David Bergstrom (21) defends against Silver Bay guard Ryan Thun (3) in the game played at home last week. Ryan Martinson and Will Petty (33) also defend the basket. Good defensive pressure and some fine outside shooting led to a 59-40 win for the Vikes.
The Viking boys’ basketball team lost a nail-biter to the Carlton Bulldogs on Friday, Jan. 7 at Carlton, falling 46-44.
This was Carlton’s first win of the season and the loss dropped the Vikings’ record to 4-3. The Vikings are now 1-3 in conference play.
Both teams played especially hard on the defensive side of the court, and baskets were hard to come by. Carlton took a 25-19 lead into the half-time break. And although the Vikings outscored the Bulldogs 25-21 in the second half, it wasn’t enough to catch their stubborn opponents.
But, according to Head Coach Mitch Dorr, the game wasn’t entirely decided by the players. “I can hardly think about the game in Carlton without becoming instantly livid. We did not play great, but we did not play poorly. It was the worst officiating I have ever seen in any sport at any level. We had three guys out and two more guys had four fouls each. Forty-seven fouls were called in the game along with a lot of other phantom violations. I have never seen anything like it.”
David Bergstrom goes up for two points over 6 foot 3 inch Baruch Fisher (21), and Ryan Thun. Bergstrom scored 18 points in the game—four baskets coming from long range in the game played last Tuesday night at home.
Dylan Quaife led the Vikings’ scoring with 15 points. David Bergstrom had 10 points, Colin Everson chipped in 9, Ryan Martinson scored 7, Mike Sjogren finished with 2 and Kale Boomer had 1.
Dorr praised the play of Quaife. “Dylan played extremely well. He carried us as long as he could and then we made too many mistakes and lost on a buzzer-beater. We were 9 of 20 from the free throw line and had our chances. We need to find some consistent outside shooting if we are going to be successful against a zone defense.”
Mathew Lund’s 16 points led Carlton.
Vikings beat Silver Bay 59-40
Silver Bay came into the game against the CCHS Vikings’ last Tuesday night with some wins and some talent. More of a traditional hockey school, the Mariners have some basketball players this year and proved to be a stubborn opponent for the Vikings.
Down 4-0, the Vikings first score came off of a David Bergstrom 3-point shot. This was a good omen, because the Vikings haven’t been a good 3-point shooting team this year.
Colin Everson scored the next 5 points and Ryan Martinson swooped into the lane and tapped back an Everson miss to put the Vikings up 10-4. Bergstrom continued the run with a 3-pointer and a lay-up off of a pretty pass from Everson. Martinson and Dylan Quaife added a couple of free throws in the mix and the score was 18-4 with 7 minutes to play in the half.
Junior guard Luke Thun from Silver Bay hit a 3-point basket to make the score 18-7, and a few minutes later, after the Vikings scored two more points, hit another basket from long range to make the score 20-10. But Quaife scored three more baskets; Martinson one basket and Bergstrom again hit a 3-point shot and also added a lay-up to send the Vikings to the locker room up 33-16. Silver Bay scored 6 straight points near the end of the first half but the Vikings tough defense and strong rebounding kept the Mariners on their heels for most of the game.
Bergstrom started the second half the way he started the game, by hitting from downtown for 3 points. The closest challenge the Vikings would face was when their rivals brought the score to 50-36, but the Vikings would score the next 7 points and end up with a 59-40 win.
According to Coach Dorr, “We had arguably, our best game to date. Before the game we talked about playing with more emotion and intensity and I really thought that our guys responded well.
“On Monday, David and I talked about our need for him to shoot more three-pointers. He can help us stretch a defense and he really came ready to play.”
Dorr also commended the play of Will Petty. “He has worked hard to become a key component to this team. We found ourselves in a bit of foul trouble and Will came in and played nearly all game. He gave us a huge spark as he grabbed numerous offensive rebounds and played fantastic defense. In addition, he didn’t try too much, he played within himself.”
Dorr also noted the continued improvement by Dylan Quaife. “Dylan is slowly becoming better and better and better.”
But, noted Dorr, “We still need to work on our passing and defensive help.”
Bergstrom led the Vikings with 18 points, hitting four 3-pointers. Quaife, who hit for 14, followed him, Martinson scored 13, Everson had 7, and Kale Boomer added 4 while Petty hit a pretty 3-pointer to finish with 3 points.
The Vikings faced Silver Bay on Tuesday, Jan. 11 at home, and will play Lakeview Academy Friday, Jan. 14 at home at 6:30. The Vikes play at home again on Friday, Jan. 21 against Floodwood. The game is scheduled for 6:30. Come out and cheer for our Vikes!
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