Arlee remains undefeated

Arlee remained undefeated on the season, downing Lake County rival Mission 66-30 on Saturday, Jan. 6. It was the second such rivalry game it had won in 2024 as the Warriors continue to have a zero in the loss column.

The team also picked up a win against Charlo Jan. 5, with the Warriors’ Ben Harlow-Old Person notching 19 points. He scored 20 the next night against Mission.

“One of the things I love about sports is rivalries. Yankees – Red Sox, Duke – North Carolina, Griz – Cats, etc.,” Arlee Head Coach Jason Maki said. “I think they are a lot of fun. So winning two rivalry games is a big deal. There’s a lot of friends, family on both sides so people have known each other for a long, long time. Competing against friends and family and rivals is always a big part of a fun atmosphere and a fun season.”

Saturday’s win improved the Warriors to 7-0 on the season, while Mission fell to 0-8.

Arlee led 21-4 after one quarter, then 38-11, and went on a 20-8 run in the third quarter. Kendall O’Neill and Jake Knoll each added 12 points, while Ethan Diffler had six points.

In Friday’s Charlo game, Arlee led 23-8 after one quarter, then extended their lead to 38-16 by halftime. Charlo’s offense did pick up in the second half, but the Warriors' offense also continued to hum.

In addition to Harlow-Old Person, Knoll also dropped in 16 for Arlee, while Tavin Lapahie scored nine points and Kendall O’Neill scored eight.

“Our depth has been awesome, we’ve been playing plenty of guys and lots of different guys have stepped up,” Maki said. “With the pace that we are trying to play with, it is giving a lot of opportunities to different guys. Benny is obviously leading the way – he’s averaging 20 points a game and hasn’t played in a fourth quarter hardly all year. Jake and Kendall are probably next on the scoring. They’ve done a great job slashing, shooting and rebounding.”

After that, anyone can really step up for the Warriors.

“Every night is someone else, it could be Kaiden, could be Darius, could be Ethan,” Maki said. “The kids were very excited and they’re starting to round back into shape after a couple of weeks off,” he added. “It has been kind of a discombobulated couple of weeks, and it’s nice to get back to some sense of normalcy.”

At Mission

ARLEE 66, MISSION 30

Arlee - 21 - 17 - 20 - 8 - 66

Mission - 4 - 7 - 8 - 11 - 30

ARLEE SCORING - Ben Harlow-Old Person 20, Kendall O’Neill 12, Jake Knoll 12, Ethan Fiddler 6, Kenneth Manzanares 5, Kaiden Ostby 4, Trench Rutherford 3, Darius Tewawina 2, Tavin Lapahie 2

At Charlo

ARLEE 72, CHARLO 37

Arlee - 23 - 15 - 21 - 13 - 72

Charlo - 8 - 8 - 11 - 10 - 37

ARLEE SCORING - Ben Harlow-Old Person 19, Jake Knoll 16, Tavin Lapahie 9, Kendall O’Neill 8, Kaiden Ostby 6, Gavyn Swaney 4, Ethan Fiddler 3, Jace Arca 3, Darius Tewawina 2, Kenneth Manzanares 2

Thompson Falls downs Mission

Thompson Falls had a big third quarter to ice the game against Mission in Western 7B basketball action on Friday, Jan. 5. Lex LaFrombois led the Bulldogs with 21 points.

Leading 39-20 after the first half, Thompson Falls went on a 20-8 run in the third quarter to pull away.

At Thompson Falls

THOMPSON FALLS 67, MISSION 39

Mission - 9 - 11 - 8 - 11 - 39

T-Falls - 18 - 21 - 20 - 8 - 67

MISSION SCORING - Lex LaFrombois 21, Rhain Gonzalez 4, Vinny Shepard 4, Rhain Gonzalez 4, Jak Starkel 2, Harlon Leishman 2, Jason Leishman 2

    Bulldog Lex Lafrombois hangs mid-air amid a pack of Warriors. (Christa Umphrey photo)
  

    Warrior Jake Knoll tries to defend the net from Bulldog Codiak Killorn in last week's Arlee/Mission contest. (Christa Umphrey photo)