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NB hoops teams finish seasonBoys fall to Totino Grace in section finals
By Danielle Strenke
The North Branch boys basketball team went into the section 6AAA playoffs as the No. 2 seed and advanced to the section finals for the chance to go to the state tournament. Those plans were thwarted when the No. 4 seed Totino-Grace upset the Vikings March 14 to earn a trip to state and end the season for the Vikes.
North Branch started sectional play with a win against Mahtomedi March 6 to advance to the semifinals against Fridley March 11.
In that game, the Tigers took an early 3-0 lead before senior Tyler Higley tied it up with a three-pointer for North Branch.
The Vikes trailed by as many as 5 points in the first quarter, and ended it trailing by one at 18-17.
ìWe came out against Fridley extremely focused and played with aggressiveness,î Head Coach Bill Baumann said. ìWe shot the ball well in the first quarter but then things just did not drop in the second as we were 4 for 16 from outside. We were still able to take the lead because of our defense.î
Junior Jake Anderson gave North Branch its first lead by opening the second quarter with a three. Junior Matt Fletcher added 3 of his own three-pointers in the second, giving the Vikes a 31-29 lead at halftime.
The Vikings controlled the third, exhibiting an attitude that it was just another regular season game and meanwhile racking up three-point hits. The squad went on a 24-5 run to end the third with a big 55-36 lead.
Fridley came back in the fourth to close within 2 in the final minute of the game, but put North Branch at the line four times to seal a 71-69 Vikes win.
ìWe really had some people step up in this game,î Baumann said. ìFletcher and Higley really showed some leadership. Jake Anderson, Jared Gagne and Darren Breslin did an outstanding job. Jeremy Jaques, Tony Beaver and Jeremy Anderson did a great job against much taller Tigers.î
Fletcher had one of his biggest games of the year, scoring 29 points. Higley added 22 and Jake Anderson had 10.
Baumann said the team started slowly and was never able to get over the hump in its 48-40 loss to Totino last Friday.
ìI donít know if it was nerves or what but we had never had that kind of bad miscommunication on defense all year as we did in the first quarter. We settled down after that and played much better defense the rest of the game.î
Totino held a commanding 17-8 lead after the first, but North Branch battled back to trail by only 6 at 25-19 at the half.
The Vikes rallied again in the third and looked to take over the lead, trailing 28-27. The squad failed to score on three straight possessions, and watched as the Eagles extended the lead to 37-29 after the third quarter.
The third quarter also ended the game for Britt Baumann, who injured a rib while battling for a loose ball.
The Vikes matched Totino 11-11 in the fourth quarter, but was unable to overcome an 8-point deficit for the loss.
Fletcher led the offense again with 15 points, while Higley picked up 9.
The loss ended the Vikingsí season as the Rum River Conference champions and runner-up in section 6AAA. ìWe have nothing to be ashamed of,î Baumann said. ìWe put together a 14-game win streak after starting the year 8-6.î
The team will lose seniors Jared Gagne, Darren Breslin, Jeremy Anderson, Tyler Higley and Jeremy Jaques in next yearís lineup, but will center on the talents of juniors Matt Fletcher, Britt Baumann and Jake Anderson.
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