Left: Sam O’Phelan (3) made a strong move to the basket against Lakeview Christian, scoring 2 points. Above: Mike Burton (33), launched a long shot against Cromwell that didn’t quite go in.
The Vikings traveled to Moose Lake on Friday, February 13 to play Moose Lake/Willow River (MLWR) Rebels and fell 69-34.
It was a good game for the first half, with the Vikings holding MLWR to 28 points while scoring 14. However, the Rebels scored 41 points in the second half while holding the Vikings to 20 points.
Rory Bakke and Marcus Logan led the Vikings in scoring with 8 points each. Lucas Phillips scored 7, Sam O’Phelan 3, Andy Farley 3, Mike Burton 3, and Jamie Wick 2 points.
Brad Fossum led MLWR with 17 points.
Vikings fall to Cromwell
President’s Day was a day off from school but not a day off for the Viking boys’ basketball team, which faced a deep, talented Cromwell Cardinals team in a make-up game played at home in the middle of the day.
Cromwell’s defense was stifling, whether they ran a full court or half court press, or would settle into a match-up zone defense. All of it caused problems for the Vikings who fell behind 25-0 to start the game, finishing 72-23.
In the first half the Vikings were limited to 13 points. Rory Bakke hit three baskets and one free throw. Andy Farley had two baskets and Sam O’Phelan one basket to give the Vikings 13 points at halftime. Meanwhile the high-flying Cardinals had put up 48 points, most of those on lay-ups after they had stolen the ball from the Vikings.
Cromwell seemed to let up in the second half while the Vikings kept playing hard. Bakke hit three more baskets, Farley scored another basket and Lucas Phillips hit a two-point shot to give the Vikings 23 points for the game. The Vikings fell to the Cardinals 72-23.
Vikings lose to Lakeview Christian
From the frying pan to the fire, that’s what it must have seemed like to the Viking boys who had to square off against Lakeview Christian at home the day after the Cromwell game. The Vikes lost, 85-44.
With the nation’s leading high school boy scorer on its squad in Bjorn Broman, the Vikings had their hands full. Borman averages 48 points per game, more points than the entire Vikings’ team usually scores in a game. They also have a couple of other kids who can score so a team can’t play 5 on 1 against Broman to try to stop the Lions.
The Vikings fell behind 13-2 before Rory Bakke drove through the Lions’ defense to score a couple of hard earned lay-ups.
Once the Vikings found a soft spot in the defense, they continued to exploit it, with Jamie Wick emerging from a recent offensive slump to post 15 points against a good team. Wick battled hard underneath for every loose ball, coming away with a fistful of offensive rebounds he put back for two points.
Andy Farley had a nice all around game. He made a couple of nice baskets and some nice defensive plays and fought hard for rebounds against the taller Lion players. Marcus Logan, Lucas Phillips, Jared Spry, and Sam O’Phelan also each had bright moments of play in the game.
As for Broman, listed generously at 6 feet, he seemed like he didn’t feel good. He was lethargic and walked up and down the court for much of the game. The trouble is, when he wanted to go to the hoop he would explode like a firecracker through the Vikings’ defense and hit a lay-up. And once he slow walked it over the half court line line he was ready to shoot. He made 3-point shots that NBA players don’t take, sometimes taking shots from the dark side of the moon.
All in all the Vikings held Broman to 43 points, 5 points below his average. As for the rest of the Lion team, they have grown a good bench over the last few years and have a lot of good upcoming basketball players. But then, so does the Vikings.
“We played a better game against Lakeview than Cromwell,” said head coach Pat Eliasen. “I was very proud of our guys when it came to breaking the press. We looked calm and had great court vision. Turnovers have plagued us all season and continue to do so. Even though the scoreboard doesn’t reflect it, we’re taking enough shots to stay competitive in any game. Our shooting percentage is abysmal though. We are shooting in the low twenty percent range and that isn’t good enough to win basketball games. That aspect as well as controlling the ball will have to be addressed intensely during the off-season.”
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