Vikes, Vals are semifinal bound

The Bigfork Vikings clinched a spot in the semifinals at the Western B Divisional Tournament with a 74-61 victory over No. 3 seeded Valley Christian on Wednesday night in Pablo.

The Vikes (No. 1) stepped out and took control in the first half, outscoring their opponents 35-25. Both teams scored 17 in the third quarter and Bigfork edged out Valley Christian 22-19 in the final period to secure the win in the double-elimination tournament.

Bigfork had double-digit contributions from three players. Sophomore Ian Lorang led with 14, followed by junior Travis Knoll with 13 and senior Keenan Evans with 12. The Vikes were hot from 3-point territory with a total of five treys — Knoll and Lorang had two apiece and sophomore Ronny Gallegos had one.

The Vikings also got their starting point-guard Evan Jordt back, who missed last weekend's district tournament due to a pulled groin.

The Vikes (18-3) will take on Loyola-Sacred Heart at 8:30 p.m. tonight, Feb. 25, at Salish Kootenai College. The Rams (17-4) beat Thompson Falls yesterday 76-49 to stay in the winners' bracket.

VALS

The Valkyries will be playing in a semifinals game of their own following their 66-30 defeat of Valley Christian's fourth-seeded girls team.

Caitlin Charlebois led the attack for Bigfork with 18 points. Mallery Knoll contributed 14 points and Taylor Peck and Quinci Paine added 9 and 8, respectively.

The Vals will play at 4 p.m. tomorrow, Feb. 26, against the winner of today's Florence-St. Ignatius game for a spot in Saturday's championship game.