two Eagle last Tuesday night but things
don't get easier from here.
The Eagles, who started the season 4-0 and just knocked off a
very good Noxon team before heading into their matchup in Charlo
have shown marked improvement since last season and, along with
Vikings, should be right in at the top among district teams.
CHARLO - The Vikings (5-0) passed their first big district test with a 78-69 victory over Two Eagle last Tuesday night but things don't get easier from here.
The Eagles, who started the season 4-0 and just knocked off a very good Noxon team before heading into their matchup in Charlo have shown marked improvement since last season and, along with Vikings, should be right in at the top among district teams.
However, they'll both be in a district with Noxon, Arlee and Superior - all tough teams who will have a say for the district as well.
Last Tuesday's battle between the undefeated Vikings and Eagles was just the opening shot of what is sure to be a world war this season in the 14-C.
Luckily for Charlo, the Vikings had a big gun, namely "The Big D" in senior post Stephen Delaney who pulled down 20 rebounds, scored 14 points and blocked six of Two Eagle's shots in the victory.
It wasn't easy though, because Charlo found itself down 13-8 in the first quarter and had to go on a 10-0 run to gain the advantage. The Vikings led 20-15 after the first but both teams tallied 19 in the second quarter. Two Eagle pulled to within three in the fourth quarter before the Vikings were able to secure the victory.
Charlo scored at least 18 points in every quarter thanks to a scoring barrage from the Vikings. Kolten Andrews and Webb O'Neill both had 20 points, while Dillon Delaney notched 15.
Two Eagle also had its scorers. Clayton Malatare showed that he's one of the most dangerous three-point shooters in the league with 19 points. Artie Mendoza added 15 while Cole Noble scored 11 and Marcus Brown was close to double-digits with nine points.
Charlo moved to 2-0 in conference play, while the Eagles are now 2-1.
VIKINGS ROUNDUP
If you're not yet familiar with the name "Delaney," you should probably watch more Charlo Vikings basketball. You can typically find it near the top of the score sheet.
A week after Stephen Delaney scored in double figures in both Viking games, Dillon Delaney duplicated the feat, leading Charlo to a second-
consecutive undefeated weekend.
On Tuesday, Dec. 13, Dillon scored 18
points, Kolten Andrews 17 and Webb O'Neill 16 as the Vikings rallied to knock off Lake County rival Mission 63-58.
"He just works hard and when he gets it, he can handle the ball and slash to the basket," Charlo head coach Mike Brown said. "He doesn't just stand around."
The Bulldogs raced out to a 29-16 first-quarter lead during the offensive explosion, but the Vikings buckled down and chipped away gradually.
"They just played hard," Brown said. "Every timeout I kept telling them ‘get it to single digits, get it close.'"
By halftime, the Vikings had worked the score to 40-32 in Mission's favor. After play in the third quarter, they sliced the eight-point deficit in half and trailed 51-47. In the fourth quarter, Charlo completed the comeback, outscoring the host Bulldogs 16-7 to earn the victory.
Stephen Delaney and Tra Ludeman rounded out the scoring for the Vikings with six points apiece as Charlo moved to 3-0 on the season.
Two nights later, the Vikings had an easier road to victory, bolting to a massive 31-6 lead after the first period en route to a 69-25 victory over St. Regis.
"I played my starters early and told them we wanted to go out and put pressure on St. Regis," Brown said. "It snowballed and got out of hand. I got to play my bench for a lot of the game."
The 25-point lead after the first period ballooned from there, as the Vikings blitzed the Tigers again in the second, outscoring them 23-5 to build a 54-11 halftime lead.
The third quarter continued in similar fashion, as the Vikings used a 12-8 scoring advantage to go up 66-19 before putting on the brakes in the final stanza with the game well in hand.
In all, 13 players got on the scoresheet, led by Ludeman's 14 and Dillon Delaney's 11. Stephen Delaney was the third Viking in double-digits with 10 points.
After five wins in five games, Brown was pleased with what he has seen to this point and hopes to keep it rolling.
"I'm happy with how we always play hard, from tipoff to the final buzzer," Brown said. "When our bench guys come in, the effort level stays high. They get after it on D."
The Vikings tangled with Noxon on Tuesday, but results were unavailable at press time.
Mission - 29 - 11 - 11 - 7 - 58
Charlo - 16 - 16 - 15 - 16 - 63
Vikings scoring - Dillon Delaney 18, Kolten Andrews 17, Webb O'Neill 16, Tra Ludeman 6, Stephen Delaney 6
St. Regis - 6 - 5 - 8 - 6 - 25
Charlo - 31 - 23 - 12 - 3 - 69
Vikings scoring - Player scores not available. (Editor's note: Errors in wire service box score were incorrect and we didn't want to print results that were not accurate.)
TER - 15 - 19 - 22 - 13 - 69
Charlo - 20 - 19 - 21 - 18 - 78
Vikings scoring - Dillon Delaney 15, Tra Ludeman 4, Webb O'Neill 20, Stephen Delaney 14, Kail Pope 5, Kolten Andrews 20