Buoyed by the return to action of one of it’s key “smotherees”, the already smothering St. Regis boys basketball defense smothered visiting Charlo 71-56 Friday night in St. Regis.

With junior Caleb Ball leading the way after being sidelined by an ankle sprain the past several games, the Tigers unleashed their trademark defense all over the frustrated Vikings as they rolled to the Western 14C conference win.

From the outset of play in the first quarter, Ball and company were in the face of the Charlo offense, picking off passes and forcing turnovers in what has become a version of “32 minutes of heck” for their opponents.

And as the defense picked apart the Viking scoring attempts, the offense, fueled by senior forward Tanner Day and sophomore sharp-shooter John Pruitt, helped thwart the Charlo defense inside and out.

Day opened the game’s scoring with a quick two-pointer off a missed shot in what would become a seesaw first quarter.

Charlo had taken a razor thin 8-7 lead midway through the initial stanza, only to see the advantage evaportate when Pruitt scored underneath, then made good on the foul shot he was awarded for his effort.

On Charlo’s next possession, Ball stole the ball and drove the length of the court to put the home team up 12-8. His brother, senior forward Adam Ball, then scored to boost the lead to six points, followed by a Day basket underneath to increase the St. Regis lead to 16-8 with 3:40 to play.

Charlo staged two mini-rallies in the closing minutes of the first quarter to pull within three, 21-18 as the horn sounded to end the opening eight minutes of what was fast-paced basketball that delighted the large crowd of locals and fans from Charlo who braved snow and slick roads to watch their Vikings.

The second quarter opened with a free throw by Caleb Ball, followed by two quick Viking baskets that tied the score at 22. Day then scored again, followed by a three-pointer from Caleb Ball, who then stole the Ball from Charlo and drove the length of the court for a lay-in that put the Tigers up 29-22.

After Charlo closed the gap to 29-26, Day scored three straight shots from various parts of the floor as St. Regis began to pull away from the visitors with just over two minutes remaining before halftime.

Day added another two-pointer as time was running out in quarter number two to give the home team a 38-30 lead at the break.

Caleb Ball opened third quarter scoring with a pair of steals and lay-ins that boosted the Tigers’ lead to 42-30 in less than one minute of play. His outburst was followed soon thereafter by a series of Day buckets that upped the St. Regis lead to 47-31 midway through the third quarter.

Along the way, Pruitt buried a three from downtown St. Regis, added a couple free throws to stymie a brief Charlo rally and propel the Tigers a 58-44 advantage heading into the final eight minutes of play.

Ball hit a pair of free throws to open fourth quarter scoring, followed by a high-arching three-pointer from freshman Hunter Stollar, a fan favorite for his long distance bombs.

Pruitt and the Ball brothers scored several key baskets throughout the fourth quarter to quell any chance Charlo had of pulling off an impossible comeback and the Tigers cruised to the win.

Caleb Ball led all scorers with 23 points, while Pruitt chipped in 18 (including 7 of 10 from the free throw line) and Day added 17 for the Tigers, who are now 4-2 on the year and 1-0 in 14C conference play.

The Tigers are now off on the two-week Christmas break. They return to action Thursday, January 6 for a crucial game vs Mineral County rival Superior, on the Bobcats home court.

They then return home for a January 7 encounter with once-beaten Hot Springs in St. Regis in what will be an early season battle for conference leadership.