Charlo boys and girls win at Superior

Charlo and basketball have become synonymous in these parts.

You can count on the Lady Vikings and the boys Vikings teams to be in contention when it comes to basketball in this area.

Such was the case Saturday night when Charlo rolled into Superior for a pair of games with playoff seeding implications.

And the results, a 45-37 Lady Vikings victory, and a 64-29 win by the Charlo boys did not surprise anyone.

The girls game held the most promise of a Superior break through against what has become a basketball nemesis to most schools in Sanders and Mineral counties.

After all, the Lady Bobcats had come close to ending the curse January 25 of this year when they traveled to Charlo’s hallowed basketball arena and came within five points, 47-42, of upending the Lady Vikings, who have yet to experience a Western 14C conference loss this season.

The Lady Bobcats came into that game unbeaten in 14C play and seemed poised for a break through by time this Satuday’s rematch got underway.

But in the end, it was the same old Charlo and the same old story.

Superior actually jumped out to an early 10-8 first quarter lead, thanks in large part to the hustling play of sophomore guard Lanie Crabb, who was four of five from the free throw line and had a two-pointer to power the home team to its early success.

But Charlo remained calm and the 10-8 first quarter lead faded into a 19-17 halftime advantage for the Lady Vikings. In the second stanza, Charlo got five points from Seeley McDonald to go with the ball-hawking floor leadership provided by junior guard Mila Hawk, who had just two points but created a defensive nightmare for the Lady Bobcats.

Charlo began to pull away from the Cats in the third quarter, despite a timely three-pointer from Superior post Cassie Green. But as usual Charlo had a counter-balance in senior Kassidi Cox who had six points to go with another four from Hawk as the Lady Vikings built a 31-22 lead after three grueling quarters of basketball action.

Then it happened in the final frame, a rally by Superior that reduced the lead to under 10 points on several occasions, only to be extinguished by Hawk’s frenetic defense and another four points.

That bend but don’t break defense was bent but held together enough for the Lady Vikings to escape with the win. Superior had begun to find the range from three-point land and a three-pointer by Green and another by Darby Haskins kept the home town fans on the edge of their seats until the final buzzer.

Cox scored a game-best 14 points for Charlo while Green led the Bobcats with 11.

The win upped the Lady Vikings to a gleaming 16-1 overall record for the 2021-22 season and gave them an unblemished 10-0 league record and clinched a first-round bye as well as the number one seed in the District playoff two weekends from now in Ronan.

Superior, meanwhile, fell to 6-2 in the conference, good for the second seed, and 7-5 overall.

Both teams receive a first-round by in the Ronan tournament.

The Lady Bobcats wrap up their regular season with a Thursday night home game versus Lincoln, before they hit the road for their season finale against Philipsburg.

Charlo has just one game left on their regular season schedule, a home game clash with Seeley-Swan this Friday night.

For the Charlo boys, the outcome was a bit more clear cut.

Charlo was in control of this one from the beginning, banging out a 20-6 lead in the first quarter and holding a 28-13 halftime edge over the Bobcats.

Sophomore guard Keaton Piedalue keyed the Vikings onslaught throughout the game and finished with a game-best 27 points as Charlo applied relentless pressure on both ends of the court throughout the game.

Piedalue set the tone for the game with 16 of those points during the first quarter, including four three-pointers from downtown Superior. He was also instrumental, along with 6-5 sophomore post Wesley Anderson in helping win the battle of the backboards for Charlo.

Charlo broke the boys game wide open in the third quarter when they outscored the host Bobcats 23-8, led by 10 points from Cole Nagy. That boosted their lead to 51-21 heading into the final quarter, when reserves from both teams took to the floor.

Nagy joined Piedalue in double-figures scoring with 12 points.

Junior forward Orion Plaake paced Superior with eight points.

The win boosted Charlo to 7-3 in Western 14C play, and 10-7 overall. The loss dropped Superior to 2-7 in the conference and 2-11 on the year.

As is the case with the girls, Superior’s boys host Lincoln Thursday, then close out their regular season with a game in Philipsburg Friday night.