February 14, 2008 at 9:05 a.m.
Vikings play well, but can't get a conference win
Vikings play well, but can't get a conference win
The fast-paced game was tight from the beginning. Three minutes in, Viking senior Jake Chambers' driving basket knotted it at 7-7. After BSM retook the lead, Kirk Dahle and Chambers found John Lindstrom with some shooting room. Lindstrom delivered both times, giving the home team an 11-9 lead with 13:50 left in the half.
Tulsa recruit Armond Battle put Benilde back in front with an old-fashioned three-point play before Lindstrom went on a personal, seven point run. A pretty Chambers to Dan Ginal to Lindstrom play set up the Viking senior at the arc. He buried the three, followed that with a drive from the right side and a putback of a Viking miss. With 10:30 remaining, the Vikings led 18-12.
In the next four minutes, Benilde outscored the Vikes 15-4 to take a 27-22 lead. Junior Mike Dahl started the Viking response with 3:47 left in the period. He hit a freethrow to kick off a 7-0 Viking surge that ended a minute later when Chambers put back his own miss and converted a freethrow. At 2:45, NB had a 29-27 lead.
The teams traded baskets as the clock ran down. When the buzzer signaled the half, the scoreboard read North Branch 36, Guest 36.
"We went toe to toe with the No. 1 ranked team in Class 3A. I don't think we could have played much better. We played hard and we executed extremely well. We had a small lapse late in the first half and they capitalized on it, but we responded and tied the game going into the half," said Viking head coach Bill Baumann.
Ginal gave the Vikings a lead in the the first minute of the second half. His three was followed by a pair of Benilde field goals. Two minutes into the half, the Knights had a 40-39 advantage.
Norman hit a two and a pair from the line to help keep the Vikings in the lead over the next few minutes. But, Wisconsin recruit Jordan Taylor spearheaded a 12-2 Benilde run that gave his team a 54-46 margin with 9:58 left.
Bryce Hunter hit a pair of foul shots and Kyle Grote nailed a three to cut the lead to, 54-51, midway through the half. In the next two minutes, Chambers and Grote scored, but Battle and Taylor combined for 11 quick points and. With 6:57 left, NB trailed 65-56.
Chambers scored 10 points in the next four minutes. Not to be outdone, the Taylor-led Knights scored eight. With 2:05 remaining, Benilde was ahead 73-65.
From that point, Chambers spotted Norman in the lane. The sophomore laid in a two, cutting the Benilde lead to five. Chambers hit a pair of charity tosses and Grote hit a hoop in the last minute. But, Taylor and his mates countered with five freethrows to preserve the lead and escape with a six-point win.
"We had a chance to take control of the game early in the second half, but just couldn't get the big play we needed," Baumann commented. "We wouldn't let them get away from us. But I think it was just too much Jordan Taylor. There's a reason he's a top recruit, going to Wisconsin."
GAME SUMMARY
Benilde 36 44 80
North Branch 36 38 74
Viking Scoring
Norman, Ryan 8
Grote, Kyle 9
Lindstrom, John 21
Ginal, Dan 3
Chambers, Jake 28
Hunter, Bryce 2
Dahl, Mike 1
Sampson, Eric 2
Total 74
North Branch at St. Francis
Friday, February 8
In a game that featured nine ties and 14 lead changes, the Saints defeated the Vikings 60-58 in double overtime.
"We played as hard as we did on Monday, but we didn't execute as well," said coach Baumann. "If you look at the stats, this was about as even a game as there possibly could be. It was a good high school game and it was too bad somebody had to lose."
St. Francis took the lead on a dunk in the first minute of the game. The Vikings quieted the St. Francis fans by coming back to take the lead on a pair of freethrows and a field goal, all by Jake Chambers.
Mike Dahl, John Lindstrom and Dan Ginal scored for the Vikings as the teams exchanged the lead for much of the half, with neither team leading by more than four. Chambers added a pair of field goals late in the half to keep the Vikings close. At the half, the Saints held a 21-18 lead.
