BIGFORK — The Bigfork Vikings hammered Eureka 82-38 in a District 7B tournament semifinal Thursday to advance to the district title game.

Bigfork’s 82 points were a season-high and the win sets up a rematch of last year’s 7B championship game when Troy upset the Vikings to claim the district title.

Troy defeated Thompson Falls 48-45 in the other semifinal.

“There’s definitely that memory of playing them last year in the tournament,” Bigfork senior guard Austin Jordt said of Troy. “But this year we’re more focused than we were last year going into the tournament.”

That focus stems from Bigfork’s nonconference loss to Florence seven days ago. Bigfork’s only loss against a fellow Class B school, the defeat stopped a nine-game winning streak and served as a “wake-up call” according to coach Kurt Paulson.

“You never want a loss, but if you can’t go back and change it, you need to learn from it,” he said. “We changed a few things. I think they exposed some weaknesses of ours, so it’s good to see that on film. We made some adjustments and I think the kids are little more focused now.”

Specifically, senior guard Chris Landon said the Vikings weren’t talking enough on defense.

“I don’t know if we were all there mentally, but now we’re ready to go,” he said. “It showed us that we can be beaten and we need to work harder.”

Jordt scored Bigfork’s first six points against Eureka and the Vikings were off to the races with an 18-6 lead less than six minutes into the game. Landon chipped his two front teeth early in the first quarter but returned minutes later with a clean jersey and sparked a fast break with a steal.

Efficient free throw shooting and a potent transition game gave Bigfork a 46-22 lead at halftime.

“We were just pushing the ball,” Paulson said. “I told them to get stops and push the basketball. That’s our strength I think. We’re tall and stuff, but when we get on the break we’re at our best.”

The Vikings made 11 of 15 free throw attempts in the first half, including a 6 of 6 effort from Seth Roessmann.

Bigfork opened the third quarter on a 6-0 run, extending its lead to 52-22, and closed the period with eight consecutive points to open up a 38-point lead.

Roessmann drilled a three-pointer on the opening possession of the fourth quarter and the 41-point margin activated a running clock for the rest of the game.

Wyatt Fisher’s three-pointer with 12 seconds remaining gave Bigfork its season-high point total.

Roessmann led the Vikings with 16 points. Jordt scored 15, Colter Trent tallied 14 and Christian Evans finished with 10.

Tanner Blankers led Eureka with 13 points and Dalton Smith and Cameron Griffin each scored 10.

Unbeaten in conference play during the regular season, Bigfork (15-4 overall, 8-0 District 7B) will look to continue that success in Saturday’s district championship game in Libby at 5 p.m.

Eureka (1-19, 0-8), which won its first game of the season on Tuesday in a 7B tournament play-in game against Plains, will play Thompson Falls at 1 p.m. Saturday in the third-place game.

Eureka1210610—38

Bigfork24222016—82

EUREKA - Tanner Blankers 5 1-2 13, Dalton Smith 4 2-2 10, Cameron Griffin 5 0-0 10, Braden Their 2 0-0 5. Totals: 16 3-4 38.

BIGFORK - Seth Roessmann 4 6-6 16, Austin Jordt 6 2-4 15, Colter Trent 6 1-1 14, Christian Evans 3 4-5 10, Chris Landon 4 1-1 9, Cameron Nissen 4 0-2 8, Josh Sandry 2 0-1 4, Logan Lamm 1 1-2 3, Wyatt Fisher 1 0-0 3. Totals: 31 15-22 82.

Troy 48, 

Thompson Falls 45

TROY — Gabe Hickman hit a 3-pointer with six seconds remaing to send the Troy boys to the 7B title game.

Hickman’s shot broke a 45-45 tie and set up a rematch with the Bigfork boys for the championship. Troy beat the Vikings in last season’s title game to win the 7B.

A shot from Thompson Falls’ Tanner Laws fell short at the buzzer. 

Sean Opland led the Trojans with 18 points and 12 boards. Austin Grable had 17 for Troy. 

Baptiste Seynaeve scored 14 to lead Thompson Falls.

Thompson Falls1310148–45

Troy13101213–48

THOMPSON FALLS – Caleb Bates 3, Tanner Laws 10, Baptiste Seynaeve 14, Ross Dalby 2, Dominique Holt 6, Travis Hoisington 8, Tyler Bates 2.

TROY – Luke Haggerty 2, Gabe Hickman 7, Gage Tallmadge 2, Nathan Olds 2, Austin Grable 17, Sean Opland 18.

GIRLS

Eureka 57, Bigfork 48

EUREKA — Eureka forward Cassidy Morgan scored 20 points as the Lady Lions edged Bigfork in a District 7B          tournament semifinal.

Alyssa White added 14 points and Mikayla Grove scored 10.

Eureka led 25-19 at halftime and extended its lead to 39-30 by the end of the third quarter.

“The big thing was we hit some free throws down the stretch,” said Eureka coach R.J. McDole, noting his team shot 10 of 17 from the foul line in the fourth quarter.

Matti McAnally and Shelby Scoggins led Bigfork with 15 and 14 points respectively. Tessa Robertson scored 12.

Eureka will play Thompson Falls in the 7B title game Saturday in Libby.

Bigfork will take on Plains in the third-place game.

Bigfork8111118—48

Eureka14111418—57

BIGFORK — Stevi Siloti 2, Matti McAnally 15, Marissa Hiza 1, Shelby Scoggins 14, Josie Spoklie 4, Tessa Robertson 12. 

EUREKA — Alex Holland 5, Mikayla Grove 10, Alyssa White 14, Cassidy Morgan 20, Carli Allen 8.

Thompson Falls 58, Plains 51

THOMPSON FALLS — Thompson Falls defeated Plains in a District 7B semifinal.

Kelsey Fitchett and Logan Beckman led Thompson Falls with 17 and 15 points, respectively.

Leah Thompson led Plains with 19 points.

Plains823812—51

Th. Falls11181712—58

PLAINS – Felicia Earhart 2, Carley VonHeeder 3, Hailey Phillips 16, Ashley Holmes 6, Kayla Holmes 2, Jessica Hansen 3, Leah Thompson 19.

THOMPSON FALLS – Hope Reid 8, Shey Hannum 2, Kelsey Fitchett 17, Angela Padden 6, Allison Vaught 10, Logan Beckman 15.