Arlee moves on to State Tournament

Arlee avenged an opening-round loss to Eureka in the battle for third-fourth place during the Western B Divisional Tournament at Salish Kootenai College, Feb. 22-24. The Warriors clinched the No. 3 seed from the west in the state tournament, which will be played March 7-9.

To open the tournament, Arlee fell to the Western 7B No. 1 seed Eureka 68-67 on Thursday. Despite 31 points from Ben Harlow-Old Person, the Warriors couldn’t quite hold onto a lead in the second half of the matchup.

Arlee led 18-14 after the first quarter and had a 38-35 halftime lead. Eureka, however, cut the lead to two points in the third quarter and outscored the Warriors by three points in the fourth.

Kaiden Ostby added 10 points to the Warriors' efforts, while Dallas Swab scored nine.

The next day, Arlee bounced back by defeating Plains 82-53 in the consolation bracket on Friday. The Warriors came out strong, notching a 37-17 halftime lead, then dropping 27 more points in the third quarter.

Harlow-Old Person led Arlee with 25 points, including three three-pointers, while Dallas Swab notched 11 points, also sinking three three-pointers.

With the season still on the line, Arlee won a big matchup with a 69-60 victory over Florence-Carlton on Saturday. The Warriors came blazing back in the fourth quarter, going on a 26-11 run to punch their ticket to the third-fourth-place game.

Ben Harlow-Old Person had 29 points for Arlee, while Jace Arca notched 10 points.

Florence-Carlton led 33-27 at halftime, and their advantage stayed the same in the third quarter before the Warriors' big surge.

With a berth to the Class B State Tournament on the line, Arlee was up against a familiar foe – Eureka – which had defeated them earlier in the divisional tournament.

Arlee, however, outscored the Lions by seven points in the fourth quarter to solidify a 65-57 victory and punch their ticket to the state tournament.

The Warriors led 31-30 at halftime, and after an even third quarter, Arlee was able to pull away in the fourth.

Three different Arlee players scored in double digits, with Harlow-Old Person leading the way with 18 points. Jake Knoll notched 16 points, while Ethan Fiddler had 14.

Going into the state tournament, Arlee will have the No. 3 seed from the west and will face the North’s No. 1 seed at the tournament in Billings next weekend. 

Arlee improved their season record to 20-5 on the year.

Saturday, February 24

ARLEE 65, EUREKA 57

Arlee - 17 - 14 - 13 - 21 - 65

Eureka - 14 - 16 - 13 - 14 - 57

ARLEE SCORING - Ben Harlow-Old Person 18, Jake Knoll 16, Ethan Fiddler 14, Tavin Lapahie 6, Jace Arca 4, Dallas Swab 3, Kendall O’Neill 2, Darius Tewawina 2

Saturday, February 24

ARLEE 69, FLORENCE-CARLTON 60

Arlee - 14 - 13 - 16 - 26 - 69

Flor-C - 18 - 15 - 16 - 11 - 60

ARLEE SCORING - Ben Harlow-Old Person 29, Jace Arca 10, Kaiden Ostby 8, Ethan Fiddler 6, Kendall O’Neill 4, Dallas Swab 4, Jake Knoll 3, Tavin Lapahie 3, Darius Tewawina 2

Friday, February 23

ARLEE 82, PLAINS 53

Plains - 13 - 4 - 14 - 22 - 53

Arlee - 22 - 15 - 27 - 18 - 82

ARLEE SCORING - Ben Harlow-Old Person 25, Dallas Swab 11, Darius Tewawina 8, Jake Knoll 7, Tavin Lapahie 6, Jace Arca 5, Trent Rutherford 5, Aiden Swab 5, Kaiden Ostby 4, Kenneth Manzanares 3, Ethan Fiddler 3

Thursday, February 22

EUREKA 68, ARLEE 67

Arlee - 18 - 20 - 13 - 16 - 67

Eureka - 14 - 21 - 14 - 19 - 68

ARLEE SCORING - Ben Harlow-Old Person 31, Kaiden Ostby 10, Dallas Swab 9, Jake Knoll 6, Kendall O’Neill 5, Jace Arca 4, Trent Rutherford 2

Mission’s season ends in Divisionals

Mission bowed out of the 2024 basketball season, falling in two games at the Western B Divisional Tournament Feb. 22-23 at Salish Kootenai College in Pablo.

Mission fell to top seed Missoula-Loyola 86-17 in Thursday’s tournament opening game. The Rams came into the game undefeated and left Salish Kootenai College as Western B Divisional Champions.

In Thursday’s game, Missoula-Loyola jumped out to a 36-6 lead in the first quarter and kept control throughout the game. Mission was led by Lex LaFrombois’ 12 points.

On Friday, Mission moved to the consolation bracket, where they faced off against Western 7B foe Thompson Falls. The Bulldogs fell 76-59 to end their season. Mission dropped behind 20-12 in the first quarter and trailed 37-20 at halftime.

The Bulldogs finished the season 4-20. After having two wins during the regular season, they picked up two wins in the district tournament to advance to the divisional contest.

Friday, February 23

THOMPSON FALLS 76, MISSION 59

T-Falls - 20 - 17 - 21 - 18 - 76

Mission - 12 - 8 - 14 - 25 - 59

Thursday, February 22

MISSOULA-LOYOLA 86, MISSION 17

Mission - 6 - 4 - 5 - 2 - 17

Mis-Loy - 36 - 31 - 14 - 5 - 86

MISSION SCORING - Lex LaFrombois 12, Vinny Shepard 4, Landon Walks Over Ice 1

    Arlee's Ben Old Person-Harlow goes up for two points against Florence in last week's Divisional tourney. (Bob Gunderson photo)
  

    Arlee Coach Jason Maki has coached a winning team this year. The Warriors earned a berth to the state tourney, next weekend in Billings. (Bob Gunderson photo)