Above: Kale Boomer puts pressure on the ML/WR ball handler while Dylan Quaife (10), Colin Everson (30), and Ryan Martinson (3), shut down the inside. The boys played tough but lost 52-38 to Moose Lake/Willow River last Tuesday night. Right: Senior guard Ryan Martinson gets ready to blow by ML/WR forward Taylor Mattison for a lay-up. Martinson scored 8 points against the Rebels last Tuesday night.
Biscuits and baskets don’t mix. And last Tuesday, Jan. 4, it looked like the Vikings’ boys basketball players had eaten one too many biscuits over the holidays and not practiced much basketball. They were a step slow and not getting the normal lift-off on their jump shots against Moose Lake/ Willow River (MLWR).
With 11 minutes gone in the first half of play, the Vikings were treating the basketball like a biscuit with way too much butter on it. They couldn’t get a handle on the ball no matter how hard they tried.
With nine minutes left in the half, down 18-2, looking dazed and confused, the Vikings could have folded their proverbial tents and gone home. Except they were home and Head Coach Mitch Dorr was going to have none of that.
So here, after a time-out, is what transpired over the next eight minutes—senior Ryan Martinson scored two points on a short jumper to make the score 18-4.
Following a fine defensive stop, sophomore guard Colin Everson made a beautiful pass to fellow sophomore guard Kale Boomer who scored an easy lay-up: 18-6.
After shutting down MLWR again, Everson took the ball in hard for a lay-up and was fouled, hitting one of his free throws: 18-7. Junior guard Dylan Quaife was fouled on a lay-up attempt and hit one of his two free throws, and now the score was 18-8. Boomer hit a pretty 14-foot jumper to pull the Vikings to 18-10, and then MLWR finally scored a bucket.
But David Bergstrom hit a running 15-footer that was followed by two more baskets, one by Martinson and one by Everson, who hit a 3-pointer. And now, with 1:24 left in the half, the Vikes were within five points, trailing 22-17.
But the Vikings ran out of steam, and MLWR scored the next 5 points and went into the break up 27-17.
“We made some crucial mental mistakes and went into halftime down 10, instead of 5. That really hurt us,” said Dorr.
But the gut check was over, and at least the Vikings were back in the game.
The Vikes never mounted another charge like the one above, but they played the taller, more athletic ML/WR opponents tough the rest of the way, losing 52-38.
“Against the No. 6 rated Class AA school in the state [according to minnesotascores.net] you have to play extremely well. We made way too many needless turnovers and our shot selection was very poor. As a team, overall, we must get tougher mentally. We have a little growing up to do,” Dorr said.
Leading scorer for the Vikings was Colin Everson, with 9. Martinson scored 8 and Bergstrom, Boomer, and Quaife all netted 7 points.
As for his team, Dorr said, “The break really hurt us. I was hoping that a few more of our varsity guys would get in the gym over break but they didn’t. We only play six guys, so conditioning (usually our strength) is a key for us.”
The Vikings record is now 4-2. Up next is Carlton on Jan. 7 at Carlton. The Vikings will play at home next on Tuesday, Jan. 11 against Silver Bay. The game starts at 6:30 p.m.
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