Vikes end season

The Vikings they ended their hopes for a spot in the state tournament Friday with a 61-60 loss to Plains.

From the beginning, it was obvious that Bigfork (18-5) was still hurting from the boys 63-60 loss the previous night to Loyola. The Vikings still kept pace with the Horsemen, but Plains is one of the teams Bigfork beat handedly twice during the regular season.

The teams were tied at 29 at the end of the half. Scoring was spread out among the Bigfork players, but for Plains, it was its big man doing most of the work on the scoreboard. Trent Thompson scored eight points in the first quarter for the Horsemen and another six in the second.

The game started to slip out of the Vikings' hands in the third quarter, when they allowed eight of Plains' players to score for a total of 17 points. Bigfork had 13 that quarter fueled by a big effort from senior Keenan Evans, who put in eight.

Bigfork didn't give much of a chase in the fourth quarter until the final minutes of the game. Then, multiple baskets from Carter Sorensen and Evans, and 3-pointers from Travis Knoll and Christian Ker got them nearly caught up. But, the Vikings fouled multiple times in those crucial moments, and the Horsemen made seven of their nine free-throw shots in the fourth quarter.

With the score at 61-57 and Plains players feeling confident they had the game in the bag, Bigfork got the ball one last time. From the 3-point arc, Ker took a shot, releasing the ball with just one second left on the clock. It went it, but it wasn't enough to keep the Vikings' season alive.

Evans wrapped up his four-year career on the Vikings varsity team with 18 points. He was a perfect 6-for-6 from the free-throw line. Ker contributed 12 points, all from 3-point territory. Sorensen added 10. He was 3-for-5 from the foul line.