After a close three-point loss to #4 Central Cass, the Valley City Hi-Liners were looking to rebound at home against #2 Kindred.

It would be a defensive stalemate in the first quarter as both teams were playing fast and loose with the ball while struggling to find the bottom of the net. Zach Sykora muscled his way to six points in the opening frame, finishing with a team-high 15. In the second quarter, both teams would continue to struggle to find the bottom of the net as both sides defenses continued to reign supreme. But a late surge from Vikings guards Presley Peraza and Brooks Bakko would stake the Vikings to a 24-20 lead at the half.

The Hi-Liners would come out hot after the break as they quickly tied the ballgame at 24-24 before a three-point barrage by Bryson Heck helped push the Hi-Liners out to a seven-point advantage. Bakko, though, would not be denied late as he surged for seven points in the final three minutes of the third to cut the deficit down to 40-37.

The fourth would see Vikings forward Karson Ouse connect on his first two shots of the half as both Ouse and Bakko would combine for fifteen of the Vikings’ twenty points in the fourth as the Vikings opened up an eight-point lead with seconds to go. A corner three by Carson Eggert cut the deficit to five, and after a pair of missed free throws by Bakko the Hi-Liners had a chance to cut the deficit down to one possession. But the Viking’s defense held up, forcing a Sykora miss on an up layup, as the clock would expire after a missed three-point shot.

The next game for the Hi-Liners will be Friday, December 22nd, in Devils Lake against number one ranked Firebirds.

 

Ivy Real Estate Group Player of the Game: Carson Eggert