| Vikings take three wins in four games on the court |
 |
 |
 |
| Local Content - Sports |
| Written by Greg Price |
| Thursday, 11 February 2010 15:55 |
|
Vauxhall Vikings senior varsity boys basketball team proved themselves battle tested this past week with four hard-fought games, with the Vikings able to win three of them. Vikings won the third-place game 79-78 in a thrilling contest against Kate Andrews Pride in a tournament in Picture Butte on the weekend. Down by 11 points in the fourth quarter, the Vikings put on the press and caused just as many turnovers. “I talked with the other coach and when we put the press on he said they had 11 turnovers,” said Daryl Johnson, head coach of the Vikings, who added the team scored the clinching basket with 15 seconds left. Levi Westerlund had 24 points and Kym Barthel had 17. The Vikings were pushed to the third-pace game with a just-as-close 63-61 defeat to the host Picture Butte Kings. “We were leading most of the game and we kind of got tight where I think we were trying to preserve the win instead of keeping attacking,” said Johnson, who added the team was called late for a travel on a lay-up that would have tied the game. “We matched up pretty good. They have one player that’s really big, but we can match up.” Barthel had 21 and Steven Jacobson added 15. Vikings opened tournament play with a huge 90-69 win over Rundle College from Calgary. Barthel had 27 points in the game and Jacobson added 22. In a much closer contest than the last time the two teams met, the Vikings were able to vanquish the St. Mary’s Celtics at home in River Ridge league play 75-62 last Wednesday. “It’s good to play in tight games and Steven has really improved. He’s a tough matchup for a lot of teams and he’s putting it in the hole pretty easily,” said Johnson. “St. Mary’s has really improved too.” |