WEB UPDATE: Vikes drop Polson for first conference win
It's been a long time coming, but the Bigfork Vikings finally got their first conference win of the season in a nail-biter Tuesday night beating Polson 59-55.
The Vikes got off to a solid start led by Garrett Pewe, who put in a pair of threes and a field goal in the first quarter to help his team outscore the Pirates 15-13. That lead was lost in the second quarter though when Polson racked up 24 points and held Bigfork to just 12. Bigfork trailed Polson for 10 to 12 points for most of the third quarter despite outscoring their opponent 12-11.
The Vikings tied it up at 52 with 3:35 left in the game, and a minute later put another one in to take the lead and then a 3-pointer to extend it. Polson answered with a basket of their own, but with less than a minute left, Bigfork fouled twice on the play and nearly gave away the victory. Polson was given three shots, which would've tied the game, but they missed them all. Ultimately, Bigfork outscored Polson 20-7 in the fourth.
Bigfork's junior varsity boys basketball team took their third loss of the season when they were defeated by Polson 55-33. The Vikes were slow to start, not scoring until the end of the first quarter to create a 13-2 deficit by the end of the period. Led by Christian Ker the Vikes started to hold their own, outscoring the Pirates 11-9 in the second quarter and putting up eight to Polson's nine in the third. Ker scored seven of the team's third quarter points and six in the third. Down 10 points at the end of the third Bigfork attempted to stage a comeback, but it was too little too late for the Vikes. Bigfork caused several fouls in the final minutes of the game giving Polson 24 shots from the line, 17 of which they made to help them outscore Bigfork 24-12.
The freshman Vikings team, however, trampled Polson in a 74-32 victory. After holding a 32-8 lead at halftime Bigfork still didn't let up, scoring another 24 in the third and 18 in the fourth, while Polson put up 12 points in each of the final periods.
Ian Lorang had a game high 25 points, 11 of which he put up in the third quarter, including a 3-pointer. Connor Coleman scored 11 points, all in the first quarter, and Dillon Kuntz scored nine.
Bigfork High School's girls teams were on the road Tuesday night in Columbia Falls, and the varsity team took a 51-36 loss to the Kats, who clinched the Northwest A Conference title with the victory.
The girls program, which has already been dealing with a shortage of players this season, was missing three players Tuesday.
The JV Vals were the only girls team to win, outscoring Columbia Falls, 35-25. Bigfork's freshman girls team lost 22-18.