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By Cynthia Scott
Holy buckets, what a game.
Down 13 points at halftime and outplayed for most of the game, the North Branch Vikings mustered a Lazarus-like comeback against the Duluth Central Trojans in the final five minutes of regulation and came out victorious at the end of two overtime periods, 76-75 on Dec. 3.
After the Vikingsí resurrection, the Trojans came up with two miracles of their own, sinking improbable 3-pointers to tie the score with no time left on the clock at the end of regulation and the first overtime.
The game ended on Jake Chambersí desperation shot from behind the basket with 1.6 seconds left on the clock. The ball hit the top of the backboard, bounced high, and dropped through the net‚, leaving in its wake an astonished crowd, an elated Vikings bench and a disbelieving Trojans team, who argued that the ball was out of bounds once it hit the backboard.
However, the referee ruled that since the ball hit the top of the backboard and not the side, it remained in bounds and the basket was good.
Central coach Tom Pearson said he plans to appeal the shot.
The Vikings steadily chipped away at the Trojan lead in the second half, helped along by a steady stream of free throws. The Trojansí leading scorer and rebounder, Travon Taylor, fouled out with about five minutes remaining.
With eight seconds remaining on the clock in regulation, John Lindstrom made one free throw to put the Vikes up 59-56. But Centralís Mike Pihlaja coolly sank a 3-pointer from the corner as time ran out to send the game into overtime. They were the only points of the day for Pihlaja.
Chambers and Perrin scored the Vikingsí 7 points in the first overtime period. Four consecutive free throws by Perrin gave North Branch a 66-63 lead with seconds remaining, but Noah Pauley launched a three pointer from the top of the arc that swished through the net with the clock showing zeroes, keeping the Trojansí chances alive and sending the game into another overtime frame.
The win puts the Vikings at 1-1 after losing their season opener 58-75 to Cambridge-Isanti on Dec. 1.
Coach Bill Baumann said the Cambridge-Isanti game gave his team a taste of things to come in the North Suburban Conference NSC). The Bluejackets finished near the top of the NSC last year and this year they play in the Mississippi 8.
ìWe played hard, but made too many mistakes. We got a taste of what itís going to be like in the North Suburban and the kind of effort we are going to need every night.î
Effort, and a few holy buckets when they really count.
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