Charlo teams claim back-to-back wins over St. Regis

Over the course of a long season, talent may not always be enough.

There are many factors involved, with injuries being a top concern for all coaches.

Youth can be another.

Friday night in Charlo, those situations were on display when the top two teams in the boys 14C basketball conference met in a showdown for first place in the regular season.

Both St. Regis and Charlo came in with one conference loss each, the winner of the game having the inside track to the number-one seed in the upcoming District tournament.

A close game was expected by all of the pundits and fans who packed the Charlo gym and watched as the home team Vikings ran away from visiting St. Regis 64-29 to claim the regular season championship.

The St. Regis girls also lost to Charlo this past weekend by a slender 45-43 margin that saw Charlo’s sensational sophomore Seeley McDonald sneak through for a game-winning lay-up just one second ahead of the final buzzer.

St. Regis, a team with just one senior, came in without the services of its second-leading scorer and top inside player when standout junior John Pruitt broke a bone in his hand the week before.

With Pruitt sidelined, it was up to senior Caleb Ball, the Tigers’ newly crowned all-time scoring leader, to lead a group of promising sophomores, freshmen and, in one case, eighth grader.

Last weekend the group of youngsters played a key role in St. Regis’ victory over third place Two Eagle River. This time, against the senior-laden Charlo team, which a few weeks earlier handed St. Regis their one and only loss of the year on the Tigers’ home court, Ball and the underclassmen were not enough.

Charlo, riding the experience and quickness of seniors Tucker Love, Keaton Piedalue and Stetson Reum, along with the size and inside play of 6-6 junior Wesley Anderson, scratched out a hard-fought 13-7 lead at the end of the first quarter. They increased that lead to 22-15 by the half as the energetic crowd readied for what everyone expected would be a down-to-the-wire finish.

It was not to be.

Piedalue muscled his way to nine third quarter points, most of them inside shots, as the Vikings outscored St. Regis 23-7 to take control of the game. Piedalue finished with 14 points.

Reum then kept the pressure on the out-manned Tigers when he scored 10 of his game-high 24 points in the fourth quarter to seal the deal for the Vikings.

Charlo rose to 9-1 in the conference and 11-3 overall with the win. The loss dropped St. Regis to 10-2 in conference play and 14-2 overall with both losses coming at the hands of the Vikings.

The Lady Tigers, meanwhile, opened play Friday night in a game won by the host Lady Vikings when McDonald weaved her way through the St. Regis defense with two seconds remaining to put in a tie-breaking, game-winning layup that ended a fierce back-and-forth struggle between the two teams.

St. Regis held a narrow 13-10 lead at the end of the first quarter thanks to seven points from senior forward Macy Hill, who finished with a team and game-high 17 points.

The second quarter was even tighter, as both teams scored 10, leading to a 21-20 Lady Tigers lead at the half.

Three different Charlo players scored four points each in the third quarter, which ended in a 34-33 St. Regis lead.

McDonald and Ada Cote scored four points each in the final period for the Lady Vikings as the home team escaped with the conference victory. McDonald and senior Hayleigh Smith paced Charlo with 12 points each.

With the win, Charlo rose to 9-2 in league play and 11-4 on the year with the victory. Charlo played Superior, the 14C leader and unbeaten league team, on the road Saturday and lost to the Lady Bobcats by three points, giving Superior the girls regular season title.

Charlo has a make-up game this Tuesday at home vs. Alberton, then closes out the regular season with non-conference road games against Seeley-Swan Friday evening and Arlee Saturday night.

Charlo Vikings

CHARLO 64, ST. REGIS 29

St. Regis - 7 - 8 - 7 - 7 - 29

Charlo - 13 - 9 - 23 - 19 - 64

CHARLO: Stetson Reum 24; Keaton Piedalue 14; Wesley Anderson 10; Tucker Love 7; Hayden Hollow 4; Kenyan DuMont 3; Jacob Tomlin 2

Lady Vikings

CHARLO 45, ST. REGIS 43

CHARLO: Hayleigh Smith 12; Seeley McDonald 12; Sheadon Kain 6; Darcy Coleman 6; Sidney Bauer 4; Leah Cahoon 3; Brielle Zempel 2