JV Vikings take first two conference matchups
Bigfork Sophomore Travis Knoll’s nerves were put to the test Saturday night in Ronan. He stood on the free-throw line with just five seconds left in the game. He had two attempts, but with the game tied at 54 he needed to make just one basket to put the Bigfork boys junior varsity team over Ronan.
Knoll was just one-for-four on the night as he approached the line. But under pressure, in the final seconds of the game, he was flawless. He put both shots in and gave the Vikings the win.
In the first quarter Ben Sandry was three-for-three from the free-throw line and Christian Ker put in a 3-pointer to help the Vikings outscore the Chiefs 17-16.
In the second quarter it was Lael Richmond with the steady hand who sunk all four of his foul shots and put in a field goal. Carter Sorenson put up nine points in the second, including a 3-pointer and a pair of free throws, and Evan Jordt put in a 3-pointer as well to put the Vikings over Ronan 37-31 at the half.
Both teams were held to just nine points in the third quarter. Ronan made a run in the fourth quarter and outscored Bigfork 14-10, but it wasn’t enough.
“It was a tough game,” said Bigfork High School boys JV coach Jason Hall. “We kept our composure in the second half and had less turnovers.”
Sorenson led the Vikings with 15 points, three rebounds and two assists. Jordt and Knoll each contributed nine points, Ker put in seven and Sandry had five. Richmond led Bigfork in rebounds with nine and put up six points. Knoll had four steals and three rebounds. Ker and Sorenson each had three rebounds and two assists.
On Friday night the boys hosted Whitefish and kicked off their conference play with a 56-34 win.
It was a slow start for both teams in the first quarter with only a couple of points being scored prior to the last few minutes of the quarter. Ultimately, Bigfork picked up 11 points and Whitefish scored just five. In the second quarter both teams scored 11 points, six of which Bigfork scored with 3-pointers by Sandry and Ker.
The Vikings turned things up in the third scoring 26 points, and held the Bulldogs to five. Knoll had nine of those points, Jordt and Sandry each had seven, and all three players put in 3-pointers during the third quarter.
The fourth quarter didn’t go quite as well for the Vikings, as they were held to eight points while Whitefish put in 13, but they still came away with the win.
“It was really close in the first half,” Hall said. “We pressed a lot in the second half and it worked well for us.”
Knoll made strong contributions offensively and defensively for the Vikings. He had a game high 13 points, and made five steals, four rebounds and two assists. Sandry played well on both sides of the ball, too, with 11 points, nine rebounds, four steals and two assists. Ker led the team in rebounds with 11 and contributed nine points and two steals. Jordt put up nine points, five assists and two steals. Richmond had five rebounds, five points and two steals.
The JV boys, who are now 6-1 overall and 2-0 in conference, travel to Flathead High School tonight, Jan. 22, and Libby on Saturday, Jan. 24.