The Hi-Liners would have their brief flashes against the undefeated Vikings, but ultimately, the Viking’s depth would reign supreme as they rolled to a 78-59 win.

Valley City would defensively lock down the perimeter as they did not allow a single three-pointer in the opening frame. Unfortunately for Valley City, Kindred’s endless wave of athletes kept pulverizing the ball inside as six different Vikings recorded a basket as they poured in 18 first-quarter points. For Valley City, their leading scorers after one would be Zack Sykora and Carson Eggert, who each finished the quarter with four points as the Hi-Liners trailed 18-10 going into the second quarter.

Offensively, the Hi-Liners would be stellar in the second quarter, pouring in basket after basket early on as five different Hi-Liners would score in the quarter. Talon Larson would establish an intensity inside, battling with Kindred’s Riley Sunram for rebounds and drawing multiple fouls, and he would finish the game with 11 points. Unfortunately for Valley City, their defensive effort left much to be desired as Kindred matched the Hi-Liner’s hot streak stride for stride and closed out the quarter with a run of their own to take a 45-30 lead into halftime.

The defensive intensity would shine in the third for Valley City as they held the Vikings to only 11 points. However, while they outscored the Vikings in the quarter, the Hi-Liners only managed to scrape together 15 points as they went into the final quarter trailing 56-45. In the fourth, Valley City would look to apply pressure early on as a Vikings technical foul allowed the Hi-Liners to cut the lead to 10. But in the end, three threes would start flowing for the Vikings as they would cruise to a 78-59 win.

The next game you can hear on KOVC will be the first round of the Girls Class A State Championship Tournament, as the Hi-Liners will be taking on the Bottineau Braves at 1:00 on Thursday, February 29th.

 

Ivy Real Estate Group Player of the Game: Talon Larson