Bring on Butte: Arlee boys wins district title

Arlee Warriors win closely-contested championship game against Vikings

RONAN - One player or a handful of starters didn't build Arlee's 14-C district tournament championship last Saturday, it was methodically constructed by everyone wearing red and white.

"I think everybody that stepped out on the floor played a huge part," Arlee head coach Dustin Keltner said. "It was a great team effort."

Even senior Thomas McClure, who had injured his back in the Warriors semi-final game against Two Eagle, put time in the game before it was obvious he couldn't physically continue.

He watched and cheered from the sidelines as the Warriors got out and ran against the No. 6 team in the state, Charlo, in the championship game and came out victorious with a 59-51 win.

"We were able to beat them off the dribble and create a lot of opportunities," Keltner said.

Despite the Vikings' advantage in rebounds, 31-19, Arlee's quick tempo allowed them to take more shots and get to the foul line. The Warriors scored 17 of their points off of free throws, while the Vikings got 16 from behind the charity stripe.

Offense came from every nook and cranny in Arlee's roster, with four players finishing in double-digits. Senior Trae Burland was spectacular with 15, and senior point guard

Jesse Pfau willed himself to 13. Junior Sansavere added and Kasey Bridgewater both added 12.

The Vikings, who have been a strong force all season

long and didn't lose a game until Feb. 1, to Arlee in a thriller, came in to the championship game with no intention to cruise. They came to battle.

"I think the crowd was crazy on both sides," Charlo

head coach Mike Brown said of the game's atmosphere. "Anytime we play each other, it brings out the best in us."

And boy was it the best.

"It's become quite a rivalry over the course of many

years," Keltner said.

Despite suffering from the flu, senior Chance Rosenbaum pulled down 24 rebounds and scored eight points.

"He gutted it out," Brown said.

Junior Dillon Delaney showed that he's one of those floor generals that can be trusted in important games, scoring 13 of his team-leading 15 points in the second half.

"He played his heart out," Brown said. "I think he took that next step of being a leader."

Charlo was within striking distance the entire game, but just couldn't quite close the gap. Arlee took the early 12-10 lead after the first and had a 29-23 lead going into the locker room at halftime.

The Vikings closed it to 38-34 in the third quarter and were as close as 48-44 in the fourth quarter.

"We didn't make the shots that we normally would make," Brown said. "Arlee came in and had a good game plan."

Both teams advanced to the Western B divisionals to be played in Butte this weekend. For Arlee, they hope to continue to overcome challenges presented in each game and continue their winning streak, which is now at 10. Charlo will want to again show why they were almost unbeatable during the regular season.

"I noticed a little hunger that wasn't there before," Brown said. "The boys know now they've got to finish it out on the floor."

There's a chance that the two teams could face one another again, this time for bigger stakes of a divisional championship.

"If we play each other again, hopefully it's on Saturday," Keltner said.

Arlee 59, Charlo 51

Arlee - 12 - 17 - 9 - 21 - 59

Charlo - 10 - 13 - 11 - 17 - 51

Warriors scoring - Trae Burland 15, Jesse Pfau 13, Junior Sansavere 12, Kasey Bridgewater 12, Beau Couture 3, Eneas Inmee 2, Thomas McClure 2

Vikings scoring - Dillon Delaney 15, Chico Stipe 11, Chance Rosenbaum 8, Stephen Delaney 7, Kolten Andrews 6, Garrett Herron 4

Noxon 79, TER 39

The Eagles, having played four games in three days, ran out of gas against the Red Devils in the consolation final on Saturday.

Noxon jumped out to a 16-9 lead in the first quarter and then went on a 20-8 run in the second quarter for a 36-17 lead.

The Red Devils went on another big run in the third, as they shot 72 percent from the field, and the Eagles could never recover.

Senior TJ Cutfinger and junior Clayton Malatare both led the team with nine points apiece.

