Vikings end season with close loss to Pirates

By FAITH MOLDAN

Bigfork Eagle

“They did not quit once this entire year,” Bigfork boys’ basketball coach Jim Epperly said of the Vikings.

Looking at the team’s 0-20 overall record, a person might not think that was true, but the Vikes fought until the very end of their season.

Bigfork began its divisional play against No. 2 seed Eureka last Thursday. Both teams struggled to score early in the game. The Lions led the Vikes by four points after the first quarter.

“We figured it would be a low-scoring battle,” Epperly said. “Both teams played good defense early and I think there were some nerves because it was the first divisional game.”

The Vikes kept even closer to the Lions in the second quarter, as both teams scored 14 in the quarter. Eureka remained ahead by four points at halftime — 24-20.

Eureka came out of halftime with a fire lit under it. That fire grew as the time passed in the third quarter. The Lions led by three points with just over five minutes left on the clock and finished the quarter with a 13-point lead thanks to a 12-0 run.

“That was that,” Epperly said. “We never made a charge back at them.”

With the Vikes providing no real answer to the Lions’ increased lead, Eureka rolled on to a 50-36 win. Eureka outrebounded the Vikings and its defense held them to just five two-point field goals while forcing 21 turnovers. Brock Boll scored the Vikes’ first field goal of the second half with just under three minutes remaining in the game. His three-pointer made the score 48-27.

“We needed a few more twos. We had trouble scoring against their defense the whole night,” Epperly said. “We did a nice job of getting to the line.”

Bigfork scored over half — 21 — of its points from the free-throw line.

Boll led the Vikes in scoring with nine. Roland Benedict and Levi Dockstader both added seven and Garrett Pewe scored six points.

Instead of coming out feeling defeated at the start of the next game, the Vikes took control of their game against the Polson Pirates early.

Bigfork led 7-0 two minutes into the game, before the Pirates started scoring and cut the Vikes’ lead to four at the end of the first quarter — 14-10. Everything seemed to click for the Vikes — outside shooting and scoring in the paint. Bigfork post Kainoa Lake scored six points down low for the Vikes, who increased their lead in the second quarter to as many as 12 points in the second quarter.

“We were really executing,” Epperly said. “They couldn’t play man or zone against us.”

Bigfork led 32-23 at halftime, with help again from their great free-throw shooting when the two-point field goals were not falling. The Vikes made just eight two-point field goals against the Pirates.

Justin Goode added four points in the game. He left the game shortly before halftime after getting kicked in the face while going after a loose ball.

“He played hard,” Epperly said of Goode. “He went after a lot of loose balls. We didn’t get a lot of them against Eureka.”

The Pirates came back quickly, cutting the Bigfork lead to three points with 2:40 remaining in the third quarter. Bigfork held on to its lead though, leading 43-38 at the end of the third quarter.

The Vikes’ lead became even smaller as the Pirates pulled within two points — 43-41 in the opening minute of the fourth quarter. Polson tied the game just over a minute later with a three-pointer and took the lead less than a minute after that.

“They shut us out with their half-court trap,” Epperly said. “We tried a bunch of things against it, but nothing worked. The game got away from us and we could not get our rhythm back.”

Another Polson three increased the Pirates’ lead to five points. Benedict, who scored 21 points for Bigfork, brought the Vikings within three points with two made free throw with 1:55 on the clock. Those were the only Viking free throws in the fourth quarter.

Bigfork gained possession of the ball on a jump ball call with 24.1 seconds remaining in the game but could not get a two- or three-point field goal to go through, as Polson won the close game 48-45.

Dockstader scored seven points again and Boll tallied three, while John White scored four points.

“Our kids battled really hard and left it out on the floor,” Epperly said.