---

The North Branch boys’ basketball team outscored Amery 11-7 in overtime and picked up a 66-62 win at North Branch Tuesday, February 21.

The first half was a seesaw battle the whole way as the teams were tied six times and there were three lead changes. The teams exchanged baskets early and with 8:43 left in the half, the score was tied at 11.

Travis Peterson hit a three and Jake Chambers converted a three point play to give the Vikings a 17-13 lead with 5:23 on the clock. Amery scored the next four to knot the score a minute later.

Two Nick Perrin freethrows and three pointers from David Bennett and Bryce Hunter helped the Vikings build a 25-22 lead as the half approached. However, Amery put eight on the board in the last two minutes while the Vikings could only manage three. That gave Amery a 30-28 lead at the intermission.

North Branch started fast in the second half. The Vikes went on a 12-1 run over the first four minutes to take a 40-31 lead. During that span, John Lindstrom scored on a putback, Jeff Olson hit a three, Chambers hit a two and Perrin connected on a three and a two.

The teams traded points for the next seven minutes. North Branch led 50-40 at the 7:26 mark. From there, Amery gradually ate away at the Vikings’ lead until they tied the score for the eighth time on two freethrows with two seconds on the clock. Regulation ended with a 55-55 tie.

In the extra session Amery scored first. A Chambers basket tied it at 57. Amery hit a three that Chambers matched with 1:44 left. The 11th tie (62-62) was broken by Chambers’ ninth point of the OT with 14 seconds left. Perrin hit two freethrows with no time showing and the Vikings escaped with a 66-62 victory.

“Amery was a good game for us.  We had a couple of chances to put the game away but we made some critical mistakes we can hopefully learn from.  We fell behind early in the overtime but rallied back to get the victory. 

“It is a constant learning experience.  I have to take my hat off to Travis Peterson as our only senior.  He has done a super job trying to get the younger kids over the hump,” said North Branch head coach Bill Baumann.

Justin Novak had five rebounds, four assists and three steals. Bennett matched Novak with five boards as did Chambers, who also had three steals.

Scoring Summary

North Branch 28 27 11 66

Amery 30 25 7 62

Travis Peterson ................... 7

Justin Novak ................... 5

Jeff Olson ................... 3

Nick Perrin ................... 16

Jake Chambers ................... 20

David Bennett ................... 6

Bryce Hunter ................... 7

Total 66

Vikings at Spring Lake Park

Thursday, February 23 the Vikings traveled to Spring Lake Park, hoping to take home a North Central Conference win. The Panthers refused to cooperate and sent the Vikings home with a 60-50 loss.

In another back-and-forth start, the lead changed hands eight times over the first 10 minutes. A Panther 9-0 run gave them a 22-13 lead with 4:12 left in the half.

Three pointers by Ryan Norman, John Lindstrom and Nick Perrin and a two by Jake Chambers helped the Vikings get back on track. When the horn sounded, SLP had a 29-24 advantage.

A three by Lindstrom and a Chambers two tied the score at 29 as the second 18 minutes began. A minute later, a Perrin three gave North Branch a 31-32 lead.

The Panthers responded with a 12-3 run in the next four minutes that gave them a 43-35 lead. Threes by Chambers and Lindstrom cut the margin to two (43-41) midway through the half.

But, a 7-0 run gave the Panthers a nine point lead with seven minutes to go. The Vikings never got any closer than five and the Panthers built a lead of as much as 13 as the clock wound down to zero.

“Spring Lake Park had too much size for us.  We haven't learned to stay focused for the full game much less every possession.  We are learning that we have to maintain our concentration for the full possession.  We gave up too many cheap points after we had worked our tail ends off for 99 percent of the possession and then forgot to secure the rebound or close out a shooter,” coach Baumann commented.

A key to the outcome of this contest was in the stats. SLP outrebounded the Vikings 39-16, including a 19 to 3 advantage at the offensive end. The teams shot about the same percentage from the field, but the rebounding advantage gave the Panthers 54 shots compared to the Vikings’ 36.

Chambers collected four rebounds, while Justin Novak and Lindstrom each had three. Novak led his team with four assists and two steals.

Scoring Summary

North Branch 24 26 50

Sp. Lake Park 29 31 60

Travis Peterson ................... 3

Justin Novak ................... 3

Nick Perrin ................... 15

John Lindstrom ................... 15

Jake Chambers ................... 11

Ryan Norman ................... 3

Total 50

“With the things that have happened lately, it's basically like we are starting over at the beginning of the year.  We were young before, but now we are really young.  Instead of having young players just be role players we are now asking them to step up and fill dominant roles.

“A few years ago I had a group I liked to call the young guns, we may be looking at young guns II.  We are looking for a rotation and how these guys work together.  I think it would be pretty scary playing us right now because you don't know what to expect,” Baumann added.

 “I'm pleased the way we are playing defense and our shooting is starting to come around so it will be interesting how we finish off the season.  The youngsters are getting more and more experience and with that more confidence.  Now we just have to find a way to win some games,” the coach concluded.

---