Loggers close out Vikes

BIGFORK - With first place in the Northwestern A conference on the line Friday night, defending state champion Libby came out and made a statement early.

A 12-1 run in the first quarter and an 11-0 spurt in the second had the Loggers up by as many as 16 points.

But it wasn't quite time to warm up the bus for a victory ride home.

The Vikings closed to within 10 at the half, continued to chip away in the third to get it down to 48-45 and eventually took a one-point lead in the fourth.

The teams traded the lead for about three minutes before Libby built a four-point cushion and held on down the stretch for a 64-60 win in a game that had all the spirit, intensity and high-quality play of postseason.

"That was just a great high school basketball game," Loggers coach Wally Winslow said. "It was up-and-down at times, halfcourt and good defense, all different kinds of things.

"It was a very important win, it really was. Both teams were 3-1 in the league, Bigfork has been playing really well lately, and this is a hard place to play."

Libby improved to 4-1 in the conference while the Vikings fell to 3-2. Both of Bigfork's losses are against Libby, by a combined five points. Each team is 6-4 overall.

"They know how to close out a close game better than we do, and that's why they won 64-60 instead of us winning 64-60," Vikings coach Jim Epperly said.

"In the first quarter we just were not ready to go. They were much crisper mentally, physically they were much more ready to go. There are no excuses. We came out flat that first quarter, and that's the first time we've done that all year."

The result was a 21-8 Libby lead after one quarter, with the key difference a glaring discrepancy in shooting percentage. The Vikings were just 3-of-14 from the field compared to 8-of-17 for Libby.

"We were fortunate we got some stuff early, but it's hard to play in front sometimes - you're not sure exactly what you're supposed to do," Winslow said.

"As every well-coached team will, they're going to make adjustments at the half. After the first initial burst of pressure we applied, you're not going to get that again, simply because they'll make the adjustment."

But the Loggers did get another burst in the second quarter to go up 33-19. Along the way, Bigfork used up three of its five timeouts in the first half to try and halt Libby runs and spark something offensively.

"I had to burn my timeouts and make adjustments, and it was mostly just mental stuff," Epperly said. "We weren't moving on defense, we weren't executing, we just weren't playing as hard as they were.

"I had to chew them out, I had to try and get them mad, and I don't like doing that. I wasted a lot of energy on that."

A 3-pointer by Laine Averill from about 35 feet at the buzzer made the score 35-25 at the half. The Vikings coaching staff made a calmer, more rational argument for improved play during the intermission.

"You can only yell at your team so much," Epperly said. "If you do it all the time they tune you out."

Bigfork responded with tougher defense and better shot selection on offense. Cy Murer, who almost single-handedly kept the game from getting out of hand in the second quarter, had a game-high 19 points and 12 rebounds.

Luke Taylor, scoreless in the first half finished with 12 points and 11 boards for the Vikings, who took their first lead of the game 33 seconds into the fourth period 49-48.

"I can't fault our kids' heart," Epperly said. "There was a chance we could have gotten blown out, but they got mad, fought back and I was proud of that."

Of course, there was an equal opportunity for the Loggers to fold up when they saw their 16-point lead evaporate into a one-point deficit.

But this team has been in tight spots before - they won the state title in triple overtime last year - and remained calm, answering the Bigfork rally with tenacious defense, crucial layups and clutch free throws in the waning moments.

"We talked about that before the game because we knew they were going to make a run, and we talked about stopping a run, and what stops runs is good rebounding and defense," Winslow said.

"I was happy with our kids in the middle of the fourth, they responded. We did some good things, hit some free throws down the stretch."

Freshman Jim Mee led a quartet of Loggers in double figures with 15 plus six rebounds. Ken Orr had 14 points and six boards, Aaron Sutton scored 13 points and George Mercer added 11.

"We got good contributions from a lot of different kids," Winslow said.

Bigfork did little to help its cause down the stretch, taking an ill-advised shot early in a possession with about a minute to go and down one, among other gaffes.

"We have been absolutely horrible in situations where it's a one-point game, a two-point game," Epperly said. "We're not getting the shots that we want and we're not executing defenses.

"Our kids have to learn to execute in these situations."

Both teams are back in action tonight. Libby hosts Ronan and Bigfork entertains Frenchtown.

LOGGERS 64, VIKINGS 60

Libby 21 14 13 16 - 64

Bigfork 8 17 20 15 - 60

Libby - Aaron Sutton 6-14 1-3 13, Ken Orr 5-7 2-5 14, George Mercer 4-5 3-3 11, Blaine Baker 3-8 0-1 6, Kyle Baker 0-1 0-1 0, Whitney Gautreaux 1-5 1-2 5, Jim Mee 4-7 4-4 15. Totals 24-47 11-19 64.

Bigfork - Mitchell Hill 2-5 0-0 4, Kellen Wasell 3-6 0-0 9, Laine Averill 1-8 0-0 3, Luke Taylor 4-12 4-4 12, Donny Houtonen 5-14 0-0 12, Cy Murer 8-16 3-5 19, Aaron Miles 0-0 1-2 1. Totals 23-61 8-11 60.

3-point goals-Libby 5-12 (Sutton 0-2, Orr 2-3, K. Baker 0-1, Mee 3-6), Bigfork 6-19 (Hill 0-1, Wasell 3-5, Averill 1-6, Houtonen 2-7). Fouled out-Taylor. Rebounds-Libby 31 (Orr 6, Mee 6), Bigfork 40 (Murer 12). Total fouls-Libby 13, Bigfork 18.