Above left: Colin Everson matched Minnesota’s all-time point leader Anders Broman point for point in the Vikings’ last home game of the year. The Vikings lost to Lakeview Christian Academy, but the contest was close until the last minute of play. Above right: Justin Goldstein didn’t score in the game against LCA, but he handled the ball superbly, making few mistakes and playing his usual lights out defense.
The Cook County High School boys’ basketball team played two games in the last week, taking a win over a good Wrenshall team on Friday, February 15, and losing to Lakeview Christian Academy (LCA) on Tuesday, February 19 at home. LCA’s Anders Broman led his team with (for him) a meager 20 points, 25 points below his scoring average, but he still padded his Minnesota prep all-time scoring lead in the process.
On Friday the boys used a balanced attack to take a 54-40 win over a good Wrenshall team at Wrenshall.
Colin Everson led the team in scoring with 19 points, but he was far from a one-man show. Kale Boomer scored 14 points, Justin Goldstein added 8, Peter Warren 6, Lars Scannell 4, and Jonny Jacobsen added 3 points. Goldstein hit two 3-point shots, otherwise no one else hit a 3-point bucket.
Boys lose to Lakeview Christian Academy 57-44
There was a packed gymnasium for the boys’ last home game of the season against Lakeview Christian Academy (LCA) on Tuesday, February 19.
Fans battled bad weather to come root for their Vikings and see the phenomenal Anders Broman and his top ranked team. Broman, a 6’1” guard, is Minnesota’s all-time scoring leader with over 4,000 points (and counting) on his resume. He recently accepted a scholarship to play basketball at South Dakota State. Last week he scored 70 points in one game, marking the third time in his career he has scored 60 or more points in a game. So how did he fare against Cook County’s rugged defense?
Not well, not by Broman standards. For the night he scored 20 points, down 25 points from his 45-point average.
But his brother Bjorn picked up some of the slack, and he proved to be more than a capable ball handler and a superb defensive player. Bjorn scored 16 points and made some impressive steals and nice passes.
Kale Boomer and Colin Everson countered the Broman brothers nicely. The Vikings’ two senior guards played their hearts out, with Everson tying Anders with 20 points. Everson is averaging 22.2 points per game and is a terror on defense. Kale Boomer is the floor leader, averaging about 14 points a game while grabbing a teamhigh 9.2 rebounds per game. He is also a tough defender.
Marlo and Aimee Luick were named Viking Fans of the Year for their strong support of the boys’ and girls’ teams at Cook County High School. The Luicks, who received the award at halftime of the game against Lakeview Christian Academy, were surprised by the announcement, and it was noted by the announcer that they almost always wear Viking gear to games, but as fate would have it, not on this night.
Head Coach Mitch Dorr assigned Everson and Peter Warren the duty of keeping up with Anders Broman. And they stuck like glue, frustrating the fast-shooting, fast-moving offensive terror.
But LCA employed its own two-man trap on Boomer and Everson, often pinning them in the corners when they got on the offensive side of the court. While not every player on LCA is an offensive threat, they work very well together on defense. LCA completely shut down the Vikings’ chances to score from 3-point range.
Trapped outside, Everson used his quickness and strength to get inside often and scored. Meanwhile Kale’s shot wasn’t falling, but he also made some pretty drives to the hole and ended with 7 points. Jonny Jacobsen scored 11 points on some nice interior moves and had his best night of his short season. Peter Warren had his best night ever as a Viking, scoring 6 points, grabbing 7 rebounds and playing tremendous defense all night long. Warren seemed to be everywhere on the court.
Justin Goldstein once again was great defensively and handled the ball well, but failed to score, taking only one or two shots all night long. Kieran Scannell played some, but Coach Dorr kept his entire starting unit in most of the game.
The Vikings were 6-8 points behind with two min’utes to play, and although they had some open shots, the ball wouldn’t drop. The last minute belonged to LCA as the Vikings had to foul or take chances to steal the ball. Those desperate attempts allowed LCA to score 5 more points and take a 13-point win. Fans stood and gave a standing ovation to both teams. It was a well-played, hard-fought game with lots of action, if not a lot of points.
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