Siuslaw boys basketball coach Will Biggs chuckles at any comparisons to Norman Dale, the coach of the Hickory Huskers in one of the great sports movies of all time, Hoosiers.

The real-life Biggs and the fictitious Dale are both former successful college coaches trying to work their magic at small high schools.

"Those Hoosiers won a lot of games," Biggs said Friday night, with a hoarse laugh, following the Vikings' 37-35 loss to the North Bend Bulldogs at Butler Court.

And the Vikings haven't, falling to 1-15 on the season and 1-4 in the Far West League.

But the winning and the competing are coming. Witness Tuesday's win at Douglas and Friday's nail biter against North Bend.

"We've come a long way this season," Biggs said. "The next step for us is believing we can win."

The past week's results suggest the Vikings may be prepared to take a leap forward in the second half of league play.

"We're starting to really bond together, to play as a team a lot better," sophomore center Trent Reavis said. "At the beginning of the season we weren't clicking very well.

"We're going to be able to do good things. We just need to build on it."

Friday night, the Vikings built on Reavis' game-high 12 points to stay competitive despite some offensive droughts. Siuslaw went scoreless in the second quarter, and was outscored 11-3 during a three-minute stretch early in the fourth quarter.

Still, the Vikings were very much in the game in the closing seconds thanks to a 10-2 run in the final two minutes of the game.

"We had a lot of wasted possessions," Biggs said. "We probably had 12, 13 possessions where we didn't get a shot off."

Then there was the final minute and a half, when the Vikings worked the ball for five well-played layups to nearly steal the win.

"We were trying to do the right things tonight," Biggs said. "But I don't think we believed in ourselves as much as I believe in us right now."

The Vikings have an excellent opportunity the rest of the way to convert that belief into winning opportunities. Four of the remaining games are at Butler Court, and the two road games are to Coos Bay (Marshfield) and North Bend.

"I'm really optimistic coming into the second half of the season," Biggs said. "At South Umpqua is a long trip. At Douglas is a long trip. At Brookings-Harbor is a long trip.

"So now we have those guys at home. We played those teams, except South Umpqua, pretty tough, so we'll see."

LOOKING AHEAD

Biggs retired to Florence to fish, not coach.

But he's hooked on Vikings basketball now that he's back in the game.

It starts with having a great group of players to tutor.

"The kids, honestly, the happiest part of the day is walking into the gym with the kids," Biggs said. "They're great, they're giving me everything they've got, and they're improving. And they're letting me coach."

It hasn't translated into wins, yet.

"Our record is not good, but the experience for me, and most importantly the kids, is having a positive experience," he said.

"They seem to be enjoying things. That's what they're going to remember more than our record. I'm happy about that."

Biggs is keeping his eye on the ball, and looking for a strong finish to the season. But he's also looking ahead to next year.

"We have a nice nucleus returning," he said. "Trent's growing by leaps and bounds as a sophomore. He's a nice player to build around."

Reavis is the poster child for players at the small school level. The 6-foot-7 center hopes to be quarterbacking the Vikings through the state playoffs when next basketball season starts up next November.

"At a small school, you have to share athletes," Biggs said. "The more you play (one sport), the better you get."

Biggs concedes fall to football and cross country and spring to baseball and track and field. But he wants to own winters and summers.

"I know there's opportunity to play summer leagues," he said. "We need a group of kids that want to do that. It's a commitment. I think it starts with getting involved with the third-, fourth- and fifth-graders, getting them in our gym.

"And getting the community aware of basketball as a positive sport."

NOTES

Biggs is quick to credit his wife, Marisa Hawk, for helping him weather the rough waters of his first season at Siuslaw. "Jamin (Pool, the assistant coach) was asking me how I was hanging in there," Biggs said. "I told him thank God I have someone to talk to, to reflect, to share my ideas and thoughs, and my frustrations." ...

Hawk, for her part, has been a strong partner, taking on many of the responsibilities coaches have at Siuslaw, including fundraising. "I attend a lot of the meetings with him and find out what needs to be done," she said. Hawk wants her husband to concentrate on coaching. "He knows how to build, and we're starting to see the results of that now," she said. "I think the team is coming together beautifully." ...

All 35 points scored Friday night by Vikings came from their starters. By contrast, Bulldogs reserves scored 17 of the team's 37 points. ...

Four of Friday's starters also started for the Siuslaw football team that went 6-3 this past season, including Reavis and seniors Preston Mitchell, Kenneth Thrall and Reese Siegel. Also on the 11-player basketball roster are football players Scott Gordon, a senior, and juniors Brogan Cornish and Marcos Reyna. ...

The Vikings' roster includes four sophomores — starters Reavis and Jared Brandt and reserves Jakob Hickson and John Rolling — who have enjoyed success at lower levels. "We lost 4 and won 16 in the seventh grade, and in the eighth grade we were unbeaten," Reavis recalled. ...

Reavis and Siegel seemingly have been more banged up in basketball than from football. Reavis missed time early in the season with an ankle injury, while Siegel was sporting an improvised bandage to a cut under his chin in the closing minutes of Friday's game. "I hit him under the chin in practice, and Reese re-split it open in the game," Reavis said. ...

Siuslaw hosts Sweet Home in a nonleague game Tuesday. Tip off is 7:15 p.m. The Sky-Em League Huskies are 2-14. The teams were scheduled to play earlier this season, but the game was postponed due to bad weather. ... The Siuslaw and Sweet Home girls will play in the first part of a doubleheader, with tipoff 5:45 p.m. ...

FRIDAY'S SUMMARY

NORTH BEND     6    7    9    15   —   37
SIUSLAW             7    0    9    19   —   35

NORTH BEND – Tanner Hanneman 9, Colton Olson 8, Ryan Wirth 7, Tyler Brown 6, Tyler Wallace 4, Brody Lucero 3, Neal Rose 0, Luke Lucero 0, Jayden Frank 0, Garrett Curtis 0, Roger Iparraguirre 0. Totals 14 3-6 37. 3-point goals — Hanneman 3, Olson 2, Wallace 1.

SIUSLAW – Trent Reavis 12, Reese Siegel 8, Jared Brandt 7, Preston Mitchell 5, Kenneth Thrall 3, Jakob Hickson 0, Scott Gordon 0, Brogan Cornish 0, Jakob O'Conner 0. Totals 12 9-13 35. 3-point goals — Reavis 1, Thrall 1.