Turnovers cost Vikings home game, lose on road

By FAITH MOLDAN, Bigfork Eagle

Three games remain in the regular season for the Bigfork Vikings basketball team.

Three games left to notch a win before the Northwest A Conference Divisionals.

“Any win would be good,” Bigfork coach Jim Epperly said. “It would be good for their confidence.”

Bigfork, currently 0-10 in the Northwest A conference and 0-15 overall, lost two close games to the Polson Pirates and the Thompson Falls Bluehawks. The Pirates topped the Vikes 44-39 and the Bluehawks won 70-59.

Down 14-0 in the first quarter against Polson Friday, Feb. 2, Epperly lit a fire under the Vikings, who came back to score 14 unanswered points against the Pirates.

“I tried to light them up a little bit,” Epperly said. “I yelled at them. I had to wake them up, and they responded.”

The Vikes trailed the Pirates 14-2 at the end of the first quarter, but outscored the Pirates 12-3 in the second quarter.

“There’s a few plays, a few minutes where we don’t do anything,” Bigfork junior Levi Dockstader said of the Vikes’ struggles. “He made us look at the clock,” Dockstader, who scored seven points in the game, said about Epperly. “He said, ‘This is pathetic.’ He got us going.”

Once the Vikes were going, they stayed close to the Pirates. The Vikes, who trailed the Pirates 14-17 at halftime, were outscored by just one point in both the third and fourth quarters.

“It was a really good game,” Epperly said. Bigfork had chances to tie the game with time running out in the fourth quarter, but the Vikes’ shots fell short while the Pirates made their free throws to secure the 44-39 win.

Brock Boll led the Vikes in scoring with 11, and Roland Benedict added nine. Justin Goode scored five points and senior Kainoa Lake tallied four points against the Pirates.

Epperly said he was happy with Dockstader’s recent play, as well as sophomore Garrett Pewe and Keenan Evans.

“Levi’s really stepping up,” he said. Epperly added that Pewe and Evans’ varsity playing time will be moved up another quarter. Pewe scored one point in Polson and Evans scored two.

“They’re stepping up and helping our varsity,” Dockstader said of Pewe and Evans, adding that they work hard in practice. As for his own improved play, “It just happened.”

The fire that Epperly lit under the Vikes in Polson shone brightly for most of the Thompson Falls game the following night, but then faded, flickered and was eventually extinguished.

Bigfork started the first quarter with a slightly different starting lineup and by keeping pace with non-conference opponents Bluehawks. Dockstader and Boll started in place of White and Andrew Whittaker.

“We’re trying different things,” Epperly said about the lineup change. “Trying to find some different chemistry . . . a different attitude.”

After exchanging the lead and numerous ties in the early-going, the Vikes pulled ahead with a nine-point scoring run. Benedict sparked the run with a long three-point basket. Goode scored four of his 10 first-quarter points after Benedict’s three and Dockstader capped off the run with a steal and basket to make the score 17-9 with less than a minute remaining in the quarter. The Vikes led 17-15 at the end of the first quarter.

Three-point field goals abounded in the first 30 seconds of the second quarter. John White sank one for the Vikes and Brian Schenavar made one for the Bluehawks. Thompson Falls’ Evan Hopkins, who finished the game with 28 points, tied the game at 20 apiece following Schenavar’s three. Hopkins ended the first quarter with a three-point field goal.

“He just went off,” Dockstader said about Hopkins.

A Bigfork turnover gave the ball back to the Hawks, who then took the lead on a three-point play.

“We had too many turnovers, and they (Hawks) weren’t even pressing,” Epperly said. “We couldn’t get any stops. We couldn’t stop Hopkins.”

With help from Hopkins, the Bluehawks went ahead by as many as 10 points before the Vikings cut Thompson Falls’ lead to six at halftime. White, who finished the game with eight points, was assisted on a basket by Benedict and grabbed a defensive rebound that led to a three-pointer from Pewe on the other end to make the score 32-38. Pewe scored seven points — five in the second quarter — and Dockstader added eight.

“They did a nice job for us,” Epperly said about White, Pewe and Dockstader. “It was one of Pewe’s better games.”

Thompson Falls led by as many as 11 points in the third quarter. A basket from Goode, who led the Vikes in scoring with 18, cut the Hawks’ lead to six — 37-43 — with 5:21 remaining in the quarter. He also pulled down eight rebounds in the game. The Vikes got no closer though, as they trailed the Hawks 44-55 at the end of the quarter. Thompson Falls also outrebounded the Vikings 37-27.

Bigfork was within 10 points of the Hawks in the fourth quarter. Evans made two free throws to make the score 49-59 with 5:04 on the clock. Thompson Falls didn’t falter though, and went ahead by as many as 15 points before Goode and Pewe brought the Vikes back within nine points with less than a minute to play.

The Vikes play their last home game tonight, Feb. 8 against the Ronan Cheifs. The Cheifs, 5-5 in the conference, defeated the Vikes 62-56 in overtime last time.

“It doesn’t mean much for the next game,” Epperly said of the overtime loss. “Except that we can play with them. Ronan’s really hot.” The Cheifs have won their last three games including a big 66-32 win over Libby. Bigfork’s game against Ronan also marks the Vikes’ senior night.

“We’ve got to win it for our seniors,” Dockstader said.

Whitefish, also 5-5 in the conference, host the Vikes Saturday, Feb. 10, starting with the freshman game at 3 p.m. The Bulldogs beat the Vikings 48-37 in the teams’ last meeting.

Bigfork - 39

Polson - 44

BIGFORK - Justin Goode 5, Garrett Pewe 1, Roland Benedict 9, Brock Boll 11, Levi Dockstader 7, Keenan Evans 2, Kainoa Lake 4.

POLSON - Craig Bagnell 12, John Rausch 7, Chris Ogle 14, Tyler Gordon 6, Zach Langston 5.

Bigfork 59, Thompson Falls 70