With 10 seconds to play in overtime and the Vikings down by one, Jamie Wick got the ball out of bounds, dribbled down the floor and launched a long 3-point shot that just rimmed out and into Lucas Phillips’s outstretched arms. Without a moment to lose Phillips took the rebound straight up from 8 feet out and shot as time wound down off the clock. As the buzzer sounded the ball fell through the basket and the Vikings escaped the Mariners’ home court with a 53-52 victory in a game as exciting as any played by a Viking team in recent memory.
But back up. None of this would have happened if Colton Furlong, a substitute for Andy Farley, a senior who had played his heart out but fouled out with 3 minutes to play, hadn’t come in and with one minute to play scored back-to-back lay-ups off of drives through Mariner traffic to keep the Vikings in the game.
Meanwhile Silver Bay’s top scorer, Jason Blood, got fouled twice in the last minute and hit all four of his free throws. Blood scored 20 points to lead all scorers.
Both of the Viking seniors, Jamie Wick and Andy Farley, led the Vikings in scoring with 15 points each. Lucas Phillips had his biggest point total ever with 12 and Rory Bakke, a junior, who also fouled out, scored 6 points and Sam O’Phelan scored 1 very important point.
Meanwhile Freshman Colton Furlong’s adrenaline-busting 4 points will go down as some of the most exciting by any player to wear a Viking uniform.
After the game Head Coach Pat Eliasen said, “We played a very evenly matched Silver Bay team. We were missing some players so the bench was pretty thin. There were only eight players on the varsity team due to circumstances in the JV game. Jarod Spry was only able to play one-half for us in the varsity game. He came in during the first half when we needed another ball handler to break the pressure from Silver Bay.
“I can’t say enough about the effort that was shown on the floor. The guys played with everything they had and fought right to the bitter end.
“We had two players foul out late in the game, which gave our freshmen an opportunity and Colton Furlong took advantage of it. He played absolutely fearless and scored on two huge lay-ups to keep us in the game. We went into overtime and ended up getting the win on a last second tip-in from Lucas Phillips.
“We played better fundamental basketball and it showed. There were times when we started to play in a panic but the leaders on the floor would calm the tempo down and get the focus back. I wanted to try some pressure but due to the thin bench and foul trouble that really wasn’t an option at any point in the game. We played a 3-2 zone for most of the game and it really gave us an advantage on the boards.
“Andy Farley was our main rebounder finishing with 17 boards. Lucas knocked down two 3-pointers and obviously the biggest shot of the game with the tip-in. Jamie as always is our most consistent player in the paint and does a great job for us. Rory is the guy who everyone looks to for ball handling and calming the presence on the floor.
“We’re starting to do the little things right and when that happens the winning will take care of itself.”
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