December 24, 2009
Vikings steal victory from Bulldogs
By Aaric Bryan
Valley Journal
NOXON — Two days after feeling the elation of winning a hotly contested game, the Charlo Vikings felt the sting that comes with losing one at the wire.
After escaping Mission with a 38-37 victory over their rival Bulldogs Thursday, the Vikings failed to capitalize on any momentum from their first victory of the season, losing to conference foe the Noxon Red Devils 53-51 on a last second 3-pointer Saturday.
It was the holiday season at St. Ignatius Thursday and the Bulldogs gift-wrapped the one-point victory for the Vikings with two missed bunnies in the final minute and a foul nearly 90-feet away from the basket with 1.9 seconds left and the game knotted at 37.
The foul by Bulldog freshman Dylan Evans sent Chance Rosenbaum to the free-throw line for two shots. The senior calmly hit the first of two shots to give the Vikings their first win of the young season.
“I knew he would make one of them. I was just relieved he made the first one,” Charlo coach Mike Brown said. “I had confidence that when they fouled him he would win the game for us.”
Rosenbaum, who finished with eight points and 11 rebounds,
said that while he was walking to the line, the Bulldog players were telling them that the game was on his shoulders and that he was going to miss. “I had to prove them wrong.”
Rosenbaum’s free throw ended a tense final minute for the Vikings. After Viking guard Dillon Delaney’s foul shot tied the game at 37 with 53 seconds to play, the Bulldogs had two chances to take the lead, but missed a pair of layups, the second of two coming in the final 10 seconds with Riley Whitworth-Charlo misfiring from underneath the basket.
After losing a pair of games and senior guard Chance Firestone in the opening weekend, the Vikings needed the win against Mission.
“That game was big just because it was Mission ... it was a big win for us. We knew we were walking into to hostile territory and we didn’t know how good Mission was,” Brown said.
The Bulldogs showed how good they were by jumping out to a 20-8 lead with less than three minutes to play in the first half. The Vikings capitalized on a couple of Bulldog turnovers and closed the half on an
8-0 run to only go in the break down 20-16. Rosenbaum had a pair of baskets during the run and junior guard Chico Stipe also drove in for a layup after coming up with one of the Vikings’ seven steals in the game. Stipe finished with a team-high of 12 points.
Only down by four at the break, Brown told his team if they play their game in the second after; they would walk away with the victory.
“I think they stepped up to the challenge ... everybody took it upon themselves to go out there and make something happen,” Brown said.
The Vikings held the Bulldogs to only five points in the third quarter and took their first lead when Chance Frame hit a pair of free throws to give the Vikings a 24-23 lead with 3:27 left to play in the quarter. The 6-foot-4 senior, who was inserted in the Vikings’ starting lineup after Firestone went down, finished with 10 points, eight of which came in the second half. Frame also hit a pair of free throws in the final 20 seconds of the quarter to give the Vikings a 29-25 lead heading into the final frame.
Any buzz the Vikings felt from winning a game, where they were out-rebounded and out-shot from the field was killed in Noxon Saturday. In a lackluster performance, the Vikings still had a chance to pick up a win in their first conference game of the season, but squandered a five-point lead in the final two minutes.
“I’m still devastated with the Noxon loss. I don’t know what it is about the Noxon trip, but we looked like a shell of the team we are,” Brown said a day after the loss. “It was pretty rough. Pretty tough to take.”
With the Vikings up by five and less than two minutes to play, the Red Devils started sending the Vikings to the line, where they would only hit one of their two shots. With less than a minute to play, Stipe hit his first foul shot, before missing his second to give the Vikings a 51-50 lead. The slim one-point lead, evaporated when Red Devil bench player Jordan Eichert hit his fourth 3-pointer of the game. Eichert finished with a game-high 18 points.
“We knew what they were going to do. We knew where the ball was going and we still didn’t stop it,” Brown said. “We had been leaving him open all night,” he added.
The Vikings went 10-for-22 at the line and missed four free throws down the stretch. “It seem like forty,” Brown said of the missed chances in the clutch.
Stipe led the team with 15 points. Coming off a one-point performance against Mission, Delaney went 3-for-3 behind the 3-point arc and finished with 13 points.
“It’s important for Dillon to find the way to get going. Otherwise team’s will keep doing what they’ve been doing and just pack the middle,” Brown said.
The Vikings (1-3) have no time to lick their wounds, having to play Hot Springs at home Dec. 22 before the Christmas break.
“We’re going to play with a lot more heart and passion. It will be a dogfight I can promise you that,” Brown said.
Summary
Charlo 38, Mission 37
Charlo 6 10 13 9 – 38
Mission 12 8 5 12 – 37
CHARLO - Dillon Delaney 1, Chico Stipe 12, Chance Rosenbaum 8, Houston Blevins 7, Chance Frame 10.
MISSION - Riley Whitworth-Charlo 3, Jorren Gies 14, Austin McDonald 2, Gui Silva 2, Jake Durglo 12, Josh Durglo 5.
Noxon 53, Charlo 51
Charlo 15 11 11 14 – 51
Noxon 10 16 11 16 – 53
CHARLO - Dillon Delaney 13, Tra Ludeman 2, Chico Stipe 15, Chance Rosenbaum 8, Houston Blevins 7, Chance Frame 6.
NOXON - Chris Herbig 9, Banks Stocking 10, Bryant Eaton 4, Jordan Eichert 18, Eric Stevenson 4, Riley Detwiler 4, Tyrel Wilkinson 4. |
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