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"We played two of our best halves of the year," said North Branch head boys basketball coach Bill Baumann. "The only problem is it was in two different games." The coach was referring to home losses to Spring Lake Park Tuesday, January 23 and Tartan Thursday, January 25. The Vikings completed the week's schedule with a win at Rogers Saturday, January 27.

North Branch 31 26 57

Spring Lake Park 22 38 60

John Lindstrom gave the Vikes a 3-0 lead 37 seconds into the game. Three minutes later, Nick Perrin hit NB's second three to put the home team up 6-2. Lindstrom added a two at the 13:27 mark and the Vikings enjoyed an 8-4 lead.

However, Spring Lake Park outscored NB 8-1 before Jake Chambers went to work. At 9:52, the sturdy Viking junior hit from behind the arc to tie it at 12. A minute later, Chambers was fouled as he tried to hit another three. He drained all three to give the Vikes a 15-12 lead midway through the first period.

The Vikings gradually built a lead for the remainder of the half on the strength of the outside shooting of Perrin and Lindstrom. Before the intermission, Perrin hit three more from downtown and Lindstrom added two. When the teams went to the locker room, the Vikings were riding a 31-22 advantage.

NB went up by 11 when Lindstrom opened the second half scoring. But, the Panthers scored the next seven points, closing the deficit to 33-29 with 14:47 to go. In the next minute, Chambers and Eric Sampson scored to put the Viking lead at 37-29 with 13:25 left.

SLP kept picking away at the lead until the Panthers took their first lead at 7:26. Three-pointers by Lindstrom and Perrin let the home team regain a lead. At the 4:05 mark, the Vikings led 49-48.

From that point, SLP led by as many as five for the rest of the game. The Vikings closed the gap to one on several occasions, the last with six clicks left. A Jake Kovarik hoop made it 58-57. The Vikings put a Panther shooter at the line with 2.7 seconds left. He went two-for-two to put the visitors up by three.

Justin Novak tried a shot from beyond the timeline as the buzzer sounded. But, the shot went wide and SLP went home with a 60-57 come-from-behind win.

"Against Spring Lake Park we played outstanding, the way we are capable of playing, in the first half," coach Baumann said. "We dominated all aspects of the game.  Then, in the second half, we couldn't put anything together." 

North Branch Scoring

Ryan Norman 1

Jake Kovarik 4

Nick Perrin 18

John Lindstrom 18

Jake Chambers 14

Eric Sampson 2

Total 57

Tartan at North Branch

The Vikings held the lead for the first eight minutes of the game, but outstanding Tartan shooting eventually gave the Titans a 66-50 win over North Branch.

In a first half that featured 11 lead changes, the Vikings took their last lead at 3:30 to go in the first half. Bryce Hunter's hoop gave NB a 29-28 lead. However, the Titans outscored the Vikings 10-5 in the last minutes and took a 38-34 lead into the locker room.

In the second stanza, Tartan sharpshooters scored early and often and turned the four point lead into a 23 point advantage midway through the half. A late surge, led by the scoring of Viking senior Justin Novak, narrowed the margin, but the visitors cruised to an easy win.

"Against Tartan, we played a good first half against a good team and held our own," coach Baumann said. "In the second half, we played well but Tartan just shot the ball well.  Good teams will take advantage of every mistake you make."

North Branch 34 16 50

Tartan 38 28 66

North Branch Scoring

Ryan Norman 1

Jake Kovarik 4

Nick Perrin 18

John Lindstrom 18

Jake Chambers 14

Eric Sampson 2

Total 57

North Branch at Rogers

The Vikings got off to an early lead at Rogers, gave it up, regained the advantage and held on for a 55-53 win on the Royals' court.

Neither team was very successful on offense in the first few minutes. But, the Vikings got on the board first with three long-range shots. Two Justin Novak three-pointers were followed by a Nick Perrin shot that put the Vikings up 9-0 with 13:33 left.

A Jake Chambers basket put NB up 28-24 in the first minute of the second half. When the Royals came back to outscore the Vikings 9-2 over the next three minutes to take a 33-30 lead at 14:50, recent second half swoons were swirling through Vikings' fans minds. But, Ryan Norman, Perrin and Novak took turns finding Chambers free at the arc. Chambers responded by burying three consecutive bombs to put the Vikes up 39-35 with 12:05 left.

The Vikings maintained a lead most of the rest of the way and led by seven when Chambers' two freethrows made it 53-46 at the 2:45 mark. But, Rogers went on a 7-0, two minute run to create the game's fifth tie with 47 seconds remaining.

"It looked like we were going to kick this one away. But, we made a good defensive play to get the ball back and we pushed the ball up the court to Jake (Chambers)," coach Baumann said. " Nick Perrin tipped a ball and Justin Novak picked it up with about seven seconds to go and I figured our best chance was to push the ball and get a possible shot off before Rogers could recover.  Jake Chambers made an unbelievable shot at the end to give us the win." Chambers' field goal made the final score 55-53.

"Against Rogers we were playing on our favorite day--Saturday!  We are undefeated on Saturday afternoons," Baumann commented, referring to Viking Saturday wins over Duluth Central and Denfeld. " In reality, we played well but still had mental lapses.  We tried to divide the game into nine, four-minute minigames and we won most of those minigames.  Our goal will be to win all the mini games. We were about due for a break." 

North Branch 26 29 55

Rogers 24 29 53

North Branch Scoring

Justin Novak 16

Nick Perrin 16

John Lindstrom 2

Jake Chambers 17

Eric Sampson 2

Bryce Hunter 2

Total 55

The Vikings host Fridley tonight, Thursday, February 1, before traveling to Benilde-St. Margaret's Tuesday, February 6. Both conference contests are scheduled to start at 7:15 p.m.

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