Pirates pull away from Vikes in 4th quarter
Gordon leads a balanced Polson offense
The Daily Inter Lake
BIGFORK - The Polson High School boys basketball team found itself in a dogfight Saturday night, but it gained control in the fourth quarter to beat host Bigfork 50-39 in a Northwestern A game.
The Pirates (3-5, 2-2) used a balanced offensive effort and played more pressure defense than usual to keep the Vikings winless on the season at 0-8 overall and 0-4 in conference play.
Senior forward Tyler Gordon paced Polson with 12 points, followed by junior center Zach Langston with 11. Sophomore guard Craig Bagnell and junior guard John Rausch added seven points apiece while senior forward Chris Ogle tallied six.
Still, the Pirates led just 25-23 at halftime and 43-37 after three quarters before holding Bigfork to only two points in the final frame.
"It just seemed like we were so stale in the third and fourth quarters the past few games and that's when the other teams have kind of taken advantage of us, and we just had to get going a little bit," said Polson coach Karl Tait. "We went into our full-court defense just to make things happen. We've got pretty good quickness and we're trying to utilize that as much as possible.
"But I think that was it - we just changed the tempo a little bit more in the third and fourth quarters so we could get some easy baskets in transition and just get us going - to get the blood flowing more than anything else."
Gordon scored six points in each half and helped Polson out-rebound Bigfork, 22-15. He also scored on a layup at the first-quarter buzzer to give the Pirates an 11-10 advantage.
"We pressed it a lot more than we normally do," Gordon said. "Coach let us press, play a little more man and stuff because we have the energy to do it."
Gordon said the Pirates stifled Bigfork in the fourth quarter by switching things up defensively rather than staying in a zone.
The Vikings, however, played one of their best games of the season, committing just nine turnovers.
"We didn't turn it over tonight, and that's why we had a chance," said Bigfork coach Jim Epperly. "For them to press us and us not turn it over as much is a positive."
There were plenty of bright spots for Bigfork. The Vikings even took a 29-27 lead with 6 minutes, 40 seconds remaining in the third quarter when junior guard Roland Benedict connected on a 3-pointer.
Benedict finished with a game-high 19 points, including two treys, but he was the only Viking to reach double digits in scoring. Senior forward John White chipped in with eight points.
"Offensively, we talk about being balanced," Epperly said. "I mean, John had eight, but a goal of ours is to try to get two guys in double figures. And Roland is a good player, he is, and
he's going to be probably our leading scorer, but again, for a team to be tough to defend we've got to have three guys scoring."
Epperly pointed to the Pirates' balance as their most impressive trait.
"They're well coached - let's get that straight right now," Epperly said. "And they're disciplined. They're not going to confuse you with a ton of things, it's just what they run, they ran very well. And they have balance. When you get balance on offense, you're tough to stop."
Tait said Langston played his best game to date. The 6-foot-4 big man scored nine points in the second half and drained a 3-pointer in the third quarter.
"We got some pretty good post play tonight from our big guy and we haven't had that either," Tait said. "He needs to be a physical force inside and that's what we're working on."
Tait said Bagnell did a nice job controlling Polson's offense at point guard, and he was pleased with the play of John Rausch, as well as Ryan Kelley and Tim Rausch off the bench. Kelley and Tim Rausch combined for seven points in the second quarter.
But Bigfork remained in striking distance until Polson brought the game to a screeching halt in the final four minutes to preserve its six-point lead. Epperly was pleased that the Vikings battled from start to finish and didn't carry themselves like a winless team.
"It's a great positive because we're closing in - we're closing in on some wins," Epperly said. "We had two opportunities this weekend and we're disappointed, but I tried to stay positive with them and I think the kids are feeling positive about what we're doing, so that's good.
"It's good that they're staying positive, and they're playing to win, and they're working hard, and they're playing together, and I haven't seen bad attitudes creep up or heads drop down."
Bigfork is back in action Thursday when it entertains Whitefish at 7:30 p.m. Polson is host to Columbia Falls on Friday at 7:30 p.m.
Polson 11 14 18 7 - 50
Bigfork 10 13 14 2 - 39
POLSON (3-5, 2-2) - Craig Bagnell 3 0-0 7, John Rausch 2 2-4 7, Chris Ogle 3 0-0 6, Tyler Gordon 6 0-0 12, Ryan Kelley 2 0-0 4, Tim Rausch 1 0-2 3, Zach Langston 4 2-3 11. Totals 21 4-9 50.
BIGFORK (0-8, 0-4) - John White 3 1-1 8, Roland Benedict 7 3-3 19, Justin Goode 1 0-0 2, Andrew Whittaker 2 0-0 4, Levi Dockstader 1 0-0 3, Brock Boll 1 0-0 3. Totals 15 4-4 39.
3-point goals - Polson 4 (Bagnell 1, J. Rausch 1, T. Rausch 1, Langston 1), Bigfork 5 (Benedict 2, White 1, Dockstader 1, Boll 1). Rebounds - Polson 22, Bigfork 15. Assists - Polson 9, Bigfork 8. Steals - Polson 6, Bigfork 7. Blocks - Polson 2, Bigfork 2. Turnovers - Polson 7, Bigfork 9. Total fouls - Polson 10, Bigfork 13. Fouled out - none.