Vikes split road games

By FAITH MOLDAN - Bigfork Eagle

The Vikings' second half efforts were only enough to hold off one non-conference opponent last week.

Bigfork fell to AA Glacier High School 62-55 after making a comeback in the third quarter Jan. 3 before beating the class B Plains Horsemen 71-54 the following night.

The Vikes trailed Glacier after the first half 35-23, but Bigfork came back from five points down late in the third quarter to pull ahead 42-40 headed into the fourth. Roland Benedict led the Vikes with 19 points. He scored eight of those in the third quarter as the Vikes made a 17-0 scoring run. Benedict also recorded nine rebounds for Bigfork.

Bigfork also hit the boards in the third quarter. The Vikes pulled down 10 rebounds in the quarter. Added to that was Ben Sandry's basket with 1:26 remaining in the third. His shot gave Bigfork its first lead of the game at 39-38. Sandry finished the game with eight points and two rebounds.

The Vikes had been out-rebounded in the first half 26-14 and committed seven turnovers in the first half. Bigfork finished the game with 12 turnovers and 41-percent shooting from the floor. Levi Dockstader scored eight points in the game. He made one of three 3-point field goals and had four rebounds. He currently ranks fourth in the Northwest A in 3-point shooting. He's made nine of 27 attempts.

Brock Boll and Jake Milner did their part, scoring the majority of their points late in the game to help the Bigfork comeback.

Boll scored 12 points in the game. Nine of those came in the second half. He also grabbed three rebounds. He ranks eighth in the Northwest A in rebounds per game with an average of five. Boll blocked three shots in the game.

Milner scored three of his seven points in the third quarter. Within striking distance, Glacier came back to tie the game but trailed the Vikes again after a make by Benedict.

That was all the Wolfpack would give the Vikes, as Glacier went ahead 45-44 with 6:36 remaining in the fourth quarter. The Pack continued to make free throws, finishing the game with 59-percent free-throw shooting.

Bigfork led throughout the Vikes' game against Plains, but was outscored in both the second and third quarters. The Vikes, led by Benedict's 20 points, held the Horsemen to eight points in the fourth quarter to stifle the threat of a comeback.

The Vikes led 21-6 after the first quarter, but the Horsemen narrowed Bigfork's 15-point lead to nine by halftime. Both teams opened the second half with big scoring. Bigfork scored 24 points in the third and Plains tallied 25 to keep the Horsemen within eight points of the Vikes.

Dockstader scored in double digits with 15. Boll finished the game with 16 points.

Bigfork 13 10 19 13 — 55

Glacier 20 15 5 22 — 62

BIGFORK (2-4) — Ben Sandry 4-8 0-0 8, Scott Taylor 0-1 0-0 0, Roland Benedict 7-18 4-4 19, Garrett Pewe 0-4 1-4 1, Brock Boll 5-14 1-2 12, Jake Milner 3-4 1-2 7, Troy Bolivar 0-0 0-0 0, Levi Dockstader 3-6 1-5 8, Keenan Evans 0-2 0-1 0, Donny Tudahl 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-54 8-18 55.

GLACIER (2-4) — Josh Doty 0-6 3-4 3, Connor Fuller 0-3 3-4 3, George Werk 0-0 0-0 0, Shay Smithwick-Hann 7-22 5-9 22, Logan Quay 0-5 0-2 0, Mike Rasmussen 1-2 0-0 2, Ben Cutler 8-9 7-10 27, Cody Grosswiler 2-3 0-0 4, Ben Sansaver 0-1 1-3 1. Totals 18-51 19-32 62.

3-point goals — Bf. 3-18 (Dockstader 1-3, Boll 1-4, Benedict 1-6), Gla. 7-14 (Cutle 4-5, Smithwick-Hann 3-6). Rebounds — Bf. 33 (Benedict 9, Pewe 6, team 5, Dockstader 4, Evans 4, Boll 3, Sandry 2), Gla. 43 (Smithwick-Hann 16, team 8, Quay 5, Fuller 5, Cutler 3, Sansaver 2, Doty 2, two with 1). Assists — Bf. 10 (Benedict 3, Pewe 2, five with 1), Gla. 9 (Smithwick-Hann 2, Quay 2, five with 1). Steals — Bf. 11 (Benedict 5, Pewe 2, four with 1), Gla. 9 (Cutler 3, Doty 2, Sansaver 2, two with 1). Blocks — Bf. 4 (Boll 3, Evans), Gla. 5 (Doty 2, Smithwick-Hann 2, Quay). Turnovers — Bf. 12, Gla. 22. Total fouls — Bf. 26, Gla. 15. Fouled out — Dockstader. Technical — Bigfork coach Jim Epperly.

Bigfork 21 9 24 17 - 71

Plains 6 15 25 8 - 54

BIGFORK - Roland Benedict 20, Levi Dockstader 15, Brock Boll 16, Garrett Pewe 5, Keenan Evans 4, Donny Tudahl 4, Jake Milner 4, Ben Sandry 3.

PLAINS - Ian Stokes 7, Mitch Thompson 7, Tanner Colombo 8, Paul Green 5, Trent Thompson 22, Ben Holland 3, Brian Green 2.