Young Vikes still dominating

The junior varsity and freshman Vikings teams continue to dominate their opponents as they both won their games against Stillwater Christian and Plains and the JV team also beat Mission, last week all of which were non-conference games.

Bigfork took control of Saturday’s game against Mission from the very beginning racking up 26 points to the Bulldogs’ six in the first quarter. By the last two minutes of the third quarter the Vikes had a 30-point lead and the mercy rule was put into effect, with a running clock being used for the remainder of the game, in Bigfork’s 73-26 victory.

“Everyone got equal playing time and that was great,” said Bigfork’s JV boys coach Jason Hall. “The players that came off the bench did a nice job and nearly everyone scored.”

Christian Ker led the Vikings with 21 points, including two 3-pointers. Ian Lorang contributed 11 points, and also put in two 3-pointers. Carter Sorenson had 10 points, which included one 3-point shot.

The Vikings had to play without Ben Sandry, who sprained his thumb during the first half of Bigfork’s game on Thursday against Plains.

Coach Hall also said that “Kyle Hauns played great defense in the second half,” in which Mission scored just nine points.

Bigfork had similar results while in Plains on Thursday, starting off with a 22-15 lead at the end of the first half, though Bigfork got out scored 5-4 in the second quarter.

“I don’t think they were mentally focused to play this game,” Hall said. “It’s hard when you beat a team by 38 points the first time. We just didn’t come out really strong because of that.”

Despite their lack of hustle in the beginning, Bigfork still came away with a 61-35 victory.

“They played excellent defense in the second half,” Hall said. “They helped each other out a lot. We slowed the ball down and we had less turnovers than we have had all year.”

Ker led the way with 22 points for the Vikings, including three 3-pointers. Travis Knoll contributed 14 points, while going three-for-four from the line and putting in a 3-pointer.

Bigfork’s JV boys took out Stillwater Christian, 74-62, in an away game last Tuesday.

Bigfork had an 11-7 lead at the end of the first quarter, but after fouling 13 times during the first half, let that lead slip to 33-31 at the end of the second quarter.

“We fouled a lot because we weren’t moving our feet enough and were reaching for the ball rather than going to it,” Hall said.

In the second half the Vikings started pressing more and picked up the pace and outscored their opponent 16-10 and 25-21 in the third and fourth quarters, respectively.

All of the Bigfork players scored against Stillwater. Knoll and Kyle Parker led the team with 18 and 17 points, respectively. Knoll scored seven of his in the first quarter, including one of the two 3-point shots he made during the game. Parker scored 13 of his in the second half, which also included a 3-pointer and he made two of his three foul shots.

“Parker shot really well from the corner,” Hall said.

Sandry contributed 10 points. Ker added eight points and Jesse Williams and  Sorenson each had seven.

“They came ready to play,” Hall said. “They did a good job of rebounding.”

The freshman boys team led Plains 26-18 at the half.

“Plains played zone and we don’t get zoned much,” said Bigfork freshman boys basketball coach Michael Edwards. “They really slowed the game down and that’s not our game. They really took our chemistry away from us in the first half.”

At half time coach Edwards told his team to keep doing what they were doing on defense and just be patient on offense. They took his advice, and it worked like a charm as the Vikings scored nearly twice as many points as Plains in the second half and ultimately beat them 55-34.

Connor Coleman led Bigfork with 12 points. Cody Dopps scored 10 of the team’s 13 points in the fourth quarter when he put up two 3-pointers, a field goal and was two-for-two from the line. Ian Lorang scored three 3-pointers in the first half.

Against Stillwater Christian coach Edwards switched some of his players’ roles, and also switched up his starting line up. Every player on the team got to play in every quarter. The plan seemed to work, as every player scored and Bigfork led 35-21 at the half, and left with a 63-48 victory.

“It was the most balanced win we’ve had all year with everyone contributing,” Edwards said.

Lorang led the Vikes with 12 points. Jackson Boese and Austin Curtis each had eight and Dillon Fraley scored seven. Dillon Kuntz grabbed 11 rebounds.

“I’m seeing tremendous strides from all 12 players,” Edwards said. “Massive improvements from everyone. They just love the game. They have so much fun no matter the situation they are in and they always stay positive.”