Indians Lose To Arlee

Sometimes the final score is a very little indication of how a game was played. Arlee defeated Poplar, 57-44, in loser-out play at the Class B state boys’ basketball tournament on Saturday, but the contest was extremely tight until the final minutes.

In fact, a steal and drive by Kaniel Ricker put the Indians ahead 44-43 with 4:02 remaining in the game played in Billings.

The Warriors, however, held Poplar scoreless the rest of the play and they accounted for the game’s final 14 points. A three-pointer by Ethan Fiddler, an inside basket by Kendall O’Neill off a pass from Jake Knoll and a three-point play by Knoll put Arlee ahead 51-44 with 1:17 left en route to the victory.

Delray Lilley led the Indians with 18 points while Ricker finished with 10 points. Also scoring were Geordy Medicine Cloud with six and Walker Bushia with four points.

Ben Harlow-Old Person accounted for 27 of Arlee’s points. O’Neill added 15 points.

Arlee gained a 15-8 lead in the first quarter, but Lilley opened the second period with back-to-back three-pointers. Poplar pulled even at 19-19 on a 15-footer by Ricker with 46 seconds left in the half. After O’Neill made a basket, Ricker connected from three-point range to put the Indians ahead 22-21. A drive by O’Neill ended the half with the Warriors up by a 23-22 margin.

Medicine Cloud opened the third quarter with a three-pointer to put Poplar in the lead. Down by a 30-29 margin, Ricker scored four straight points for Poplar. Harlow-Old Person led the Warriors to a 36-33 advantage at the end of the third quarter.

After Arlee increased its lead to 40-35, the Indians responded with seven straight points on a three-pointer by Ricker and two baskets by Lilley for a 42-40 lead with 5:37 remaining in the contest.