Cory Orr, Troy knock off 4th-ranked Bigfork

COLUMBIA FALLS - The old adage is true - it's tough to beat a team three times in a season.

The Troy Trojans proved that on Saturday night.

Bigfork had swept the regular season series with the Trojans, but in Saturday's District 7B Tournament championship, senior guard Cory Orr got the baseline and drove for a layup as time expired to give unranked Troy (16-4) a 38-36 upset of No. 3-ranked Bigfork (16-4).

Both teams advance to this weekend's Western B Divisional tournament.

It was a barnburner, but it didn't start out that way.

The Vikings blew out to an 8-0 lead and led 14-6 after the first quarter.

But Troy switched from man defense to zone and worked its way back into the game midway through the second period.

By halftime, the contest was tied at 18-all and it was pretty much shot-for-shot the entire second half.

The largest lead by either team was three points.

"Once we got down 8-0, I told them to keep their heads in the game and focus and we can get back in it. They did that. I thought they were really mentally tough tonight," said Troy coach Cory Anderson.

"(The Trojans) knew it was going to be a battle. Bigfork is a really good team. You are going to have a four-quarter battle with a team like that," Anderson said.

"I'm proud of my guys that they hung in there and played tough all the way to the end. We made the shot we had to. Cory never really got going, but he hit the shots he needed to," he added.

"I thought our guys did better in that zone, defensively moving. And I thought we settled down. We were a little excited to start the game and we missed some shots we normally make. But once the guys got the feel of the game, they settled down and started making shots," he said.

"I give a lot of credit to Troy. They had a great game plan and their kids played super hard," said Bigfork coach Kurt Paulson.

"It came down to the last second. (Orr) is a 21-point per game player. He made a nice play and he hit the game-winner. The defense we were in has won us a lot of games this year, but give credit to that kid. We guard him pretty well all game, but he made the play when it mattered," Paulson said.

Orr led all scorers with 11 points. Ryan Rayson added 10 point for the Trojans. Jackson Boese and Ian Lorang scored 10 apiece to pace the Vikings.

"We started off well. Then they went to that zone and pretty much the rest of the game, they stayed in it and we didn't shoot the ball very well. We weren't as aggressive as I would have liked," Paulson said.

"They made a few extra shots. Our 3-point percentage must have been pretty awful and we didn't get the offensive rebounds like we do a lot of times," Paulson said.

Anderson complimented 6-foot-6 senior Rayson on his shot blocking.

Rayson had at least three on the night.

"He was a line of defense that really saved us. He saved two or three layups, I thought," he said.

"We had some good looks. Ryan Rayson made some blocked shots that were very timely," he added.

Troy 6 12 10 10 - 38

Bigfork 14 4 10 8 - 36

Troy - Creed Garcia 0 4-4 4, Cory Orr 4 2-3 11, Ryan Rayson 5 0-1 10, Cody Orr 1 1-2 3, Gabe Hickman 1 3-3 6, Justin Randall 2 0-0 4. Totals 13 10-13 38.

Bigfork - Austin Jordt 1 0-0 2, Ian Lorange 4 1-2 10, Cody Dopps 1 2-2 4, Connor Coleman 3 0-0 6, Christian Evans 2 0-0 4, Jackson Boese 3 4-5 10.

3-point goals: Troy 2 (Cory Orr, Hickman). Bigfork 1 (Lorang). Total fouls: Troy 14, Bigfork 14. Fouled out: None