Young Vikes maintain strong record
Paul Sievers/for the Eagle Christian Ker shoots over a Loggers player on Saturday night in Libby.
Bigfork’s junior varsity boys basketball team continues to have the best record in the school, 8-1 overall and 4-0 in conference. This week it was Flathead and Libby High Schools who fell to the Vikings, 70-59 and 72-62, respectively.
The Vikings had a small lead over the Loggers in the first half, 27-24. However, it was Bigfork’s third quarter performance that got them the win. They put up 27 points to Libby’s 11, and at one time had a 19-point advantage.
The lead allowed Bigfork JV coach Jason Hall to use his bench in the fourth quarter, during which Libby was able to outscore the Vikings 27-18.
Travis Knoll led Bigfork with 24 points, 11 of which he picked up in the decisive third quarter. Lael Richmond contributed 12 points, and was a perfect four-for-four from the free-throw line. Christian Ker added 11 points.
“We played down to their level in the first half,” Hall said. “Then we started pressing more and picking the intensity up.”
On Thursday, Bigfork came out strong in the first quarter racking up 20 points and holding Flathead to just nine. Although the Braves outscored Bigfork 20-16 in the second quarter, the Vikings still held a 36-29 lead over their Class AA opponent.
Bigfork put up another 34 points in the second half, while Flathead scored 30.
“They really hustled the whole game,” Hall said. “They got a lot of loose balls. Offensive rebounding was key for us.”
The Vikings had four players with double digit scoring. Knoll led the team with 19. Ker put up 13, seven of which he scored in the fourth quarter. Jordt scored 10 and made six-of-seven free-throws. Gembala contributed 10 points as well, including two 3-pointers.
“They played great man-to-man defense the whole game,” Hall said. “They played really smart. We only had three fouls in the first half.”