By By ADAM FISHER / Niles Daily Star
Niles' second-half comeback fell just short Tuesday night at St. Joseph, as the Vikings lost their second game in a row, 46-44.
Niles falls to 4-3 in the season and 0-2 in the Big 16 conference.
The Vikings found themselves playing from behind after the first few minutes of the game. The Bears opened play with an 11-1 run in the first quarter.
Niles could muster just five points in the period and trailed 13-5 going into the second quarter.
The Vikings trailed 25-13 at halftime, but the Bears' strongest push came in the third quarter. After halftime, Niles closed to within two points early in the third quarter, but St. Joseph went on a 17-0 run to build a 19-point lead.
Niles then went on a comeback that got them to within two points. It was led by the guards. Brandon Thomas led the Vikings with 11 points. Point guard Nate Parks was the only other Viking in double figures with 10 points.
Thomas scored the final basket of the game to pull Niles to within two points with four seconds remaining. But the Vikings were out of timeouts, as St. Joseph ran out the clock without inbounding the ball.
The comeback was impressive considering Niles shot 15-of-50 on the night, good for 30 percent. The Bears didn't do much better, however, hitting 34 percent of their shots (14-of-41).
Niles lead scorer, Nick Etzcorn played sparringly due to back problems. He scored one field goal for two points.
The Vikings missed Etzcorn's presence inside. St. Joseph out-rebounded Niles 40-31 and scored 12 points off offensive rebounds.
Niles' junior varsity was the only Viking team to win Tuesday night. The JV squad got past St. Joseph 43-40. Niles' freshmen lost 61-55 to the Bears in overtime.
Losing to St. Joseph puts Niles at 0-1 in the SMAC West Division. The Vikings next chance for a division victory comes Friday, but it won't be easy. Niles faces top-ranked and undefeated Benton Harbor at home.
St. Joseph…..46
Niles………….44
Niles (44) - Nick Etzcorn 1 0-0 2, Lavette' Walker 1 0-0 2, Scott Quaye 0 1-2 1, Kelby Jemison 2 1-2 7, Nate Parks 4 2-2 10, Brandon Thomas 5 0-0 11, Nate Orr 0 0-0 0, Peter Brandstatter 0 3-4 3, Paul Wreggelsworth 1 3-5 5, Tom Robson 1 1-2 3. Totals: 15 11-17 44.
St. Joseph (46) - David Clore 4 2-3 10, Jared Knuth 1 4-46, Tom Chrisco 1 0-0 2, Joe Cleveland 1 4-8 7, Kyle Hammond 2 4-7 9, David Allen 1 0-0 2, Jacob Olson 0 0-0 0, Pat Buursma 3 2-4 8, Steve Dahn 1 0-1 2, Robbie Harbison 0 0-0 0. Totals: 14 16-27 46.
3-pointers - Niles 3 (Jemison 2, Thomas), St. Joseph 2 (Cleveland, Hammond). Fouls (fouled out) - Niles 21 (Jemison), St. Joseph 18 (none). Rebounds - Niles 31 (Brandstatter 6), St. Joseph 40 (Clore 8). Turnovers - Niles 15, St. Joseph 19. Records - Niles 4-3, 0-2; St. Joseph 4-2, 2-1.