Loyola stuns Bigfork in Western B divisional final

Bigfork fell into deep foul trouble and couldn’t shoot its way out on Saturday night, losing to Missoula Loyola-Sacred Heart 67-55 in the Western B boys basketball championship game at Flathead High School.

The Vikings seemed to seize control early in the second half. Bigfork scored the first 10 points of the third quarter and led 35-28 with a sizable home crowd and all the momentum in their favor. Vikings senior Josh Sandry was dominating in the post and junior Adam Jordt picked the pocket of a Rams guard to streak to the other end of the court for an easy layup.

The Vikings defense had forced three turnovers and two bad shots to take a 35-28 lead.

It’s a formula that has worked well over the last two years. One that since March 9, 2013, has seen Bigfork end in the win column in every Class B game.

Then Sandry picked up his third foul just three minutes into the half. Tyler Piazzola and Jonathan Landon each picked up their third less than a minute later. By the time Loyola’s Kevin Swanson hit a stepback jumper to take the lead back for the Rams, Jordt had picked up his third foul. Before Loyola made another shot Sandry and Landon each found a fourth foul.

The Rams went on a 17-0 run over five minutes to take a 45-35 lead while Bigfork went 0 for 8 from the field and picked up eight personal fouls.

Fouls played a big part in the fourth quarter. By the end of the game, Bigfork had fouled out three players and Loyola two. The Rams picked up a technical foul in the frame while Bigfork had two intentional fouls.

The Vikings had attempts to come back in the fourth but made just 3 of 8 from the free-throw line to open the period and were only able to cut their deficit back to six points before Sandry fouled out with six minutes to play.

Loyola pushed into the double foul bonus with 4:41 left and took advantage of the opportunity, making 16 of 23 from the stripe to close the game.

Bigfork’s attempts to cut the Loyola lead from behind the arc also went wanting. The Vikings were just 2 for 8 from 3-point range, making the only two in the last 30 seconds of the game.

“We hit a few shots there down the stretch we’re in that game,” Bigfork coach Sam Tudor said.

Bigfork never quite got into a flow in the contest, shooting just 20 percent in the first half, including 1 for 12 from deep. Despite that, it held the lead for the majority of the first 16 minutes, only falling behind at the end of each quarter. Loyola closed the first quarter on a 6-2 run to take a 14-12 lead. The Rams closed the second on an 8-0 run over the final 2:45 of the half to lead 28-25 at the break.

“When you’re dealing with a bench as deep as theirs, it gets tough when there’s foul trouble,” Tudor said. “We couldn’t keep the fresh legs on the court like he could.

“You can learn a lot more by losing a game like that than just winning all the time.”

Landon, who fouled out with 3:25 to play, led Bigfork with 14 points. Sandry scored 11 points and had a team-high seven rebounds and Isaac Martel, who finished with four fouls, had 10 points.

Swanson led Loyola with 15 points and Stephen Sellman had 14 and nine rebounds.

Each team will have to wait to see who they will play at the state tournament March 12-14 in Great Falls. Both teams advanced but will play teams from the Southern B division, which doesn’t hold its tournament until next weekend.

Bigfork will play the Southern B champion in the first round and Loyola will play the third place team from the south.

Loyola 14 14 17 22 — 67

Bigfork 12 13 11 19 — 55

LOYOLA — Braden Burke 0 1-3 1, Kevin Swanson 3 8-8 15, Danner Linhart 1 9-11 11, Sam Johnston 5 0-0 10, Parker Davis 1 0-0 2, Stephen Sellman 6 2-7 14, Carson Christian 1 5-6 7, Michael Vancanagan 1 5-6 7, Strother Cooper 0 0-2 0. Totals: 18-47 30-43 67.

BIGFORK — Adam Jordt 3 1-2 8, Isaac Martel 2 6-8 10, Jonathan Landon 2 9-14 14, Josh Sandry 3 5-9 11, Ryder Trent 2 1-3 6, Joseph Potkonjak 1 0-0 3, Tyler Piazzola 0 3-4 3. Totals: 13-52 25-40 55.

