It is not uncommon for teams to have off shooting nights.

But rarely do you see two teams struggle the way Niles did in its SMAC West Division doubleheader with Portage Northern Friday night.

The Niles girls team dropped a 54-47 division to the Huskies, while the Vikings’ boys team fell to Portage Northern 53-33 on homecoming night.

In the girls game, Niles battled back and forth with Portage Northern, but could not get the basket to fall — either from the field nor at the free throw line.

The Vikings (9-5, 4-4 SMAC West) trailed just 12-10 after one, but rebounded to take a 28-27 lead into the half.

The final two quarters saw Northern’s Natalie Vizard take control of the contest as she knocked down big shot after big shot to keep Niles at bay.

The Vikings had their chances as they trailed just 40-36 heading into the fourth quarter.

But an 10-of-30 performance from the free throw line ended any chance of a comeback.

Vizard finished with 34 points to lead all scorers. She was the only Huskie player to reach double digits.

Elyse Zimmerman had 20 points for the Vikings.

In the second half of the doubleheader, the Niles boys team may have even shot the ball worse than their female counterparts.

The Vikings were 13-of-47 (28 percent) from the field, including 4-of-20 in the first half in which they scored just 11 points.

Niles trailed 11-9 after one, but fell behind 23-11 by halftime after scoring just one basket, a Gabe Stokes short jumper in the final 30 seconds of the second quarter.

Despite turning in one of the year’s best defensive performances according to Niles coach Todd Pawielski, the Vikings could not overcome their shooting woes.

The Huskies (10-4, 4-2 West) opened up a 39-25 lead heading into the fourth quarter and cruised home from there.

Niles (4-10, 0-7 West) played better offensive in the second half, but could not make up the early deficit.

“This one is hard to take, given that we did what we were hoping to do, away from the (offensive) end,” Pawielski said. “Defensively, I was proud of our effort. It was just one of those nights where we could not throw water in the ocean.”

Tommy Henry led the Huskies with 16 points, while Tre Humes and Daryn Snow added 15 and 12 respectively.

Stokes finished with 10 points to lead the Vikings.

 

GIRLS

PORTAGE NORTHERN 54, NILES 47

Northern 54

Hannah Argue 0, Natalie Vizard 34, Kataya Campbell 0, Megan Coy 2, Kayla Blett 8, Lizzie Kimmel 2, Paige Poulter 8, Maycie McGowan 0, Colleen O’Keefe 0. TOTALS: 21 11-19 54

Niles 47

Jaiden Rolen 0, Antonia Palmer 3, Elyse Zimmerman 20, Maya Brookins 2, Emily Gaines 8, Kylee Myer 2, Jazmin Brann 12. TOTALS: 12 19-34 47

 

Northern        12       27       40       54

Niles                10       28       36       47

3-point baskets: Northern 1 (Blett), Niles 4 (Zimmerman 3, Gaines). Total fouls (fouled out): Northern 23 (none), Niles 16 (none). Varsity records: Northern 5-8, 3-4 SMAC West; Niles 9-5, 4-4 SMAC West

 

BOYS

PORTAGE NORTHERN 53, NILES 33

Portage Northern 53

Tre Humes 6 0-0 15, Tommy Henry 6 3-9 16, Daryn Snow 2 8-8 12, Caleb Eustice 1 2-2 4, Max Schueman 2 0-0 4, Ben Keizer 0 0-0 0, Blake Therrian 0 0-0 0, Adam Farran 0 0-0 0, Jamal Aziz 1 0-0 2, Fernando Trice 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 18 13-19 53

Niles 33

Sammy Rodts 0 0-0 0, Gavin Rasler 4 0-0 8, Ray Glenn 3 2-3 8, Gabe Stokes 4 0-0 10, Dontae Murphy 1 0-0 3, Jacob Hamm 1 0-0 2, Tyler Phillips 0 0-0 0, Adam Langmeyer 0 2-2 2, Alex Harpenau 0 0-0 0, Derek Brown 0 0-1 0, Devin Kuemin 0 0-0 0, Jalen Alexander 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 13 4-6 33

 

Northern                    11       23       39       53

Niles                            9          11       25       33

3-point baskets: Northern 4 (Henry, Humes 3), Niles 3 (Stokes 2, Murphy).

Total fouls (fouled out): Portage Northern 14 (none), Niles 18 (none). Varsity records: Portage Northern 10-4, 4-2 SMAC West; Niles 4-10, 0-7 SMAC West