Vikings crush opponents in district championship

Once the defending champs found their rhythm, however, there was no stopping them. The Vikings shot 60 percent the rest of the half and missed just two shots in the fourth quarter to run away with a 60-43 victory and claim the league’s regular season and tournament titles.

Bigfork (19-1) missed its first eight shots to fall behind 8-0 to the Blue Hawks (14-6). Thomspon Falls’ Trais Hoisington, a 6-foot-5 center, controlled the paint early on, scoring the game’s first four points.

It wasn’t until Bigfork changed its defense, pressuring the Blue Hawk guards as they crossed half court, that the tide started to turn.

“That Hoisington kid is good,” Bigfork coach Sam Tudor said. “He gave us all we could handle. The half-court trap gave them trouble. The idea was we had to keep the ball out of his hands down low.”

Isaac Martel got the Vikings on the board with a 3-pointer with 3 minutes left in the first quarter and shortly after Ryder Trent sank another 3 to tie the contest at 8-8. Trent hit a 3 at the buzzer to give Bigfork its first lead, bringing with it the confidence that was missing in the first five minutes.

“When we went down 8-0, you’re sitting there as a coach wondering, ‘When are we going to start to come alive?’,” Tudor said.

“It was Ryder that got us sparked. That got the ball rolling.”

The Vikings held Thompson Falls scoreless for the final 3:51 of the half, prompting an 8-0 run to close the second quarter with a 24-18 lead.

Bigfork fought through foul trouble in the third — starters Josh Sandry and Jonathan Landon each played with three fouls — and expanded its lead to double digits. Martel hit two 3s in the quarter and scored 10 of his 16 points to counter a strong effort from Hoisington, who had 8 of his game-high 19 in the frame.

The Vikings shot 78 percent and made 7 of 12 free throws in the fourth quarter to close out the contest, stretching their lead to 19 points before Thompson Falls was able to sink a shot in the closing seconds.

Adam Jordt scored 15 points for Bigfork and Landon had 10 points and six rebounds.

On Thursday Bigfork secured their trip to the district championship game with a 57-47 victory over Plains.

Plains tried to slow down the pace against Bigfork, but were unable to slow the Vikings’ offense as the top seed pulled away.

Bigfork dominated the first half, going on a 14-0 run over nearly seven minutes, including the first five minutes of the second quarter. The Vikings led by 17 in the third before Plains was able to make a run of its own.

Following a running jumper by Plains’ Alec Cole, the Vikings went cold from the field, beginning with a pair of missed free throws.

The Horsemen chipped away, hitting some difficult shots and a pair of 3-pointers, while going 4-or-4 from the line, to build a 16-3 run and cut Bigfork’s lead to four points with less than a minute to play in the third quarter.

Bigfork quickly responded, finding Sandry in the post for a bucket just before the end of the quarter. Plains had cut off the interior for most of the game, forcing the Vikings to shoot try to earn a victory.

“They were really trying to take away our inside (game),” Tudor said. “Sandry sometimes doesn’t let that happen.”

At the start of the fourth quarter, Bigfork continued to drive to the hoop, earning its way to the free-throw line and taking back control of the contest.

The Vikings scored all of their 23 fourth-quarter points at the rim or the free-throw line, quickly regaining a 12-point lead by midway through the period. Bigfork was 11 for 15 from the charity stripe in the final quarter to seal its place in the district championship game on Saturday.

“We’re going to see that for the rest of the year,” Tudor said. “We’ve handled it well. It’s a good game plan. Plains is a good team.”

Sandry had a game-high 17 points to lead Bigfork, which also got 13 from Adam Jordt.

“I was proud of their performance tonight,” Tudor said. “We rebounded hard and we played good defense.”

Kyle Revier scored 13 points for Plains and Ryan Ovitt had 11.

Bigfork will open the Western B divisional against Ronan at 11:20 a.m. on Thursday at Flathead High School. The Chiefs lost to Deer Lodge 52-45 in the District 6B consolation final on Saturday.

“That’s a good team, T-Falls is tough,” Tudor said. “I’m glad we got to play them before divisionals. That’s going to be a good tournament.”

Missoula Loyola (17-3) won the 6B tournament, topping Florence (13-7) 54-52 in the championship game.

Thompson Falls 10 8 13 12 — 43

Bigfork 11 13 19 17 — 60

THOMPSON FALLS — Mack Holt 2, Trais Hoisington 19, Tanner Laws 6, Dylan Vaught 8, Joe Frields 5, Dalton Hooten 1, Tyler Riffle 2. Totals 16 8-13 43.

BIGFORK — Adam Jordt 15, Isaac Martel 16, Tyler Piazzola 6, Jonathan Landon 10, Josh Sandry 6, Ryder Trent 7. Totals 20 14-24 60.

Plains    5    7    16    19    —    47

Bigfork    8    17    9    23    —    57

PLAINS — Ryan Ovitt 11, Alec Cole 7, Kyle Revier 13, Aaron Baker 7, Bransen Krebs 2, Brenen Abromeit 7.

BIGFORK — Adam Jordt 13, Isaac Martel 9, Tyler Piazzola 4, Jonathan Landon 7,  Josh Sandry 17, Ryder Trent 7.

