BUTTE — With solid defense and a potent offense, the Arlee boys’ basketball team paved its way to the Class C state tournament this weekend.

The last time the Warriors made it to state was 1995, when Arlee was a Class B school.

Despite losing its first game, Arlee battled back to play in the challenge game against Shields Valley on Monday night after beating defending champion Twin Bridges in the consolation final.

The Warriors opened the game with a nine-point unanswered run, proving fatigue wasn’t going to be a factor in Arlee’s fifth game in five days.

Head coach Clyde Tucker said his team started the game well, shooting 7-for-13 from the field in the first quarter.

“We shot the ball well,” he said. “That was a key for us.”

Arlee’s defense held up its end of the game, allowing only four points from Shields Valley in the second quarter.

“Our defense shut them down,” Tucker said. “We were able to get the lead and relax and have fun.”

With an 11-point lead at the half, Arlee’s defense kept the ball out of Shield Valley’s tall guards, taking away its height-game.

The Warriors put 30 points on the board in the second half, for the 55-40 win. A trio of players hit double-digit points; junior Jesse Pfau led with 16, junior Kasey Bridgewater had 12 and senior Kyle Felsman added 10.

Tucker said his team was excited to make it to state and will face Culbertson, which has been ranked ahead of Arlee all year, in the first round at 8 p.m. tonight in Billings.

Against No. 10 Twin Bridges in the opening round, the fifth-ranked Warriors were upset 45-36.

Twin Bridges led by four at the half and Arlee couldn’t seem to gain the lead in the second half.

“We were right with them,” Tucker said.

Sansavere led with 11 points for the Warriors including three 3-point shots.

Tucker said Arlee didn’t handle the Falcon’s pressure well.

“They were real quick kids,” he said.

The Warriors rebounded to shut down Seeley-Swan in their next game, with three players reaching double-digit points. Bridgewater led with 12 points, including five 3-point shots.

“He’s learned to take a little more time to shoot,” Tucker said.

Felsman and Morigeau each added 12 with Morigeau going 4-for-4 at the line.

“We shot the ball better,” Tucker said. “We got a lead and ran with it.”

Arlee jumped out to a 11-5 lead after the first quarter, ending with a three-point lead at the half.

Arlee’s defense shut down Seeley-Swan, allowing 10 total points in the second half.

In the Warrior’s second loser-out game in as many days, Arlee had another game with three players scoring double digits.

In the 58-39 win over Sheridan, Felsman led with 14 points and seven rebounds while Pfau added 12 and Bridgewater had 11.

The balanced scoring was one of Arlee’s advantages and took the pressure off one single player while forcing opponents to cover all five Warriors on the floor.

Even with the potent offense, Tucker credited the defense for the win.

“We denied them driving to the net,” he said. “We have to credit out defense more than our offense.”

Sansavere, Pfau and Bridgewater worked on the perimeter while Kody and Kyle worked inside.

“All five worked defensively to shut them down,” Tucker said. 

The win boasted Arlee into the consolation championship in a repeat of the opening round.

The Warriors went into their fourth game in two days against Twin Bridges with a new game plan. In the first meeting, Twin Bridges shot the ball better while Arlee missed shots and couldn’t gain the lead, Tucker said.

Things were changed the second time around.

“We got the lead and controlled the game,” Tucker said.

With a 17-12 lead at the half, the Warriors were able to be more patient with the ball and take more shots instead of forcing bad ones.

Twin Bridges posted a 30-point second half, but Arlee weathered the storm for a 46-42 win. Bridgewater led with 19 points, including six three-point shots, all in the second half. Felsman added 10 for Arlee.

“Our kids were just determined to not lose the game,” Tucker said.