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Charlo boys, girls sweep two contenders

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 CHARLO – The Charlo boys and girls basketball teams opened a two-game 14C District home game last week by sweeping St. Regis on Thursday and Plains on Friday evening.

The Lady Vikings defeated the St. Regis Lady Tigers 49-31 and overpowered the Plains Trotters 30-19. The Vikings tamed the St. Regis Tigers 57-45 and out hustled the Plains Horsemen 76-66.

On Thursday, after a close first quarter, the Lady Vikings used a 19-8 second-quarter run to take a 25-13 half time lead into the locker room against the Lady Tigers. In the thirdquarter, Charlo jumped out to a 42-24 lead and finished the game with a 49-31 victory. Lady Viking Kaitlin Cox scored a team-high 15 points, and Liev Smith added nine points to the score.

In Friday’s match-up, the Lady Viking used their suffocating defensive pressure to create early turnovers against Plains, staking out a 21-7 first-half lead.

“I really like our intensity on defense,” said Lady Viking head coach Bret Thompson.

Holding the Trotters to just two points in the third quarter, the Lady Vikings cut back on the pressure late in the game and cruised to a 30-19 win.

The back-to-back home wins move the Lady Vikings to 10-1 on the year and 5-1 in district play.

With only a handful of games left to play in the regular season, the Lady Vikings look primed to play deep into the postseason. Thompson noted that “staying healthy the rest of the year” and “being consistent on offense” will be the keys for success in the upcoming postseason.

During the boys’ game on Thursday, the Vikings outscored the St. Regis Tigers 18-8 in the second quarter and led 28-19 at the break. With the game in hand, the Vikings were able to play their starters sparingly and get time in from their bench players while preserving the 57-45 win despite a 13-7 Tiger scoring run in the fourth quarter. Connor Koenig scored 16 points, and Nate Delaney chipped in 10 points. Landers Smith scored a game-high 17 points for Charlo.

“Landers posted his fourth double-double this season against St. Regis,” said Viking head coach Reese Cox. “He is an all-heart, all-effort player. He plays a position where he may be outsized physically but never outsized competitively or in heart.”

On Friday, the Vikings, who defeated Plains 32-28 earlier in the season, started the game with sluggish play and struggled to find a shooting rhythm as the Horsemen took a first-quarter 16-12 lead, but their offensive sluggishness quickly disappeared in the second quarter when Charlo broke the game open on a 26-6 scoring run. The Vikings closed out the first half with a 16-point lead.

All through the second half, the Horsemen nibbled at the lead but could never recapture it giving the Vikings their third win in a row in the 76-66 home victory.

Koenig scored a team-high with 22 points. Smith had 20 points. Delaney added 10 points. The Vikings move to 10-1 on the season.

“I feel we are off to an exceptional year, and one of Charlo’s best seasons in a long time,” said Cox.

The Vikings and Lady Vikings will look to add another win to their three-game streak when they travel to Pablo to take on the Two Eagle River Eagles and Lady Eagles on Friday evening.

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