Bigfork boys shoot Horsemen's lights out; JV Vals top Trotters, Bulldogs

By FAITH MOLDAN

Bigfork Eagle

Bigfork High School's freshman and junior varsity boys basketball teams both topped the Plains Horsemen in non-conference action Thursday in Bigfork.

The freshman team got the best of the Horsemen first, winning 45-32.

Bigfork led 13-11 after the first quarter and 26-17 at halftime.

Although the scoring remained close in the third quarter — Bigfork out-scored Plains 9-8 in the third — the Vikes maintained their lead and went into the fourth quarter ahead 35-25.

Evan Jordt and Christian Ker took care of the scoring for Bigfork in the fourth quarter. Both players sank 3-pointers and Jordt also assisted Ker on a 2-point field goal.

The JV team followed suit with a 59-44 win.

Bigfork led 10-0 before the Horsemen scored on a free throw with 4:14 on the clock.

Things continued to stay dark for Plains after that — for both teams actually — as the lights went out in the gym. After a brief 10-minute wait, the lights were turned back on and the Vikes continued to do some damage.

Bigfork led 16-6 after the first quarter and 28-18 at halftime.

Bigfork's junior varsity girls basketball team made things look easy against the Plains Trotters and Mission Lady Bulldogs last week.

The Vals defeated the Trotters 36-20 on Jan. 31 before topping the Lady Bulldogs 39-13 in Bigfork Feb. 2. Bigfork now stands at 12-3 on the season.

Bigfork started slowly in Plains, leading 12-8 at halftime but picked it up a bit in the third quarter, according to Bigfork coach Bill Epperly. The Vals out-scored the Trotters 24-12 in the second half.

Quinci Paine led the Vals in scoring with nine points. Mallery Knoll added six, while Emily Hardman scored five. Rounding out the Bigfork scoring were Nikki Hagler with four, Lila Cenis and Caitlin Charlesbois both had three and Nicolette Peterson, Signa McLeod and Logun Koch all had two.

The Vals led the Lady Bulldogs by 10 points after both the first and second quarters. Bigfork was ahead 14-4 at the end of the first and held a halftime lead of 20-10 after both teams scored six points in the second quarter. Bigfork broke open the scoring in the third quarter, as the Vals out-scored the Lady Bulldogs 10-3. Paine and Cenis both scored four points in the quarter. Paine finished the game with a team-high 13 points and five rebounds. Cenis recorded six rebounds and three assists in the game.

Ariana Shults also grabbed five rebounds in the game. Mallery Knoll led the Vals in steals with four and scored four points. Hardman ended the night with six points. The remaining Vals who scored — Koch, Quindee Averill, Charlesbois, Kristen Hagen, McLeod and Peterson — all scored two points.

Bigfork hosts the Whitefish Lady Bulldogs today, Feb. 7. The freshman game begins at 4:15 p.m. with the JV and Varsity games to follow.