Posted: 2/1/06

Benilde sinks the Vikings

By Patrick Tepoorten

While their contemporaries had a full calendar last week, each team playing twice, the North Branch boysí basketball team had a relatively easy week. Or did they?

The Vikings only opponent last week was Benilde-St. Margaretís Red Knights, who turned out to be anything but easy. According to Viking head coach Bill Baumann, his teamís trouble centered on their ability to stay focused.

ìWe are playing hard but making way too many mistakes. We fell behind in the first half and then kept clawing our way back but then we relax and they are able to push the lead out to 11 by the half.î

Indeed, the Red Knights led 37-26 heading into the third quarter. And, although the Vikings were able to get within one point of Benilde midway through the second half, the rally would evaporate quickly, leaving the Vikings trailing, for the most part, by eight points or better for the duration.

73-65 would be the final score, in favor of the Red Knights. That is not to suggest there was no good news for the Vikings along the way. In fact there was, in the area of bench scoring.

John Lindstrom shed his warm-ups to score 10 points and David Bennet added another nine. The bench would account for 21 points in total.

Starter Jake Chambers was his usual self, scoring a team-leading 20 points and coming down with nine rebounds as well. Nick Perrin had five assists in the game.

Coach Baumann would like to see improvement in may areas of his squadís game, not the least of which is free throws, an area that North Branch struggled with against the Red Knights. ìYou are not going to win too many games shooting 9 for 21 from the charity stripe,î said Baumann, who noted that his team is very good at drawing fouls, but needs to convert those fouls into points.

Baumann looks for his team to get back to basics this week. ìWe have to get back to grinding out a win,î he said.

The Vikings will have a chance to do that this week. Following a home game last night the team will travel to Robbinsdale-Cooper this Friday.

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