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North Branch 49, Duluth Central 44

With a revamped lineup featuring only one prominent cog from the past few years, the North Branch boys basketball team was eager to get on the court and test their mettle against someone other than their junior varsity teammates.

They got that chance when they traveled north to Duluth Central for a non-conference game on Saturday, Dec. 6.

In fitting fashion, the game began and ended with that main cog, point guard Ryan Norman. The senior scored the first basket of the game a minute and a half in on a three point shot. Thirty-six minutes later, Norman ended the game with seven straight points to seal the win.

The two teams traded baskets most of the game, with no lead extending further than North Branch's, when they were winning 13-7. At halftime, the Vikings held a slim 26-24 lead.

The Trojans started building their own lead in the second half they started the stanza with five straight points. They held the lead for over nine minutes of the second half, but North Branch ripped it back their way on a 7-0 run with four minutes left.

Central wouldn't go quietly, however, as they retook the lead with their own 7-0 streak with two and a half minutes left.

From there, Norman, who hadn't scored since his opening three pointer, took the game into his hands and sealed the win. With just over two minutes left, he hit a three-pointer to give the Vikings a one point lead.

After both teams missed baskets, Norman had the ball in his hand with 35 seconds left and the lead, and Central had to resort to fouling him. The problem for them was that Norman is a phenomenal shooter from the charity stripe. He took his position at the line and sunk both free throws to extend the lead to three.

After Central missed a three-point shot of their own that would've tied it, Norman was fouled again, and he put the game out of reach by making both free throws to extend the lead to five points with only 19 seconds left.

"This was a big win for our young squad. Many of the players were receiving their first extended varsity action," Head Coach Bill Baumann said. "We made quite a few mistakes but we played hard and executed when we had to."

Norman and junior Kyle Grote led the team with 10 points each. Mike Dahl had eight points and nine rebounds, and Anders Dahlberg provided a spark off the bench with eight points.

"We played great defense and the only way they basically scored inside was by offensive rebounds. That is something we have to work on but it is correctable," Baumann added. "We didn't shoot extremely well but we had good looks and as the season progresses those shots will fall. The speed of the game is much different at this level and it was like we were trying to do everything at once on offense. As the season goes on those things will slow down and we will execute much better."

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