Vikes slay Dragons

The North Branch boys basketball squad picked up a conference win as it defeated Pine City Jan. 7 and then fell to Fridley Jan. 9.
In the Pine City game, the Vikes played a fairly evenly matched first half to come away with a 25-22 lead at halftime. North Branch tallied 5 three-pointers in the half, but struggled to sink only 3 of 10 inside the arc.
In the second half, the Vikings increased the lead by outscoring Pine City 16-12 in the third quarter before the Dragons rallied to outscore the Vikes 14-11 in the final quarter, at one point tying the game and taking over the lead. It wouldnít be enough, however, as North Branch won 52-48.
The Vikes were perfect at the free throw line, sinking 8 of 8 attempts. The squad picked up 5 more three-pointers in the second half, for a total of 10, with half of that total coming from junior Britt Baumann on his way to leading the team offensively with 15 points.
Junior Matt Fletcher added 14 points and 6 rebounds, while junior Jake Anderson notched 11 points and sophomore Tony Beaver added 6.
Three other players added 2 points apiece ñ seniors Jared Gagne, Jeremy Anderson and Tyler Higley.
North Branch struggled at the line against Fridley in a 60-49 loss Jan. 9. The squad made 8 of 14 and had only 9 two-point attempts for the game, compared to Fridley completing 20 of 39 baskets.
Fridley took the slight 13-10 edge after one quarter, and saw North Branch take over the lead at 23-21 at halftime off a three-pointer from Fletcher in the final seconds.
The third quarter was all Fridley, as the team racked up 25 points to North Branchís 14 for the 46-37 lead going into the final quarter. Fridley took the slight 14-12 scoring edge in the fourth for the 60-49 win.
The Vikes offense was led by Fletcher with 12 points, Baumann with 11 and Higley with 10. Jake Anderson added 8, while Beaver and Gagne notched 3 apiece and Jeremy Anderson had 2.
The win and loss on the week brings the Vikingsí record to 7-4 overall, 4-0 in the Rum River Conference.
This week, the team was scheduled to host Foley Tuesday before traveling to Big Lake Friday and St. Michael-Albertville next Tuesday.

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