District 7B boys: Vikes pound Hawks

BIGFORK - Playing with an extremely stingy defense and dominating the glass, No. 4 Bigfork easily beat Thompson Falls 49-33 on Thursday night to advance to the District 7B championship game.

The Viking defense smothered Thompson Falls in the first half, frustrating the Blue Hawks with a 2-3 zone that prevented them from getting a good look from closer than 20 feet. Bigfork took a 9-1 lead in the first six minutes before allowing a basket, a 25-foot heave by Hawks guard Jaron Laws.

Bigfork was able to use its decided height advantage to easily get buckets down low, or at least clear out room for its guards to slash into the lane. The Vikings led 13-6 after the first quarter and opened up the lead early in the second, going on an 8-1 run in the first four minutes of the quarter.

The Vikings were able to get out on the fast break throughout the stretch, with guards Austin Jordt and Ian Lorang alternating streaks down the floor to an easy bucket on the other end. On one exchange the pair got out on a 2-on-1 attack and pinballed the ball back and forth until Jordt was able to get the layin.

The fast break was aided by a tremendous effort on the boards. The Vikings, which at times can play as many as three players that are at least 6-foot-5, were tenacious on the glass, cleaning up missed shots by the Hawks and kicking it out to streaking teammates.

"We're just bigger," Bigfork coach Kurt Paulson said. "I tell the kids, ‘If we're bigger I expect you guys to beat them on the boards.' The size helped, we definitely had an advantage."

The Vikings took a 27-14 lead into the half and won the second half on free throws, getting to the line 19 times in the final 16 minutes and making 10 of those. Outside of a short stretch by the Hawks to start the third quarter, Bigfork dominated the second half and easily cruised into the championship game. The Vikings will play Troy on Saturday in Columbia Falls at 7 p.m.

"We pretty much controlled the whole game," Paulson said. "Thompson Falls I'll give them credit ... they came out (after halftime) and played well. I had to call a timeout so we could refocus. From there on we controlled the game."

Lorang led the Vikings with 15 points and Jordt finished with 10. Garrett Reinschmidt led Thompson Falls with 12.

The only area the Vikings struggled in was getting too aggressive inside. The Vikings sent Thompson Falls to the line for 17 shots, fueling the only offense the Hawks had for long stretches of the night.

"A team like that, they're smaller, all of a sudden every kid on my team thinks they're a shot blocker," Paulson said. "That's the hardest thing as a coach, to convince them to not do that. Don't foul. Just go straight up and use your length and your height, make them shoot over you and we'll get the rebound."

The Vikings, now 16-3 on the season, will likely need to clean that up as they turn their attention to Troy (15-4) on Saturday. The Trojans beat Eureka 74-59 to advance to the title game. The winner of Saturday's 7B championship game will take a top seed into next weekend's Western B divisional tournament.

"It's important to get the No. 1 seed in my eyes," Paulson said. "Then we play the No. 4 from the south in the first round ... It'll be a tough game on a neutral court."

Bigfork won the previous two meetings this season with Troy.

Thompson Falls 6 8 11 8 - 33

Bigfork 13 14 11 11 - 49

Thompson Falls - Jaron Laws 6, Cody Phillips 4, Garrett Reinschmidt 12, Ross Dalby 10, AJ Pavlik 1.

Bigfork - Austin Jordt 10, Ian Lorang 15, Ryan Hayes 2, Cody Dopps 6, Connor Coleman 5, Christian Evans 6, Jackson Boese 3, Dillon Fraley 2.

Troy 74, Eureka 59

TROY - Troy cruised by Eureka to claim a spot in the District 7B championship game.

The Trojans took control early, outscoring Eureka 21-8 in the first quarter, giving themselves a cushion that would hold out in a back-and-forth game.

The Lions made a dent in the lead after halftime, trailing just 51-45 entering the fourth quarter, but weren't able to finish out the run.

Troy, now 15-4 this season, advances to play Bigfork (16-3) in the championship game on Saturday night in Columbia Falls.

Eureka 8 18 19 14 - 59

Troy 21 18 12 23 - 74

EUREKA - Tanner Peterson 1 1-1 3, Ryan Holder 6 13-18 25, Tanner Blankers 4 0-0 11, Chris Ibach 3 2-2 9, Bryton Guckenberg 4 1-6 9, Dalton Smith 0 2-2 2. Total 18 19-29 59.

TROY - Creede Garcia 2 4-4 8, Cory Orr 13 12-14 42, Ryan Rayson 2 9-10 13, Dalton Krause 1 2-2 4, Gabe Hickman 0 4-5 4, Nathan Olds 0 1-2 1, Bruce Metz 0 2-2 2. Totals 18 34-39 74.

3-point goals - Eureka 4 (Blankers 3, Ibach), Troy 4 (Orr 4). Total fouls - Eureka 22, Troy 16. Fouled out - Krause. Rebounds - Eureka 30, Troy 22.