Pirates capture Northwest Class A District title
PABLO –The superlatives to describe the Arlee boy’s basketball season continues to expand with each passing victory as the Warriors coasted through the Class 14-C District Tournament Feb. 15-17 at Joe McDonald Gym at Salish Kootenai College.
Unchallenged as expected, Arlee had a slight scare in their game against Noxon and found themselves up 15-13 at the conclusion of the first quarter. But the closely-contested game proved to be fleeting as the Red Devils experienced attrition to Arlee’s inside-outside game that many labels the best in the state.
Arlee outscored Noxon 36-21 in the second and third period and was able to ice the game in the fourth quarter by doubling up the Red Devils 13-7 proving to be their usual unstoppable and unbeatable selves.
Its worth noting significant contributors such as Lane Johnson and Will Mesteth played limited minutes in their victory against the Red Devils and their stat lines prove this. Mesteth and Johnson combined for a total of nine points against Noxon and during their 95-59 victory against Plains, they combined for 39 points.
Arlee dismantled Plains for the third-consecutive time this season and a formidable opponent, that several area experts consider “state-bound,” had no answer for the Warriors.
Arlee’s dominance over the Horsemen is a statistical double-take as they scored over 20 points in the first three-quarters of the game. Although Plains kept the game close at the end of the first quarter trailing only 26-20, that turned out to be nothing, but a mirage. The Warriors’ 48-26 run in the following two quarters were enough for attrition to kick in and allowed Plains to be buried 95-59.
When examining the 36-point victory over Horsemen, it’s easy to forget Plains also qualified for the next round.
The Warriors shot 45 percent from beyond-the-arc (9-of-20) on the game and had four players finish in double-figures including Will Mesteth, who led the team with 26 points, Phillip Malatare who scored 25, Lane Johnson scored 13 and Greg Whitesell added in 12 points.
The four leading scorers outscored the entire Horsemen team, a team also bounded for Divisionals, 76-59, putting their statistical dominance into perspective.
Warriors’ coach Zanen Pitts has never subscribed to the hype or daily chatter about his team’s prowess even as the inevitable accolades continue to pile up as the team will enter the Class C Divisional Tournament Feb. 22-24 at Hamilton High School, as expected.
Pitts has rightfully compared his team to a top-tier sports car, on the surface everything looks great, but he is aware of the minute details it takes to continue to run the well-oiled Arlee Warriors’ offensive and defensive attack and the maintenance it requires to eliminate any cosmetic blemishes.
Pitts also knows “giants can fall,” as he has adamantly stated in every interview he’s conducted with the Leader all season. Many teams fear the “Three-Headed Monster” of Arlee and Pitts fears complacency as they move forward in the same bracket with Manhattan Christian, a team they only beat 71-67 in the championship round last year.
Moving forward Pitts knows there will be difficult challenges that lay ahead in the Divisionals as they attempt to punch their ticket to state and play on the third-consecutive Saturday night game and try to win their second-consecutive Montana High School Association Title.
Pitts continues to “run-scared,” a political term that suggests complacency could be the Warriors biggest nemesis in their quest for back-to-back titles.
14C Championship
Arlee 95, Plains 59
Arlee 26 22 28 19 – 95
Plains 20 7 18 14 – 59*
ARLEE – Will Mesteth 9 4-4 26, Phillip Malatare 11 2-2 25, Lane Johnson 6 1-4 13, Greg Whitesell 5 1-1 12, Cody Tanner 6, Dar Bolen 2 0-0 5, Isaac Fisher 2 0-0 4, Billy Fisher 2, Trey Malatare 2.
PLAINS – Kyle Weeks 21, Jan VonHeeder 18, Matt McCracken 5, Sinjin LeDeaux 4, Treydon Broulliere 4, Wyatt Weyers 2, Tanner Ovitt 2.
3FGs: A9-20 (Mesteth 4-9, C.Tanner 2-2, Bolen 1-1, P.Malatare, 1-2, Whitesell 1-4). A29reb (Johnson 7, P.Malatare 6, Mesteth 6, I.Fisher 4, Bolen 2, Whitesell, B.Fisher, Lane Schall, Nate Coulson). A19ast (P.Malatare 9, Johnson 3, Mesteth 2, Whitesell 2, Coulson, David Haynes, Schall). A13stl (Malatare 3, Whitesell 3, Johnson 2, Mesteth 2, Bolen, Haynes, B.Fisher). A1blk (Whitesell). A13defl
(Malatare 3, Johnson 3, Mesteth 2, I.Fisher). (Sa17Feb18gm19dist)
Asterisk (*) denotes stat variant(s) where sideline specs differ from those reported by venue/media: P59p(3Q15p = P56p)
14C semi
Arlee 64, Noxon 42 (semi)
Arlee 15 12 24 13 – 64
Noxon 13 7 15 7 – 42
ARLEE – Phillip Malatare 10 4-5 24, Lane Johnson 4 4-6 12, Billy Fisher 3 0-0 6, Will Mesteth 2 0-0 5, “David” T.Haynes 1 2-2 5, Isaac Fisher 2 0-0 4, Trey Malatare 3, Dar Bolen 3, Cody Tanner 2.
