Junior guard Richie Furlong busted through the lane for 2 points on this play against the Silver Bay Mariners. Not a big scorer, Furlong did all of the small things right this season, setting picks, fighting for every loose ball, playing tenacious defense, and making good passes.
The Cook County Viking boys’ basketball season came to an end last Thursday night in Hermantown when they fell to the South Ridge Panthers 63-41 in a Section 7A playoff game.
South Ridge came out in a 1-2-2 full court press that eventually wore the Vikings down.
“They play very good defense and the pressure was what turned the tide in their favor,” said Viking Head Coach Pat Eliasen.
The Vikings only trailed by seven points at half-time. However, said Eliasen, “We turned the ball over several times right away (to start the second half) and South Ridge took advantage of our mistakes and scored four consecutive times. This put us down by 15 and although we clawed backtowithin9acoupleoftimeswe couldn’t get any closer.”
Junior guard Lars Scannell played an outstanding game for the Vikings, scoring 22 points to lead all scorers.
“Lars played a great game and kept us in it at times. He knocked down five 3-point shots and gave us the stability we needed on the floor against their pressure.
Seen either attending or helping at most Viking sporting events,Aaron and Terri Sjogren were voted Fans of the Year by the Viking’s booster club for their support of all things Vikings.
“Brandon (Curtis) had another great game on the boards. Jonny (Jacobsen) was the leader on the floor but then got into foul trouble and ended up sitting for a significant number of minutes,” Eliasen said.
For the game the Vikings turned the ball over 31 times.
Scannell ended his night with 22 points and 7 rebounds. Curtis had 7 points and 17 rebounds while Jamie Wick tallied 4 points and 8 rebounds. Andy Farley had 4 points, Brent Sorenson 3 points, and Richie Furlong had 1 point and 3 rebounds. Jacobsen ended his night with 6 rebounds.
The Vikings finished their season with 6 wins and 13 losses.
As for Eliasen, his first year as the Vikings’ head basketball coach concluded with some good memories and strong hopes for the future.
“I thought the season was a success. If you measure solely on wins and losses then you miss the point of coaching young men. It is a coach’s responsibility to help young men grow; we’re really coaching these young men to become built for others. Ninety-nine percent of these players aren’t going to play in college or professionally; it’s not going to be their job or their career. So, we’re teaching them to be good future husbands, brothers, sons and leaders of the community.
“Based on that philosophy, the season was a success.
“I had a complete blast with the guys this year. I learned a lot and will continue my learning by attending clinics and just talking with other coaches. I am going to get the team in some camps this summer and encourage them to play summer league in the Duluth area. We have a good core of players coming back next year and with this under our belts, we should be very competitive in the future.”
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