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Boys split pair at Faribault TourneyBy Danielle Strenke The North Branch boys basketball squad traveled to Faribault over the holidays, coming home with a win and a loss in the tournament. On Wednesday, Dec. 26, the team lost a heartbreaker, 66-64 to host Faribault. The Vikes came out slowly and fell behind 16-13 but rallied to outscore the Falcons 18-12 in the second quarter, taking a 31-28 lead at halftime. As the third quarter ended, Faribault reclaimed the lead at 47-46. The lead changed hands several times in the final quarter. North Branch rallied several times to tie up the game, before a rebound basket with five seconds left gave Faribault the lead and ultimately the game. ìWe played hard but we didnít play very smart,î head coach Bill Baumann said. ìWe had too many unforced errors and gave up too many offensive rebounds. At the same time the kids hung in there and rallied back several times. We had an opportunity to win the game but Faribault took advantage of what was available and came out on top.î Tyler Higley paced the Viking attack with 16 points. Britt Baumann and Jared Gagne joined him in double figures with 12 and 10 points respectively. Jake Anderson added seven points, Kyle Ekstrom six, Matt Fletcher five while Alex Streater and Jeremy Jaques rounded out the scoring with four each. Ekstrom also had five assists while Higley handed out four. Ekstrom also paced the Vikings by hauling down seven rebounds. Getting right back to work the next day in an afternoon contest against Minneapolis Washburn the Vikes jumped out to an 11-4 lead only to find the Millerís cutting that lead to 14-10 by quarterís end. North Branch continued their consistent play by outscoring Washburn 15-9 in the second quarter to increase their halftime lead to 29-19. ìWe were executing very well and our defense was more aggressive which seemed to confuse Washburn,î Baumann said. ìWe were patient on offense and took advantage of what they gave us.î The third quarter started out rather slowly but the Vikings were able to increase their margin to 44-30 at the end of the stanza. They went on to widen their lead by as much as 18 points in the final stanza, and closed it out at the free throw line for their final tally, giving them the 60-47 winñtheir fourth on the season. ìI didnít know how the kids would respond after the loss to Faribault the night before,î Baumann said. ìBut we came out and played intelligent basketball.î The Vikes were led in scoring by Baumann with 14, while Higley and Fletcher had 12 apiece. Streater, Gagne, and Anderson all had six points, with Ekstrom chipping in four and adding eight rebounds. Higley had six rebounds, followed by Fletcher with five. Baumann tallied four assists. ìAnd we have grown over time. We have had 10 games and seven have been on the road. Now we start on phase two with six of our next nine on the road. If we survive this next phase and continue to get better we will be a team to reckon with in February and March.î Their next series of games begins this Friday, Jan. 4, with a game on the road at Forest Lake. Their next home game comes Tuesday, Jan. 8 against Centennial, and then back on the road to face Milaca Jan. 10. The Vikes currently hold a 4-6 record. ©ECM Post Review |