Arlee may have slipped past Troy in overtime 72-62 on Saturday in Troy, but the Trojans made their first conference win in Mission, who they beat 48-45 in overtime the night before.

Coach Tony Smith couldn't be happier with how they played.

"We're finally getting some balance in scoring, so that's what we really need night in and night out to be successful," he said. "It put us right in the thick of things in terms of the conference and where we need to be ranking-wise."

Against Mission, junior Clayton Kyriss hit a three pointer at the buzzer to take it into overtime, 43-43.

"They were short a couple of their players, but we were kind of sluggish. It's the first time this year that we've really been sluggish," he said, adding "it wasn't because the effort wasn't there, because it was."

Smith said by the fourth quarter the Trojans had picked up the tempo.

"We outscored them 5-2 in overtime," he said. "In that game, Clayton played really well, along with Zack McDougall - it was defense and aggression on offense that made the difference."

Smith noted that McDougall scored all 7 of his points in overtime.

Jesse Day made 9 and Aaron Palmer led with 11.

Smith was especially pleased with the Trojans' defense against Arlee the next night, who had scored 82 points the night before in overtime against Alberton, a team that had beaten Troy by 40.

"We hald them to 13 in the first half," said Smith. "I was very proud of our effort."

Smith said their pressure and quickness wore down the Trojans.

But not all the way.

With .7 seconds left, Palmer hit two free throws to tie the game, putting the game into overtime.

However, Arlee controlled the tempo after that, scoring 9-11 in overtime.

Nevertheless, Smith was optimistic.

"I was very pleased with our effort," he said. "I'm seeing good things happen, with more kids contributing - especially our under classmen. But we're still having trouble with quickness."

Palmer led in scoring with 25 points and 20 rebounds. Shado Garrett had 13 points, making 11 in the second half; Kyriss contributed 8.

Eureka will be in Troy on Thursday and Libby on Friday.

"They'll be very very tough," said Smith of Libby. "I love playing the Loggers because we learn so much from them - how to compete at a higher level. They're so well-coached with Wally Winslow."

Smith said it's a nice challenge for the kids, adding "it's a fun game because we're very, very good friends and yet we like to compete."

Smith added that beating the teams in his conference is the goal - "the Libby game just helps us to get better to do that."

"It helps you to grow as a basketball team," he said. "We'll play hard because that's what my kids do."