Noxon 79, TER 39

TER - 9 - 8 - 7 - 15 - 39

Noxon - 16 - 20 - 24 - 19 - 79

Eagles scoring - TJ Cutfinger 9, Clayton Malatare 9, Artie Mendoza 6, Skler Rossbach 6, Marcus Brown 4, Trevor Butterfly 3, Wes Nowlen 2

TER 75, Hot Springs 62

Two Eagle junior Clayton Malatare kept hitting threepoint

shots in the second half as the Eagles advanced to the consolation finals game with a 75-62 victory over Hot Springs on Saturday morning.

Two Eagle overcame a 21-17 deficit in the first quarter and led 40-37 at halftime.

They extended their lead after the third quarter to 51-

45 and then outscored Hot Springs 24-17 in the fourth quarter. Malatare scored 25 points while junior Marcus Brown added 18.

TER 75, Hot Springs 75

TER - 17 - 23 - 11 - 24 - 75

Hot Springs - 21 - 16 - 8 - 17 - 62

Eagles scoring - Clayton Malatare 25, Marcus Brown 18, TJ Cutfinger 13, Skyler Rossbach 9, Artie Mendoza 8, Trevor Butterfly 2

Arlee 53, TER 51

In their semi-final matchup against Two Eagle on Friday, Arlee survived a sortie of scoring from the Eagles to advance to the championship game with a 53-51 win.

The Warriors built a 39-26 lead going into the fourth quarter but Two Eagle, led by Artie Mendoza's 14 points in the game, went on a 25-14 run and almost came away with the win.

Senior guard Jesse Pfau led Arlee with 18 points and senior Thomas McClure added 12.

Arlee 53, TER 51

Arlee - 12 - 14 - 13 - 14 - 53

TER - 17 - 4 - 5 - 25 - 51

Warriors scoring - Jesse Pfau 18, Thomas McClure 12, Kasey Bridgewater 7, Junior Sansavere 6, Trae Burland 6, Eneas Inmee 2, Beau Couture 2

Eagles scoring - Artie Mendoza 14, Skyler Rossbach 10, Clayton Malatare 9, Marcus Brown 9, Trevor Butterfly 6, TJ Cutfinger 5

Charlo 49, Noxon 42

Just like Arlee, Charlo had a similarly close semifinal

game. The Vikings were able to fend off a late rally by the Red Devils for the 49-42 win on Friday.

Charlo was leading Noxon 38-27 through three quarters before the sharpshooting of Noxon started to chip away at the Vikings.

Despite Noxon's 15-11 outscoring of Charlo, they couldn't overcome 11 points by senior Chico Stipe and 10 from junior Dillon Delaney.

Charlo 49, Noxon 42

Noxon - 8 - 9 - 10 - 15 - 42

Charlo - 11 - 11 - 16 - 11 - 49

Vikings scoring - Chico Stipe 11, Dillon Delaney 10, Garrett Herron 8, Chance Rosenbaum 8, Stephen Delaney 6, Kolten Andrews 4, Webb O’Neill 2

TER 61, St. Regis 38

The Eagles got the 14-C district tournament off to a

good start with a 61-38 win over St. Regis on Thursday night.

Junior Artie Mendoza led the Eagles with 16 points,

junior Clayton Malatare pitched in 11, and junior Marcus Brown had a double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds.

After St. Regis outscored Two Eagle 16-9 in the first quarter, the Eagles finished the game on a 52-22 run.

TER 61, St. Regis 38

TER - 9 - 24 - 13 - 15 - 61

St. Regis - 16 - 6 - 4 - 12 - 38

Eagles scoring - Artie Mendoza 16, Clayton Malatare 11, Marcus Brown 10, Skyler Rossbach 9, TJ Cutfinger 6, Trevor Butterfly 4, West Nowlen 3, Michael Brown 2

Other tournament scores Thursday

Noxon 54, H-Springs 42 (OT)

Saturday

Noxon 53, St. Regis 15