The first half of Wednesday night’s Class 4A Stevenson Regional semifinal did not play out like a stereotypical match-up between an eight and a nine seed.
Niles North, the eighth seed, stormed out to a 14-point halftime lead over ninth-seeded Zion-Benton. In the second half, the game became much more competitive. The Vikings’ lead was cut to two with less than a minute remaining. But clutch free-throw shooting allowed the Vikings to hold on and defeat the Zee-Bees 73-68.
