Vikings swept by Warriors
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ARLEE — The Charlo Vikings will have one more week to try to figure out the Arlee Warriors.
After having a four-game win streak stopped by Thompson Falls in a 61-48 loss to the Bluehawks in Charlo Thursday, the Vikings tried to use their size-advantage and slow the game down against the Warriors in Arlee Friday, but watched their plans crumble in a 49-34 loss to the District 14-C regular season winners.
It was the Vikings’ fifth-straight loss to the Warriors in the past two seasons and if the Vikings want to win the District 14-C Tournament in Ronan Feb. 18-20, more than likely they will have to find a way to beat the Warriors.
Friday, the Warriors did a good job of denying the 6-foot-4 post players Houston Blevins and Chance Frame the ball down low and the size advantage the Vikings thought they had was nonexistent, with Frame finishing with two points and Blevins only adding four, all six points came in the second half.
“It was pretty devastating. They need to start playing more aggressive. Sometimes our bigs don’t go after it big enough,” Charlo coach Mike Brown said.
At 6-foot-1, Chance Rosenbaum did most of the scoring for the Vikings down low, with most of his points coming after offensive rebounds. The senior finished with a team-high 11 points and hauled in 10 boards, six of which came on offense.
Brown said that being sent to the foul line is a sign that somebody is playing aggressive and Friday Rosenbaum was the only Viking who shot a foul shot. He was sent to the line 15 times but only made five free throws.
Despite the lack of offense from the frontcourt in the first half, the slow play and hot shooting from the outside kept the Vikings in the game and they only trailed 21-16 at the break.
Chico Stipe, who scored all eight of his points in the first quarter, hit 3-pointers on back-to-back trips down the court to give the Vikings an 8-4 lead at 3:46 in the first period.
Chance Firestone drained a 3-pointer with about five minutes to play in the second quarter to cut the Warriors’ lead to 16-13. Firestone, who finished with nine points and eight assists, followed his trey with a layup to make it 16-15 but that was as close as the Vikings would get the rest of the way.
In an attempt to speed up the game, the Warriors put on a full-court press in the third quarter and the Vikings responded by turning the ball over 10 times and being outscored 12-7 in the decisive quarter. The Vikings finished the game with 24 turnovers.
“We played right into their hands,” Brown said of the third quarter.
Against the Bluehawks Thursday, Brown said that after Thompson Falls hit a couple of big 3-pointers in the fourth quarter, he decided to go to a small lineup and play man-to-man defense, which was a big mistake.
Kept silent for most of the game, once the Vikings switched defenses, Bluehawk guard Brandon Wakefield came alive, scoring 22 of his game-high 29 points in the fourth quarter. Wakefield went 11-for-13 at the free-throw line in the fourth quarter, where the Bluehawks outscored the Vikings 26-17.
Dillon Delaney came off the bench to lead the Vikings with 10 points. Firestone and Stipe added eight and Blevins pitched in with six.
Summary
Thompson Falls 61, Arlee 48
T. Falls 11 15 9 26–61
Charlo 12 8 11 17–48
THOMPSON FALLS - Mike Wood 8, Will Dalby 6, Chris Pavlik 5, Chalis Wilson 8, Josh Hojem 5, Brandon Wakefield 29.
CHARLO - Chance Firestone 8, Chance Rosenbaum 5, Houston Blevins 6, Chance Frame 7, Chico Stipe 8, Dillon Delaney 10, Garrett Herron 3, Kaileb Gillingham 1.
Arlee 49, Charlo 34
Charlo 10 6 7 11–34
Arlee 16 5 12 16–49
CHARLO - Chico Stipe 8, Chance Rosenbaum 11, Houston Blevins 4, Chance Frame 2, Chance Firestone 9.
ARLEE - Kasey Bridgewater 4, Kyle Felsman 11, Thomas McClure 2, Jesse Pfau 14, Trae Burland 3, John Sansavere 7, Kody Morigeau 8.