NOXON – Alex Currie 16, Braedon Marshall 7, Logan Wood 5, Aiden Galloway 4, Levi Brubaker 4, Rylan Weltz 3, Ethan Hinrichson 3.
3FGs: A4-21 (T.Malatare 1-1, Haynes 1-2, Bolen 1-3, Mesteth 1-6). A26reb (Mesteth 4, P.Malatare 4, Johnson 4, Bolen 4, I.Fisher 3, Haynes 2, Lane Schall 2, Tanner, B.Fisher, T.Malatare). A5ast (Mesteth 2, I.Fisher, P.Malatare, Schall). A13stl (Mesteth 4, P.Malatare 4, I.Fisher 3, Tanner). A2blk (I.Fisher, P.Malatare). A10defl (I.Fisher 3, Johnson 2, B.Fisher 2). (Fr16Feb18gm11dist)
14C consolation
Charlo 49, Noxon 41
Landers Smith surpassed the varsity career 600 point threshold, while Toby Odom crested the double century (200) point plateau for varsity career scoring.
Charlo (16-6)
Charlo 15 6 13 15 – 49
Noxon 7 12 9 13 – 41
Charlo: Landers Smith 17, Tyson Petticrew 16, Toby Odom 8, Brady Fryberger 2, Phillip Marquez 2, Conner Koenig 5, Garrett Vaughan 1.
Noxon: Rylan Weltz 15, Alex Currie 8, Braedon Marshall 11, Logan Wood 4, Owen Fisher 2.
(Sa17Feb18gm17dist)
Charlo 64, Two Eagle 59
Charlo (15-6), Two Eagle (7-13)
Two Eagle 13 24 9 13 – 59
Charlo 13 14 15 22 – 64
TWO EAGLE RIVER – Brandon Larios 16, Brendan McDonald 11, Dylan Moran 10, Kesean Burke 6, Elias Adams 5, Coree Cadieux 15.
CHARLO – Tyson Petticrew 22, Landers Smith 16, Garett Vaughan 12, Brady Fryberger 11, Toby Odom 6, Nate Delaney 4, Brock Tomlin 3, Sabin Perry 2. (Sa17Feb18gm13dist)
Plains 50, Charlo 33 (semi)
Tyson Petticrew surpassed the millennial (1000) mark for varsity career scoring
Charlo (14-6)
Plains 14 15 12 9 – 50
Charlo 6 10 14 3 – 33
PLAINS – Jay Vonheeder 12, Tanner Ovitt 11, Sinjin LaDeaux 9, Kyle Weeks 8, Matt McCracken 7, Derick Curry 2, Treydon Brouillette 1.
CHARLO – Landers Smith 17, Tyson Petticrew 13, Brady Fryberger 3. (Fr16Feb18gm9dist)
Charlo 61, Hot Springs 27
Charlo (14-5)
CHARLO – Landers Smith 18, Tyson Petticrew 14, Toby Odom 11, Garett Vaughn 4, Brock Tomlin 4,
Phillip Marquez 3, Nate Delaney 2, Brady Fryberger
HOT SPRINGS – Brandon Knudsen 9, Tyler Knudsen 7, Tyler Carr 6, Jack McAllister 4, Justin
Salmi 3, Kawika Ilac 2, Luke Waterbury 2, Sean Fisher 2.
(Th15Feb18gm3dist)
Noxon 61, Two Eagle 55
Two Eagle (7-12)
Noxon 10 15 16 20 – 61
Two Eagle 14 12 13 16 – 55
NOXON – Rylan Weltz 18, Alex Currie 16, Logan Wood 9, Owen Fisher 5, Braden Marshall 5, Ethan Hinricksen 4,
Levi Brubaker 4.
TWO EAGLE RIVER – Brendan McDonald 20, Dylan Moran 9, Kesean Burke 8,
Travis Pierre 6, Brandon Larios 5, Dom Finley 4, Stanley Alexander 3.
(Th15Feb18gm1dist)