Bigfork was scoreless for the first five minutes of the District 7B championship game against Thompson Falls on Saturday night.

Once the defending champs found their rhythm, however, there was no stopping them. The Vikings shot 60 percent the rest of the half and missed just two shots in the fourth quarter to run away with a 60-43 victory and claim the league’s regular season and tournament titles.

Bigfork (19-1) missed its first eight shots to fall behind 8-0 to the Blue Hawks (14-6). Thomspon Falls’ Trais Hoisington, a 6-foot-5 center, controlled the paint early on, scoring the game’s first four points.

It wasn’t until Bigfork changed its defense, pressuring the Blue Hawk guards as they crossed half court, that the tide started to turn.

“That Hoisington kid is good,” Bigfork coach Sam Tudor said. “He gave us all we could handle. The half-court trap gave them trouble. The idea was we had to keep the ball out of his hands down low.”

Isaac Martel got the Vikings on the board with a 3-pointer with 3 minutes left in the first quarter and shortly after Ryder Trent sank another 3 to tie the contest at 8-8. Trent hit a 3 at the buzzer to give Bigfork its first lead, bringing with it the confidence that was missing in the first five minutes.

“When we went down 8-0, you’re sitting there as a coach wondering, ‘When are we going to start to come alive?’,” Tudor said.

“It was Ryder that got us sparked. That got the ball rolling.”

The Vikings held Thompson Falls scoreless for the final 3:51 of the half, prompting an 8-0 run to close the second quarter with a 24-18 lead.

Bigfork fought through foul trouble in the third — starters Josh Sandry and Jonathan Landon each played with three fouls — and expanded its lead to double digits. Martel hit two 3s in the quarter and scored 10 of his 16 points to counter a strong effort from Hoisington, who had 8 of his game-high 19 in the frame.

The Vikings shot 78 percent and made 7 of 12 free throws in the fourth quarter to close out the contest, stretching their lead to 19 points before Thompson Falls was able to sink a shot in the closing seconds.

Adam Jordt scored 15 points for Bigfork and Landon had 10 points and six rebounds.

On Thursday Bigfork secured their trip to the district championship game with a 57-47 victory over Plains.

Plains tried to slow down the pace against Bigfork, but were unable to slow the Vikings’ offense as the top seed pulled away.

Bigfork dominated the first half, going on a 14-0 run over nearly seven minutes, including the first five minutes of the second quarter. The Vikings led by 17 in the third before Plains was able to make a run of its own.

Following a running jumper by Plains’ Alec Cole, the Vikings went cold from the field, beginning with a pair of missed free throws.

The Horsemen chipped away, hitting some difficult shots and a pair of 3-pointers, while going 4-or-4 from the line, to build a 16-3 run and cut Bigfork’s lead to four points with less than a minute to play in the third quarter.

Bigfork quickly responded, finding Sandry in the post for a bucket just before the end of the quarter. Plains had cut off the interior for most of the game, forcing the Vikings to shoot try to earn a victory.

“They were really trying to take away our inside (game),” Tudor said. “Sandry sometimes doesn’t let that happen.”

At the start of the fourth quarter, Bigfork continued to drive to the hoop, earning its way to the free-throw line and taking back control of the contest.

The Vikings scored all of their 23 fourth-quarter points at the rim or the free-throw line, quickly regaining a 12-point lead by midway through the period. Bigfork was 11 for 15 from the charity stripe in the final quarter to seal its place in the district championship game on Saturday.

“We’re going to see that for the rest of the year,” Tudor said. “We’ve handled it well. It’s a good game plan. Plains is a good team.”

Sandry had a game-high 17 points to lead Bigfork, which also got 13 from Adam Jordt.

“I was proud of their performance tonight,” Tudor said. “We rebounded hard and we played good defense.”

Kyle Revier scored 13 points for Plains and Ryan Ovitt had 11.

Bigfork will open the Western B divisional against Ronan at 11:20 a.m. on Thursday at Flathead High School. The Chiefs lost to Deer Lodge 52-45 in the District 6B consolation final on Saturday.

“That’s a good team, T-Falls is tough,” Tudor said. “I’m glad we got to play them before divisionals. That’s going to be a good tournament.”

Missoula Loyola (17-3) won the 6B tournament, topping Florence (13-7) 54-52 in the championship game.

Thompson Falls 10 8 13 12 — 43

Bigfork 11 13 19 17 — 60

THOMPSON FALLS — Mack Holt 2, Trais Hoisington 19, Tanner Laws 6, Dylan Vaught 8, Joe Frields 5, Dalton Hooten 1, Tyler Riffle 2. Totals 16 8-13 43.

BIGFORK — Adam Jordt 15, Isaac Martel 16, Tyler Piazzola 6, Jonathan Landon 10, Josh Sandry 6, Ryder Trent 7. Totals 20 14-24 60.

Plains    5    7    16    19    —    47

Bigfork    8    17    9    23    —    57

PLAINS — Ryan Ovitt 11, Alec Cole 7, Kyle Revier 13, Aaron Baker 7, Bransen Krebs 2, Brenen Abromeit 7.

BIGFORK — Adam Jordt 13, Isaac Martel 9, Tyler Piazzola 4, Jonathan Landon 7,  Josh Sandry 17, Ryder Trent 7.