Vikes looking to build on third-place finish as they move to Class A

When the Vikings dropped their first game at the State B Tournament last season, they refused to pack it in and fought their way back to a third-place finish.

This season’s Vikings squad will have to show the same tenacity as they make the move into Class A competition.

Luckily for head coach John Hollow and his Vikes team, he has plenty of experienced players coming back from last year’s squad. 

“We have a lot of kids that are coming back that have all played in the past two state tournaments for us. We have a lot of experience this year, but we also have a few gaps that we will need to fill,” Hollow said. “We lack in size a bit right now, but we have a few younger players that could step up and fill that role for us.”

The Vikings return eight players from last season’s roster, all of them seniors. 

Unfortunately for the Vikes, the five that graduated from last year’s team (Isak Epperly, Bryce Gilliard, Nick Walker, Levi Peterson and Landon Byerman) left some big shoes to fill.

“We still have a lot to do and we still need to figure out who this team is going to be. We lost three players that started all four years for me and one that started the last three,” Hollow said. “This year is going to be different, there is no way around it.”

That difference will be players stepping into unfamiliar roles and taking on new responsibilities.

“We are going to need some kids to step into different roles this year as we try to replace the players we lost from last year’s squad,” Hollow said. “Eli (Thorness) didn’t have to score 15 points a night for us to win last year. This year, he will have to take on a lot more of the offensive load. There are several players who will have to step up that way.”

Despite the turnover in his starting five, Hollow says he is comfortable with the players he has to work with to start the season and says he hopes to bring some younger faces up to speed quickly.

“We are pretty established with our core seven or eight players, now we just need to find one or two more guys we can use inside to bang and rebound for us. You know, the dirty work,” he said.

As for making the bump up to Class A, Hollow says basketball is basketball, no matter what level it is.

“I don’t think there is going to be a huge difference between the top teams in Class A as opposed to Class B. Good teams are good teams,” he said. “I think the biggest difference is going to be not having those five or six teams where you get the chance to play your younger players for extended minutes. Class A is going to be more competitive night in and night out. We are not going to be able to have off nights and win games.”

The Vikes will face a tough test to open the season, facing State A tournament teams in four of their first five games.

Bigfork opens the season against host Frenchtown at the Tip-Off Tournament next Friday, a Broncs team that finished second in the West last year and took fourth at the state tourney.

The Vikes will next face Dillon the following day, a Beavers team that was third in the West, but advanced to the state title game before losing to Fergus by seven.

Bigfork will face two more State A Tournament teams at the East/West Tip-Off in Lewistown the following week as they take on Billings Central and Dawson County.

Between tip-offs, the Vikes open conference play at home against Polson Dec. 12.

“We have gone to these Tip-Off tournaments the past few years, so we will be familiar with some of the teams we will be seeing in our conference this year,” Hollow said. “We will be ready.”