3-point goals — Loyola 1-8 (Swanson), Bigfork 4-22 (Jordt, Landon, Trent, Potkonjak). Rebounds — Loyola 48 (Cooper 10), Bigfork 28 (Sandry 7). Total fouls — Loyola 27, Bigfork 34. Fouled out — Loyola, Swanson, Johnston. Bigfork, Landon, Sandry, Piazzola. Technical fouls — Loyola, coach, Swanson. Bigfork, coach.

Consolation Final

Florence 46, Deer Lodge 42

Florence capitalized on another strong outing from the free-throw line to drop Deer Lodge.

Florence was 11 of 18 at the charity stripe while Deer Lodge was 6 of 12.

Dan Mickelson led Florence with 17 points. Jake Christopherson had 15.

Quade McQueary scored 15 and Jacob Simpson 13 for Deer Lodge.

Florence 16 6 12 12 — 46

Deer Lodge 7 12 13 10 — 42

FLORENCE — Brandon Johnson 0 3-8 3, Levi Clagett 2 0-2 5, Travern Smith 2 2-2 6, Jake Christopherson 5 5-5 15, Dan Mickelson 8 1-1 17. Totals: 17 11-18 46.

DEER LODGE — Derek Walker 2 0-0 4, Kade Benjamin 3 0-0 6, Quade McQueary 5 3-4 15, Jacob Simpson 5 3-8 13, Brandon Porter 1 0-0 2, Andrew Pierson 1 0-0 2. Totals: 17 6-12 42.

Loser Out

Florence 56, Thompson Falls 46

Balanced scoring allowed Florence to upend Thompson.

Florence had three players in double digits with Travern Smith at 14, Jake Christopherson 12 and Levi Clagett 10.

Smith pulled down a game-high 16 rebounds.

Trais Hoisington dropped in 17 points for Thompson Falls and had 12 rebounds. Joe Frields added 12 points.

Florence 7 9 18 22 — 56

Thompson Falls 6 9 14 17 — 46

FLORENCE — Brandan Johnson 3 0-1 7, Levi Clagett 2 6-8 10, Travern Smith 5 4-6 14, Cody Liles 0 3-4 3, Jake Christopherson 5 2-5 12, Jesse Grabowska 1 0-0 2, Dan Mickelson 4 0-0 8. Totals: 20 15-24 56.

THOMPSON FALLS — McKenzie Holt 1 0-2 2, Trais Hoisington 8 1-1 17, Tanner Laws 3 0-0 8, Dylan Vaught 1 1-2 3, Joe Frields 4 0-0 12, Dalton Hooten 1 0-0 2, Tyler Rifle 1 0-0 2. Totals: 19 2-5 46.

Deer Lodge 63, Ronan 56

Deer Lodge finished strong, outscoring Ronan 16-11 in the final quarter, to pull out the victory.

Jacob Sampson led the victors in scoring with 17 points. Quade McQueary and Derek Walker both had 14.

Cedric Earthboy netted 19 for Ronan and Jeremiah North Peigan followed with 17. Earthboy also had nine rebounds.

Ronan 7 25 13 11 — 56

Deer Lodge 10 22 15 16 — 63

RONAN — Cedric Earthboy 8 3-3 19, Colten McCrea 3 0-0 6, Justin Krahn 1 0-0 3, Ty James 0 1-2 1, Aaron Misa 2 2-2 6, Jeremiah North Peigan 8 0-2 17, Rhett Duffey 0 4-4 4. Totals: 22 10-13 56.

DEER LODGE — Derek Walker 4 3-4 14, Kade Benjamin 3 0-0 6, Quade McQueary 3 8-10 14, Jacob Sampson 6 5-6 17, Brandon Porter 2 0-1 4, Andrew Pierson 3 2-3 8. Totals: 21 18-24 63.