February 8, 2007 at 7:55 a.m.
North Branch boys take two conference games
North Branch boys take two conference games
Tuesday, January 30, the Vikings used a strong second half to defeat St. Louis Park 50-44. Thursday, February 2, neither team led by more than six points and the Vikings' Eric Sampson scored with four seconds left to help the Vikings to a 51-49 win over Fridley.
St. Louis Park at North Branch
The lead changed hands 10 times, it was tied eight times and neither team led by more than three points in the first half of the St. Louis Park game.
Jake Kovarik scored first to put the Vikings up 2-0 before the Orioles put the next five points on the board and took a 5-2 lead three minutes into the game. Jake Chambers, John Lindstrom and Bryce Hunter hit field goals and Chambers drilled a three to give the Vikes an 11-9 lead, halfway through the period.
Over the next three minutes, only Nick Perrin scored for North Branch as SLP outscored NB 7-2 to take a 16-13 lead. A Justin Novak three created the game's fourth tie, 16-16, at 4:59. The teams traded baskets for the rest of the half and an Oriole tres at the buzzer gave them a 27-26 halftime lead.
Lindstrom scored the first five Viking points of the second half. When Ryan Norman found him open outside the arc at the 15:39 mark, Lindstrom's three gave NB a 31-30 lead. The Vikings kept the lead for the rest of the game.
They gradually built their lead until, with 4:13 to go, North Branch held a 48-39 advantage. During that span, Norman and Chambers scored four each and Novak drained a three and had two assists to spark the Vikes.
The Orioles gave their fans reason for hope by scoring the next five points to close the gap to 48-44 at 1:09. However, Perrin's two with 59 seconds left sealed the Viking win.
Novak and DJ Charley led the Vikings with two steals apiece. Novak dished out a team-high six assists and Kovarik, Hunter and Perrin each grabbed four rebounds.
North Branch 26 24 50
St. Louis Park 27 17 44
North Branch Scoring
Ryan Norman 4
Jake Kovarik 4
Nick Perrin 8
John Lindstrom 7
Jake Chambers 13
Justin Novak 8
Bryce Hunter 6
Total 50
Fridley at North Branch
Jake Chambers outscored the Tigers in the first three minutes to give his team a 6-4 lead. The Vikings held the lead for the rest of the opening period, leading by as much as six, three different times.
Chambers added a three and Bryce Hunter scored seven and Eric Sampson six before the break. Thanks to balanced scoring and an effective defense, the Vikings led 27-23 at the half.
In the first five minutes of the second session, the Viking offense went on vacation. Fridley scored 10 in a row to take a 33-27 lead. North Branch came storming back with a three minute, 13-4 run that gave them the lead with 9:27 to go.
Bryce Hunter started the Viking surge with a two at 12:30. Three pointers by John Lindstrom and Chambers ended the run and gave the Vikings a 40-37 lead. NB was never trailed after that. But, Fridley tied it at 42, with 6:29 left and, at 49, on a putback with 19 seconds left.
Viking head coach Bill Baumann called for a timeout. When play resumed, the Vikings ran the clock down to four seconds before Chambers, driving near the right elbow, spotted Sampson on the lower block on the left side. The pass was perfect and Sampson made the layup for the game winner.
"We are not fully executing yet, but we are making progress. Against Fridley, we executed our last play very well. Jake Chambers made a great decision and a nice pass to Eric Sampson to finish off the play. It was one of a couple of options we had diagramed and the kids executed it well," the coach added.
Chambers had a big game by leading the team with 18 points and grabbing six rebounds. Sampson led the Vikings with seven rebounds and contributed 11 points to the win. Nick Perrin and Chambers each had three assists.
North Branch 27 24 51
Fridley 23 26 49
North Branch Scoring
Justin Novak 8
John Lindstrom 3
Jake Chambers 18
Bryce Hunter 6
DJ Charley 2
Eric Sampson 11
Total 50
"Our hard work is finally paying off. These were two games we probably would have lost earlier in the year. We had aimed for this point in the year a while back and it was good that we could get something good out of it," said Baumann.
"Now that we have gotten back into the win column, it is important we build on that, correcting some other little things. Our defense and our hustle have been keeping us in games. We are still learning to sustain that intensity for the full game and not have some mental lapses. But, we are making progress," Baumann concluded.
The Vikings host St. Francis Friday, February 9. Then they travel to Totino-Grace for a Tuesday, February 13 game. Both contests start at 7:15 p.m.
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