While the Carlton defender looks on in admiration, Mike Sjogren (above left) shows off his one-handed jump shot. Colin Everson (upper right) shoots over outstretched hands while Peter Warren throws a nice bounce pass around the Carlton guard.
With four games in six days, the Vikings boys’ basketball team had its work cut out for it, a tough task indeed! Although they won, it wasn’t always easy.
Still, the Vikings were able to shed some light on the Northeast Nighthawks, beating them 52-42. They bullied the Carlton Bulldogs, winning 61-26. They sank the Silver Bay Mariners 62-59 and they shrunk the Mesabi East Giants down to size in their 65-55 win.
The Vikings record is now 15-1.
Last Thursday, January 26, the Vikings traveled to play the Northeast Range Nighthawks, a team comprised of Babbitt/ Embarrass players.
The Vikings played their usual brand of heady basketball, making few turnovers while exploiting the Nighthawks any chance they could get. At the half the Vikings led 32-20 and continued to play even with their hosts the second half, taking a 52-42 win.
Senior forward Dylan Quaife scored on a variety of low post moves to lead the Vikings with 22 points. David Bergstrom scored his season average of 14 points while Kale Boomer netted 8 points. Mike Sjogren added 5 more points and Colin Everson contributed 3 points.
Bullying the Bulldogs
Once again senior forward Dylan Quaife scored 22 points and pulled down a fistful of boards to lead the Vikings to a lopsided victory against the Carlton Bulldogs on Friday, January 27.
The Vikings won 61-26 in front of a large crowd on parent’s night.
As usual the Vikings played aggressive defense, forcing the Bulldogs into numerous turnovers while taking away the passing lanes and getting up in the Dog’s faces when they were shooting. It was a formula that worked well.
Colin Everson hit three 3-pointers and scored 11 points. David Bergstrom rebounded well all night long and had several to go along with 9 points on the evening. Mike Sjogren played tough defense and grabbed a handful of rebounds and scored 9 points, Jonny Jacobsen had 5 points and Kale Boomer netted 4 points. Eric Adams led Carlton with 12 points.
Sinking the Mariners
When the two teams met a couple of weeks ago, the Vikings played Silver Bay at home and won by 10 points. But the Mariners were getting healthy after two of their better players returned from sickness and injury, and everyone knew they would only improve. So it was no big surprise that when the two teams met again in Silver Bay on Monday, January 30 the contest would be tight.
The two teams traded baskets from the outset, with the Vikings doing a good job of containing the Mariners’ Luke Thun, who averages 21 points per game. But Silver Bay’s senior forward Taylor Woodwick scored 23 points against the Vikings. Meanwhile, Thun was held to 12 points.
It came down to free throws. Kale Boomer and Dylan Quaife hit four consecutive free throws in the final 20 seconds to seal the win.
“David Bergstrom played a big game for us scoring 19 points despite being out with some foul trouble. I also thought Mike Sjogren had a fantastic all-around game and Justine Goldstein came off the bench and really played a key role n the win,” said head coach Mitch Dorr.
Bergstrom led the Vikings with 19 points, Dylan Quaife scored 14 from inside the paint and Boomer and Everson each scored 11 points. Senior guard Mike Sjogren added 5 points and Justin Goldstein contributed 2 points in a game where every point mattered.
Downsizing the Giants
Coming off a tough win against Silver Bay, the one thing the Vikings didn’t want to do was let down against another game opponent, the Mesabi East Giants. The Vikings traveled to Hoyt Lakes on Tuesday, January 31 and beat their non-conference foe 65-55.
“Colin Everson had his best game of his high school career with 14 points, 8 rebounds, 3 steals and 6 assists and no turnovers,” said head coach Mitch Dorr.
Dylan Quaife led the Vikings with 20 points and, said Dorr, “Mike Sjogren continues to improve each game as he scored 10 points to give us a big lift. David Bergstrom dished out 8 assists, grabbed 8 boards, and finished with 12 points. This was a great win for our team as Mesabi East has a really nice squad.”
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