Vikings break winless streak against Warriors

ARLEE - When Charlo head coach Mike Brown walked into his team's

locker room after its 58-48 victory over Arlee last Friday night,

he didn't find a group of players reveling in their

achievements.

ARLEE - When Charlo head coach Mike Brown walked into his team's locker room after its 58-48 victory over Arlee last Friday night, he didn't find a group of players reveling in their achievements.

"They were talking about how it's done and over with and we have to get ready for the next game," Brown said.

With the stacked roster of Arlee, (the Warriors would have the top scorers in the game) it seemed like this would be one of the biggest threats to Charlo's so-far undefeated season.

"They were very excited [for the game] because we hadn't beaten them last year," Brown said.

When the game tipped off, Arlee senior Jesse Pfau was able to put Arlee up 4-0 with some quick, veteran moves. Brown told his team to focus on defense and not to worry as much on offense, and the Vikings were ableto grab a slim 12-9 lead.

The Warriors' gameplan was to focus on senior wrecking- ball post Chance Rosenbaum.

They wanted to limit his touches and the damage he could do. It worked, as Arlee held him to 13 points in the game.

However, there was another post that did some quick damage for Charlo.

In the second quarter, Brown turned to junior Stephen Delaney. Bringing him off the bench, he told the lanky, talented player that had to sit out football season with a back injury to focus on crashing the board. He did a lot more than that.

"We lost track of him a few times and he got into a shooting rhythm," Arlee head coach Dustin Keltner said.

Delaney scored 10 of the Vikings' 16 points in the second quarter as they took the 28-17 lead heading into halftime.

He would finish the game with 15.

"We made some adjustments to what they were doing to us on defense," Keltner said.

The Warriors went on an 8-2 run after halftime and closed the gap to 30-25 with 4:30 to go in the third. Then Charlo went on a run of their own, including three three-point shots to get a double-digit lead again.

Down 41-30 with just one quarter to go, the Warriors surged again, using a 10-3 stretch to pull within four points of the Vikings midway through the fourth.

"It showed composure to come back from a double-digit lead twice," Keltner said.

The Warriors were aided by 11 second-half points by Thomas McClure, and 10 by Pfau.

"Jesse had one of his better offensive games of the season. It's difficult for defenders to keep him in front of them," Keltner said. "He's learning to be a more aggressive scorer."

Pfau would lead the team in rebounding and seemed all over the court. Meanwhile McClure anchored Arlee down low.

"He battled in there for us on both sides of the ball," Keltner said.

Charlo made their free throws down the stretch, as 13 of their last 15 points were from the charity stripe to hold on for the victory.

"They battled, they don't have any quit in them," Brown said. "They were very confident in playing us."

This being the first year that Keltner has coached the Vikings, he had nothing but positive things to say about this Mission Valley rivalry.

"It was a great game to be a part of," Keltner said. "I think both teams played hard. It's the way a rivalry should be."

Charlo 58, T-Falls 54

Leading by 17 points with two minutes left in the fourth quarter last Thursday, Brown said he let off the pedal a bit, allowing the Blue Hawks to make a comeback. Charlo held on for the victory, their first against the Blue Hawks with Brown as their coach.

The Vikings were impressive on the boards, collecting 42 rebounds and combined with the Arlee win on Friday, they improved to 8-0 on the season.

"It doesn't mean much to us," Brown said. "It's better being 8-0 than 0-8."

The important part of the season is coming up, as the Vikings will battle in conference games for post-season tournament positioning.

"That's when you really have to dial in," Brown said. "There is no margin for error."

Arlee 58, Hot Springs 28

Using a stifling defense, the Warriors held Hot Springs to just one point in the first quarter en route to the 30-point victory on Thursday night.

"We did a great job defensively blocking out," Keltner said. "We had lots of looks early on offense and defensively we did a great job."

Senior Kasey Bridgewater led the team with 12 points while Thomas McClure added 10.