Chambers opened the scoring in the second half, cutting the SF lead to 21-20 at the 17:04 mark. A Saint three put them up 24-20 before Ryan Norman, Ginal and Lindstrom hit back-to-back-to-back three's. With 11:32 left in the game, the Vikings were up 29-24.
Six minutes later, St. Francis had fought back to to take a 38-35 lead. They maintained that lead until Chambers hit a three with 1:31 left, creating the game's sixth tie. A Mike Dahl freethrow put the Vikings in the lead, but SF matched it and regulation time expired with a pair of 43's on the board.
St. Francis took a four-point lead in the first OT. But, on the strength of three's by Chambers and Norman, the Vikings tied it at 49 . Chambers' two in the last seconds tied it again, as the first overtime ended 51-51.
SF scored first in the second overtime and held the lead the entire four minutes. The Vikings refused to give up and came back from a four-point deficit. With three seconds left, Chambers made one-of-two freethrows to bring his team back to within one, 59-58. A second later, the Saints secured the win with a foul shot, giving them a two-point win.
"We are trying to get the kids to focus on every possession of the game," Baumann said, "and, if we look back, there were times early in the game we made mistakes and, if we would have avoided them we never would have gone into overtime. There were some strange calls in the game but you just have to play through them. We have to remember that it is 10 percent what happens and 90 percent how we react to it."
GAME SUMMARY
St. Francis 21 22 8 9 60
North Branch 18 25 8 7 58
Viking Scoring
Norman, Ryan 6
Grote, Kyle 3
Lindstrom, John 10
Ginal, Dan 6
Chambers, Jake 26
Hunter, Bryce 2
Dahl, Mike 5
Total 58
The Vikings play at Irondale, Friday, February 15 and host Columbia Heights Tuesday, February 19. Both conference games are scheduled for 7:15 tip-offs.
NB BBB for 2/14
BY DAVE AMBERS
Sports editor
The Viking boys gave the top ranked Red Knights from Benilde-St. Margaret's everything they could Tuesday, February 5 at North Branch. After the score was tied at halftime, the Knights outscored NB 44-38 in the second half to take a hard-earned 80-74 win over the Vikings.
The fast-paced game was tight from the beginning. Three minutes in, Viking senior Jake Chambers' driving basket knotted it at 7-7. After BSM retook the lead, Kirk Dahle and Chambers found John Lindstrom with some shooting room. Lindstrom delivered both times, giving the home team an 11-9 lead with 13:50 left in the half.
Tulsa recruit Armond Battle put Benilde back in front with an old-fashioned three-point play before Lindstrom went on a personal, seven point run. A pretty Chambers to Dan Ginal to Lindstrom play set up the Viking senior at the arc. He buried the three, followed that with a drive from the right side and a putback of a Viking miss. With 10:30 remaining, the Vikings led 18-12.
In the next four minutes, Benilde outscored the Vikes 15-4 to take a 27-22 lead. Junior Mike Dahl started the Viking response with 3:47 left in the period. He hit a freethrow to kick off a 7-0 Viking surge that ended a minute later when Chambers put back his own miss and converted a freethrow. At 2:45, NB had a 29-27 lead.
The teams traded baskets as the clock ran down. When the buzzer signaled the half, the scoreboard read North Branch 36, Guest 36.
"We went toe to toe with the No. 1 ranked team in Class 3A. I don't think we could have played much better. We played hard and we executed extremely well. We had a small lapse late in the first half and they capitalized on it, but we responded and tied the game going into the half," said Viking head coach Bill Baumann.
Ginal gave the Vikings a lead in the the first minute of the second half. His three was followed by a pair of Benilde field goals. Two minutes into the half, the Knights had a 40-39 advantage.
Norman hit a two and a pair from the line to help keep the Vikings in the lead over the next few minutes. But, Wisconsin recruit Jordan Taylor spearheaded a 12-2 Benilde run that gave his team a 54-46 margin with 9:58 left.
