By SCOTT NOVAK
Niles Daily Star

The Niles Vikings’ comeback bid came up a bit short Tuesday night in the season opener.
The Vikings (0-1) dropped a 47-46 decision to visiting Battle Creek Lakeview on a night that proved to be a bit treacherous outside.

Despite a strong offensive performance from Niles senior David Garner, it was Lakeview’s Michael Baumann that stole the show as he connected on a free throw with 35.4 seconds remaining to give the Trojans the victory.

Niles called a time out after Baumann made the second of his two charity stripe tosses to set up one final play.

The Vikings got a good look from Nick Lucero, who took a pass from Austin Parks, however, his shot was off the mark with two ticks remaining on the clock.

Niles and Lakeview slugged it out through a less than perfect first eight minutes as both teams tried to get a flow going.

The Vikings ended up with a 9-8 lead, thanks in part by a breakaway dunk by Garner.
Lakeview seized control of the contest in the second quarter, outscoring Niles 17-11 and taking a 25-20 advantage into the locker room at halftime.

A technical foul on the Vikings turned the momentum of the game in Lakeview’s favor. The Trojans went on an 11-0 run.

Niles had trouble finding the range throughout the game, but particularly in the first half.
“We were 4-of-20 from 3-point land,” Niles coach Todd Pawielski said. “I would not expect that to happen again. We had a lot of looks from the right kids and didn’t knock them down.”

Shooting less than 30 percent for the game. The Vikings were able to pick it up a bit in the final eight minutes and make a game out of it.

Lakeview took a seven points lead (36-29) into the fourth quarter, but Garner caught fire and nearly led the Vikings to a comeback victory.
The senior guard scored 13 of his game-high 23 points in the period and his 3-pointer tied the game at 45 with 45 seconds remaining.

Busby added 11 points and seven rebounds, while Austin Parks finished with seven points.

Luke Bivens finished with 12 points to pace the Trojans, who also got 10 points from Adam Koltonowski.

“Defensively I thought we were pretty solid,” Pawielski said. “I thought our pressure really paid off in the second half.”

The Vikings forced 30-plus turnovers in the contest.

Niles hits the road Friday night for a boy-girl doubleheader at St. Joseph. The Vikings will play the second game of the night, slated to get under way at 7:15 p.m.

The Niles freshmen basketball team dropped a 51-44 decision to Lakeview.
Anthoney Bice led the Vikings with 11 points, while Rodney Applewhite added 10.
Niles also got eight points each from Alexander Brown and John Franklin.

The Vikings needed overtime in the junior varsity contest.

Niles edged Lakeview 65-60, coming from behind in the fourth quarter to tie the score and force the extra session.

Brandon Partee led the Vikings with 20 points, while Logan Harpenau added 17 and Taylor Campbell 15.

“It is just strange that the first game the last two years against Battle Creek Lakeview resulted in overtime, but luckily we were on the winning side this year, which feels so much better,” Niles coach Josh Bourne said. “It was a great battle of two teams that were looking for a nice start to their seasons.”

LAKEVIEW 47
Michael Moakley 1 0-0 3, Michael Baumann 2 4-6 8, Adam Koltonowski 5 0-1 10, Luke Bivens 4 4-4 12, Ryan Kerr 2 0-0 4, Ryan Bowering 0 0-0 0, Austin Koltonowski 0 0-0 0, Anthony Warden 1 0-0 2, Kortez West 3 1-1 8. TOTALS: 18 9-12 47
NILES 46
Myles Busby 4 2-4 11, Austin Parks 3 0-0 7, Jordan Potthoff 0 0-0 0, Mitchell Peterek 1 0-0 2, David Garner 6 9-12 23, Matthew McLaughlin 0 2-3 2, Quinton Irby 0 0-0 0, Riley Robson 0 0-0 0, Nick Lucero 0 1-2 1, Justin Potthoff 0 0-0 0, Jachary Prenkert 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 14 14-21 46
Lakeview 8 25 36 47
Niles 9 20 29 46
3-point baskets: Lakeview 2 (Moakley 1, West 1), Niles 4 (Garner 2, Busby 1, Parks 1). Total fouls: Lakeview 20, Niles 14. Fouled out: Irby (N). Varsity records: Lakeview 1-0, Niles 0-1