Bigfork Vikings win divisional basketball title
A winter storm wasn’t the only thing that roared into Hamilton last week. The Bigfork Vikings basketball team rolled into Dale Berry Gymnasium ready to capture their first Western B title in 30 years. With consistent defense and offense Bigfork dominated all three of their tournament games. Quick starts and early leads led to resounding wins over Mission and Loyola in the opening two games. The Vikings went on to close out the tournament with a determined win over Florence for the divisional title.
Bigfork 71, St. Ignatius 46
The Vikings had two goals going in to the first game of the tournament. First was to get that important first win and second was to stop Stuart Grant of Mission. They succeeded on both counts. With a zone defense that held Grant’s opportunities in check, the Vikings raced out to a 23-4 first-quarter lead.
The Mission Bulldogs managed to get more efficient play in the second quarter, but the Vikings headed into halftime with a 41-19 lead.
In the second half, the Bulldogs increased their scoring output, led by Grant, who finished the game with 21 points. Grant hit four 3-point shots including a couple 30 footers. “I wasn’t upset with our guys when Grant hit those threes because they were really playing solid defense,” Bigfork coach Josh Downey said.
Bigfork kept pace and never relinquished its lead.
Christian Evans led Bigfork with 26 points, having scored 21 of those points in the first half. The Vikings had nine players scoring. Other high scorers were Isaac Martel with 10 and Jon Landon with eight.
Bigfork 70, Loyola 41
Downey had a game plan for Loyola, but changed it after seeing other teams stop J.J. Anderson with a zone defense.
“We had the same game plan for Loyola as we did for Mission — run a zone, limit Anderson to minimal shots, and essentially keep the guys rested, knowing we were going to be playing three games in three nights,” Downey said. “It was also a huge advantage to building the big leads letting our starters rest in the fourth quarter.”
The change of strategy worked in keeping Anderson in check and also allowed for a dominant performance in rebounding. Bigfork owned the glass with a 33-15 rebound advantage.
Bigfork built an insurmountable 32-11 first half lead. Bigfork finished the game with the same emphasis they started with and continued the strong scoring effort. The final score of 70-41 was achieved with 11 Bigfork players chipping in on the scoring effort.
Bigfork was led by Josh Sandry’s 15 points on six of nine field goals. Also rounding out the scoring was Christian Evans with 12, Isaac Martel had 9, and Trent and Landon both with seven.
Bigfork 53, Florence 32
Florence earlier in the season had pushed Bigfork to what was their closest call in the unbeaten season, Bigfork barely survived this contest for an overtime victory to win the divisional title. After winning the opening tipoff, Evans got the ball at the top of the key and drove to the hoop where he brought the crowd to its feet with a thunderous dunk. The momentum derived from this dunk was short-lived however, as Bigfork couldn’t manage another point in the first quarter.
This was the fewest points scored in a quarter this year for Bigfork. Florence didn’t do much better. At the end of the first quarter the score was 5-2. Bigfork had a strong second quarter and held a 19-13 lead at the half.
Downey had earlier strategized that his management of the tournament would reap dividends on the final night. Playing zone defense and allowing the starters to rest in the fourth quarter of both previous games were all part of the game plan. The other aspect was to unleash a 1-3-1 zone that would help speed the game up. Downey didn’t want to show his hand in the first half so that Florence could make adjustments. Because of this gambit Downey knew the first half was going to be close.
The start of the third quarter saw Bigfork continue to put pressure on the Falcons defensively. Cameron Nissen was back in the lineup after missing much of the first half in foul trouble. The quicker pace of the game also led to Florence turnovers and transition points for Bigfork.
The Vikings finished the game by building on their lead. They forced the Falcons to low-percentage outside shots and minimized their penetration to the inside with tough defense.
Bigfork was led by Landon with a career high of 18 points followed by Evans with 16, while Martel chipped in 11.
Florence didn’t have a player in double figures.
Downey praised his players for the way they played the game. “The play of Christian Evans was some great all-around play. He had some key blocks, altered shots, and great all around defense,” Downey said. “He worked for those rebounds — they didn’t just fall into his lap. Also Jon Landon had the best game of his career. He struggled early on with a couple of turnovers and missed shots.”
“After a pep talk on the sidelines, Landon came back into the game and went off. He made some key shots and key boards. Another guy is Isaac Martel. He plays so hard, I think he played the whole game besides the last five minutes, and he’s getting pressure the whole time he’s bringing the ball up the floor, which makes him more tired than anyone else.”
The Vikes have earned some time off. They won’t practice until Wednesday at which time they will start to get ready for the state tournament in Bozeman next week at Montana State University.
The eastern Class B teams have their divisional tournament this coming weekend so Bigfork’s first-round opponent is not yet known.