Junior guard Kale Boomer hit this pretty lay-up in a tight contest against a Nashwauk team where every basket was needed. In his third year as a starter, Boomer is the team’s floor general, more often distributing the ball to other players who score, but when called upon, he will drive or pull up and score on his own.
The Cook County boys’ basketball team started out the season with a good, solid 59-49 win over a competitive Nashwauk-Keewatin team.
Both teams traded baskets much of the first half. Colin Everson hit four 3-pointers to lead the Vikings into the break. The second half saw some great hustle plays by Mike Sjogren on defense and some good all-around play on offense as the boys worked the ball around the perimeter patiently before looking to score.
But things could have been done better, according to Head Coach Mitch Dorr.
“Our team defense needs to get much, much better, “ said Dorr, adding, “I thought we were very lucky that they missed numerous shots within 15 feet of the basket.”
As far as hitting the boards, something Dorr’s teams are noted for despite a lack of size, Dorr said, “I will say I was very happy with our rebounding! We did a great job of boxing out.”
Dorr lauded Colin Everson for his play. “I thought Colin played a great game overall. He asserted himself in the first half on offense and really gave us a lot of momentum. Dylan Quaife also played a good overall game. And I was also very happy with Mike Sjogren’s play as his defense and hustle was a great lift to us.”
With his defender left in the dust, Dylan Quaife takes the ball hard to the hole against Nashwauk-Keewatin. Quaife scored points in the contest and played great defense. The Vikings won their first game of the year by 10 points over a stubborn Nashwauk team.
Because the team varies its defense, oftentimes employing man-to-man or zone or half-court traps, etc., Dorr relies on contributions from his bench, and this game he got a lot from three players.
“Justin Goldstein, Jordan Lack, and Jonny Jacobsen all came off the bench for us and played a lot of minutes. We used our bench more versus Nashwauk then we have in recent years. We will try our best to incorporate our bench as much as possible,” said Dorr.
Colin Everson led the team with 18 points. He was followed by Dylan Quaife who netted 16, Kale Boomer hit for 10, David Bergstrom had 9, Mike Sjogren, 4, and Jonny Jacobsen finished with 2 points.
With no player taller than 6’ 2”, the Vikings rely on ball control, team rebounding, and team defense. Dorr said the kids would practice most to improve “defense, as always.”
Boys win second in a row
The Viking boys’ basketball team seemed to find their rhythm against a decent South Ridge squad and came away with a 53-33 win last Tuesday night at South Ridge.
The Vikings are now 2-0 for the season.
As always, defense was the key to their success. The Vikings started out with a 12-0 run and showed great intensity on their defense. For the first half they hounded their opponents into making a paltry 15 points and only allowed them to score 18 points in the second half.
Meanwhile senior guard David
Bergstrom scored 25 points in the contest and played his usual great defense and hit the boards with abandon. The only other Viking in double figures was Dylan Quaife, who hit for 13 points. Colin Everson, who had 6 points, Kale Boomer, who netted 5, and Mike Sjogren and
Jonny Jacobsen, who each scored 2 points, followed him.
“I was happy with our off-theball defense,” said Dorr. “We were very average in our first game of the year (on defense) and in Monday’s practice we spent the entire two hours working on defense. I was happy with the improvement.”
Dorr also noted the play of Jonny Jacobsen. “I was very happy with our Sophomore Jonny Jacobsen who gave us expanded minutes in the game during the first half. He is improving each day.”
Next up for the Vikings is a game against McGregor at McGregor on Friday, December 9. The boys don’t have a home game until January 13 when they face long-time rival Silver Bay.
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