Bryce Hunter hit a pair of foul shots and Kyle Grote nailed a three to cut the lead to, 54-51, midway through the half. In the next two minutes, Chambers and Grote scored, but Battle and Taylor combined for 11 quick points and. With 6:57 left, NB trailed 65-56.
Chambers scored 10 points in the next four minutes. Not to be outdone, the Taylor-led Knights scored eight. With 2:05 remaining, Benilde was ahead 73-65.
From that point, Chambers spotted Norman in the lane. The sophomore laid in a two, cutting the Benilde lead to five. Chambers hit a pair of charity tosses and Grote hit a hoop in the last minute. But, Taylor and his mates countered with five freethrows to preserve the lead and escape with a six-point win.
"We had a chance to take control of the game early in the second half, but just couldn't get the big play we needed," Baumann commented. "We wouldn't let them get away from us. But I think it was just too much Jordan Taylor. There's a reason he's a top recruit, going to Wisconsin."
GAME SUMMARY
Benilde 36 44 80
North Branch 36 38 74
Viking Scoring
Norman, Ryan 8
Grote, Kyle 9
Lindstrom, John 21
Ginal, Dan 3
Chambers, Jake 28
Hunter, Bryce 2
Dahl, Mike 1
Sampson, Eric 2
Total 74
North Branch at St. Francis
Friday, February 8
In a game that featured nine ties and 14 lead changes, the Saints defeated the Vikings 60-58 in double overtime.
"We played as hard as we did on Monday, but we didn't execute as well," said coach Baumann. "If you look at the stats, this was about as even a game as there possibly could be. It was a good high school game and it was too bad somebody had to lose."
St. Francis took the lead on a dunk in the first minute of the game. The Vikings quieted the St. Francis fans by coming back to take the lead on a pair of freethrows and a field goal, all by Jake Chambers.
Mike Dahl, John Lindstrom and Dan Ginal scored for the Vikings as the teams exchanged the lead for much of the half, with neither team leading by more than four. Chambers added a pair of field goals late in the half to keep the Vikings close. At the half, the Saints held a 21-18 lead.
Chambers opened the scoring in the second half, cutting the SF lead to 21-20 at the 17:04 mark. A Saint three put them up 24-20 before Ryan Norman, Ginal and Lindstrom hit back-to-back-to-back three's. With 11:32 left in the game, the Vikings were up 29-24.
Six minutes later, St. Francis had fought back to to take a 38-35 lead. They maintained that lead until Chambers hit a three with 1:31 left, creating the game's sixth tie. A Mike Dahl freethrow put the Vikings in the lead, but SF matched it and regulation time expired with a pair of 43's on the board.
St. Francis took a four-point lead in the first OT. But, on the strength of three's by Chambers and Norman, the Vikings tied it at 49 . Chambers' two in the last seconds tied it again, as the first overtime ended 51-51.
SF scored first in the second overtime and held the lead the entire four minutes. The Vikings refused to give up and came back from a four-point deficit. With three seconds left, Chambers made one-of-two freethrows to bring his team back to within one, 59-58. A second later, the Saints secured the win with a foul shot, giving them a two-point win.
"We are trying to get the kids to focus on every possession of the game," Baumann said, "and, if we look back, there were times early in the game we made mistakes and, if we would have avoided them we never would have gone into overtime. There were some strange calls in the game but you just have to play through them. We have to remember that it is 10 percent what happens and 90 percent how we react to it."
GAME SUMMARY
St. Francis 21 22 8 9 60
North Branch 18 25 8 7 58
Viking Scoring
Norman, Ryan 6
Grote, Kyle 3
Lindstrom, John 10
Ginal, Dan 6
Chambers, Jake 26
Hunter, Bryce 2
Dahl, Mike 5
Total 58
The Vikings play at Irondale, Friday, February 15 and host Columbia Heights Tuesday, February 19. Both conference games are scheduled for 7:15 tip-offs.
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