BB: Charlo fights 'til the end

by Dylan Kitzan & Leader Reporter
| March 1, 2012 6:30 AM

BUTTE — The Charlo Vikings had played close, competitive games all season. Not surprisingly, that wouldn’t change with the stakes higher than they had been all year at the Western C Divisional Tournament in Butte over the weekend.

On Wednesday, Feb. 22, the Vikings rallied back against Manhattan-Christian, but couldn’t cling to a late lead, falling 58-52 in their opening-round game.

Dillon Delaney scored 19 points and Stephen Delaney added 12 for the Vikings, who trailed 8-4 after the first and 26-18 at halftime, but dug deep to make a game of it.

“We played well enough to win,” Charlo head coach Mike Brown said. “We started cold in the first quarter and dug a hole for ourselves, but we battled back to take the lead. Then we went cold again and they hit a lot of free throws.”

After outscoring Manhattan-Christian 17-10 in the third, Charlo and the Eagles went back and forth before Manhattan-Christian pulled ahead for good thanks to a 22-17 fourth quarter. Dillon Delaney added a team-leading 15 rebounds to complete the double-double for the Vikings, while Tra Ludeman scored nine points and Webb O’Neill and Kolten Andrews six apiece.

Two days later, Charlo faced their nemesis, the Noxon Red Devils, for the fourth time on the year. Entering the game, the Vikings had lost two of the three meetings, but had won the most recent, and most important one, downing the Red Devils in the 14-C District Tournament.

Noxon wasted little time early, however, taking a 13-7 first-quarter lead and a 30-16 halftime lead en route to a 59-52 victory, ending Charlo’s season.

“We knew they would pound us inside,” Brown said. “I thought we did well rebounding. We came out flat and by the time we started hitting, the game had gotten away from us. Noxon’s a very solid team, you need to be clicking to beat them.”

Andrews went off to the tune of 23 points, Dillon Delaney notched 10 and Stephen Delaney eight for the Vikings. The three seniors were vital all season to Charlo’s success and were instrumental in the Vikings’ near-rally against Noxon.

“Our three seniors did a heck of a job,” Brown said. “There was a lot going on and they handled it well. Kolten was solid, Dillon played well and Stephen played the bigs solid.”

Brown never questioned his team’s effort at divisionals, noting that had they been able to make a few more baskets, things would have been dramatically different.

“It came down to the fact that we played hard, but we just couldn’t make shots in Butte,” Brown said.

Overall, Brown was pleased with Charlo’s season, which saw them win 15 games and capture the district title in Ronan two weeks ago.

“I’m happy,” Brown said. “There wasn’t one game where the boys let up. They played hard all season and never quit. They have the hearts of champions. I’m proud we made it to divisionals, but not surprised.”

While sad to see the season come to a close and his seniors depart, Brown is excited for next season and what the future holds for the Vikings.

“We’re going to gear up and make a push next year,” Brown said.

M-C vs. CHARLO

M-C - 8 - 18 - 10 - 22 - 58

Charlo - 4 - 14 - 17 - 17 - 52

Vikings scoring - Dillon Delaney 19, Stephen Delaney 12, Tra Ludeman 9, Webb O’Neill 6, Kolten Andrews 6

NOXON vs CHARLO

Noxon - 13 - 17 - 18 - 11 - 59

Charlo - 7 - 9 - 15 - 21 - 52

Vikings scoring - Kolten Andrews 23, Dillon Delaney 10, Stephen Delaney 8, Tra Ludeman 5, Webb O’Neill 4, Tyler Delaney 2