Comeback kids do it again
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The Warriors used a series of comeback wins to work their way through the Divisional Tournament two weeks ago and Arlee needed another to pick up a victory in the opening round at Bozeman Thursday.
Arlee trailed Absarokee 23-20 at the half but used a strong second-half surge to pull out a 54-49 victory to advance to the state semi-finals.
The Warriors struggled to find the basket in the game’s opening minutes, falling behind 15-7 after a Dillon McClure 3-pointer with 6:21 to play in the second quarter. Arlee trailed by 10 with just over three minutes to go in the opening half but closed the second quarter with a 7-0 run to trail by only three at the break, 23-20.
The Huskies opened the second half with a quick bucket but the Warriors answered with a quick 6-0 run to grab their first lead of the contest, 26-25 with 5:08 to play in the frame.
Arlee led 38-32 late in the third and tried to stall for the last shot but a steal and a layup by the Huskies at the buzzer left the Warriors up 38-34 heading into the final eight minutes.
Absarokee started the fourth quarter with back-to-back threes to tie the game at 40 before later taking a 45-42 advantage on a three by McClure.
Trae Burland answered with a left-corner three to tie the game at 45 moments later.
Arlee led by three with 28.6 seconds to play when Jesse Pfau put in both foul shots of a one-and-one opportunity to give the Warriors a 54-49 lead. The Huskies had no answer as the Warriors held on for the win.
Five players accounted for all of Arlee’s points in the win as four Warriors reached double digits. Thomas McClure and Junior Sansavere led Arlee with 12 points each while Burland finished with 11, Pfau had 10 and Kasey Bridgewater chipped in with nine.
Dakota Smith led the Huskies with a game-high 15 points.
Summary
Opening Round
Arlee 54, Absarokee 49
Absarokee12111115-49
Arlee7131816-54
ABSAROKEE - Alex Doerschel 2, Josh Royce 5, Michael Holtz 5, Levi Holtz 9, Dakota Smith 15, Dillon McClure 11, Tobias Cortner 2.
ARLEE - Kasey Bridgewater 9, Thomas McClure 12, Jesse Pfau 10, Junior Sansavere 12, Trae Burland 11.
