Passing records

ARLEE – It was a record setting night Saturday in Arlee as the No. 8 Warriors suffocated St. Regis 69-20 behind Zack Camel’s amazing 23 assists, which set a new Montana state record.

Camel lit up the scoreboard again Saturday and not with your conventional stat. Doing his best Magic Johnson impersonation, Camel surgically dismantled the Tigers defense with assist after assist, leading four Warriors to reach double figures in scoring.

“23 assists, wow, it’s a great record to have because it’s an unselfish record,” Coach J.R Camel said of his player and nephew’s brilliant display of basketball. The record-breaking 23 assists surpassed Camel’s 18-assist night against Charlo earlier this month, then a career-best.

According to his coach, it’s a record that Camel wasn’t necessarily shooting for.

“We knew he had 12 assists at the half, but he likes getting other players involved,” said Coach Camel. “We were playing our game, he was passing to everybody and everybody was running and shooting.”

What doesn’t show up in the stat sheet is something else that comes with Zack Camel’s unselfishness. Teammates know their point guard is going to be passing the ball and moving it around often. Players are then more inclined to move without the ball and are always ready to shoot. That sort of energy that Camel gives to his team is immeasurable. What is also impressive is that Camel only committed two turnovers in the game, resulting in an unprecedented 11.5 turnover to assist ratio. Camel also grabbed 12 rebounds in the win, a stat his coach contributed to him wanting the ball again to get even more assists. Josh Reed led the Warriors in scoring with 13 as Arlee improved to 8-1, 11-4.

Arlee’s win against St. Regis came on the heels of a tough 58-52 loss to Loyola Sacred Heart. The game was decided at the foul line where the free throw disparity was borderline criminal. Loyola made 19 of 30 free attempts, an astronomical difference when compared to Arlee who made one of two. “I’m not the type to put blame on the refs,” said Coach Camel. “They shoot a lot of 3-pointers and we shoot a lot of 2-pointers, I don’t know, its basketball, sometimes that’s the way it is. Maybe [the refs] missed a few reach-in calls against us, but give [Loyola] credit, they made their shots.”

Rocky Lewis and Josh Reed led the Warriors in scoring with 18 apiece. Zack Camel had eight points and a pedestrian – by his standards – 10 assists in the loss. Despite the free throw discrepancy being hard to ignore, the Warriors knew they left a winnable game slip through their figures and bounced back nicely in their win against St. Regis. Arlee stays at home for Thursday’s contest against Noxon and then travels to St. Ignatius for a Lake County battle against the Mission Bulldogs on Saturday.