Vikes outscore Lions, keep it close with Loggers

The Bigfork Vikings swept past Eureka in a decisive 81-40 conference victory Friday but found a challenge when they faced Class A Libby on Thursday and lost 63-50 in double overtime.

“It hasn’t been a smooth journey thus far, but I feel we’re still headed in the right direction,” said Paul La Mott, Bigfork’s head coach.

BIGFORK 81, EUREKA 40

Bigfork (9-4) grabbed an early lead against Eureka (Lincoln County) 13-5 in the first quarter. The Vikings racked up 30 points in the second quarter while letting the Lions put up 11 points to bring the score at the half to 43-16.

“We played the way we’ve been trying to all year but haven’t always been able to accomplish,” La Mott said. “We executed on our offense the way we wanted.”

As a result of Vikings’ lead by more than double Eureka’s score in the first half, La Mott was able to pull from the bench and give more players time on the court.

“We were working through rotations and got everyone some playing time,” he said. “They were able to extend the lead.”

In the second half, the Bigfork boys continued to outscore Eureka 19-13 in the third quarter and then 19-11 in the fourth for the win.

“Everyone got to play which is great, and when players were on the bench they stayed engaged,” La Mott said. “Dillon Fraley was particularly enthusiastic, which we, the coaching staff, really like to see.”

Senior Christian Ker brought in a game-high 23 points for the Vikings, including four 3-pointers, as well as grabbing 12 rebounds. Also getting into the double digits were seniors Carter Sorensen with 14 points, Evan Jordt contributing 11 points and Travis Knoll bringing in 10.

Senior Kyle Hauns led the Vikings in rebounding with 13. Junior Ian Lorang and Jordt each had three assists.

“Christian killed it. Carter killed it. Kyle killed it. Evan had his best game of the season. Ian was solid. Most everyone had a really great game,” La Mott said.

He said what he witnessed from the Vikings on Friday was what he’d like to see carried on through the remainder of the year.

“We were just clicking,” La Mott said. “We’d love to be able to take the mindset that we had tonight, our concentration on our core principles and practice and play like that until the end of the season.”

Missing from both games this week was junior Connor Coleman, who sprained his ankle the day before the Libby game. La Mott said he is expected to be out for at least two weeks.

LIBBY 63, BIGFORK 50

Bigfork did not have the same success against the Libby Loggers the night before on the Vikings’ Senior Night. Libby took in 17 points in the first quarter to Bigfork’s 10. At the half, the Loggers still had the lead 27-19.

The Vikings came back and outscored their opponents 14-9 in the third quarter. A three-pointer from Lorang in the last 13 seconds tied the score at 45 and sent the game into overtime.

The Bigfork boys again took it to the final seconds of overtime and scored with a layup from Sorensen and an assist from sophomore Colter Trent, forcing a second overtime, with the score standing at 49.

However, the Loggers held Bigfork to only one point in the second overtime while taking in 14 points to seal the victory.

“We just couldn’t convert our opportunities in the second overtime,” La Mott said. “A lot of our turnovers happened right after we had just forced a lot of turnovers. You rarely can win a game that way.”

The Vikings struggled throughout the game with turnovers and had a 43-percent success rate at the free-throw line.

“We didn’t play poorly but we didn’t execute well, which led to 30 turnovers. That’s a very big obstacle in basketball to overcome,” La Mott said. “With that being said, we were able to take them to double overtime because of our commitment to defense.”

Sorensen led the team with 17 points, including three 3-pointers. He also grabbed eight rebounds and had four steals. Trent took in nine points for the Vikings, all in 3-pointers, and took in six rebounds.

UP NEXT

The Vikings’ victory over Eureka marked the boys’ last home game of the season. The boys took on Mission on Tuesday after press time. Those results will be in next week’s Eagle. The Vikings will head to Thompson Falls on Saturday for an away doubleheader with the girls team.