Leif Anderson is one of a half dozen talented freshmen getting playing time on the varsity this year. Despite the attempted block, Anderson got this two-point shot attempt off in the Vikings’ game against Mesabi East.
Up big with six minutes to play, it looked like the Cook County High School Vikings were going to get the third win of the season in the away game against Northeast Range on Thursday, January 21.
Sadly, it wasn’t to be as the Nighthawks came back and tied the score to send it into overtime, winning 58-56 over a dispirited Viking squad.
“The Northeast Range game is one of the more disappointing games I have experienced,” said Head Coach Mitch Dorr. “We were up 15 points with six minutes left and then we just fell apart. That is the third time this season we have let double-digit leads slip through our hands. We need to come together as a team in those moments. We still have too many individual parts and are not cohesive as a team.”
Sam O’Phelan led the team with 16 points. He was followed by Marcus Logan’s 13 points, Jerod Spry’s 12 points, Dyami Blackwell’s 9 and Lucas Phillips’ 6.
The Vikings finished with 21 turnovers in the contest.
“I thought Sam played a great game,” said Coach Dorr. “He defended well and was assigned the task to guard their best player. He was tough inside on offense as well.”
One point loss to Carlton
Playing at home the next night, the Vikings got off to a slow start and trailed the Carlton Bulldogs 27-15 with 10 minutes to play in the first half. The Vikings shut down the Carlton offense the rest of the way but only managed five points themselves to go into the locker room down 27-20.
Taking off where they left off, the Vikings scored the next five points coming out of half time and were down 27-25 before finally giving up a two-point basket after five minutes of play.
Unfortunately, the Vikings never took the lead. They closed to within one, and then fell back 3 to 6 points. When the Vikings did score, Carlton also scored. Both Sam O’Phelan, who fought hard underneath the basket and was often fouled as he tried to shoot, and Jerod Spry, who slashed his way to the basket on lay-ups, had good runs in that period, but the Vikings never get over the hump to take the lead, eventually falling behind 49-42 with about one minute to play before surging one last time to a one-point deficit—again—49-48, as time slipped away.
Once again O’Phelan had a big night for the Vikings, scoring 23 points while grabbing 8 rebounds and getting 4 steals. Phillips ended his night with 9 points, Spry had 6 points and 7 rebounds while Dyami Blackwell had 6 points and 6 boards and Trusen Gordon had 4 points.
“We shot 26 for 64 for 40 percent overall,” said Coach Dorr. “From two point range we shot 52 percent on 22 of 42, which was led by Sam who scored a game high 23 points.”
The Vikings took care of the ball much better against Carlton, turning it over 11 times.
“Sam and Jerod Spry continue to lead us,” said Coach Dorr. “I also thought freshman Trusen Gordon played great in his first varsity start. In addition, Leif Anderson played tremendous off the bench and rebounded well and played solid defense. He is the total team player that every coach enjoys working with.”
Dorr said senior guard Rory Bakke would be back for the game against Mesabi East, “so we will gradually get him back in the flow. Between Rory, Jerod, and Trusen, our depth at guard will look to be a lot better.”
Vikings lose to Giants
Mesabi East brought a young team to Grand Marais on Tuesday, January 26 and the Vikings looked ready to compete. However, turnovers and missed free throws put the kibosh on any hopes of win. That and allowing the Giants too many easy back-door lay-ups on breakdowns in defense.
The Vikings played even with Mesabi for the first 10 minutes, trailing 17-10 before coming back to make it 17-17. The Giants went on a 15-4 run to take a 32-21 lead into halftime.
Not much changed in the second half as the Giants continued to outscore the Vikings, building a 53-33 lead before winning 68-48.
While no stats are available for this game, several players stood out. O’Phelan once again played good defense and fought hard for rebounds against the taller Giant players. Rory Bakke saw limited action, but played well when he was on the floor.
Two ninth-graders who are now starters— Gordon and Blackwell—continue to improve and Marcus Logan, a junior, made several nice steals on defense and baskets on offense. Spry, the team’s sparkplug, handled the ball well against a double team that met him at mid-court, and continued his quest to pull down rebounds amongst the “trees.” Phillips played well on defense and hit a couple of long shots, but in the end, the Vikings didn’t play consistently well enough to hang with Mesabi East.
The Vikings play Lake View Christian at home on Tuesday, February 2 at 6:30 p.m. and then play Thunder Bay at home on Saturday, February 6 at 3 p.m.
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