Viking fans watched in wonder as the Floodwood Polar Bears stretched a 20-19 halftime lead into the 36-22 lead midway through the second half of the two teams’ Section 7A playoff game played Wednesday, March 6 in Grand Marais.
The Vikings, it seemed, couldn’t buy a basket. Long shots hit the front of the rim, the back of the rim, the side of the rim, rattled around the rim, but the ball wouldn’t fall through the rim. If not for Jordan Porter scoring underneath and making one long three in the first half, the Vikings would have had virtually no offense in the first 18 minutes of play.
Meanwhile, an undersized small Floodwood team got inside for one easy basket after another, taking advantage of lapses in the Viking man-to-man defense when players didn’t switch in time to cover an opposing player freed on a pick or a screen.
With 11 minutes remaining and the Vikings showing very little spark, it seemed the season was going to end with a first-round playoff loss.
Then the Vikings got the jolt they needed. Pete Sutton drove to the basket for two, Ray Gordon drove inside for two, Will Ramberg stole the ball and drove to the hoop for two, Sutton nailed a long three off of another steal and then Sutton squared up again for yet another three. Pete followed that offensive burst with a steal and pass to Jordon Porter for an easy two.
Just like that the Vikings were down, 36-38, as the dazed Polar Bears could only manage one basket in the Viking onslaught.
Next Porter rattled the rim on a long three attempt, and Sutton rebounded the miss and scored two more points to tie the score, then followed with a pretty three that hit nothing but net and the Vikings led 41-38.
Finally, it was the Vikings’ senior leader Will Ramberg’s turn to put the finishing touches on the game. Ramberg’s jump shot from 25 feet hit nothing but net, then he made two free throws, and finally, after several missed attempts throughout the season, he got the fans in the stands on their feet as he slammed home a definitive dunk to put an exclamation point on the game.
The Vikings left the gym with a 53-44 win over a very game Floodwood team.
Will Ramberg 17, Pete Sutton 15, Jordan Porter 15, and Ray Gordon’s six points were all the points the Vikings needed to seal the win.
“After a week of no games, I think that got us for most of the game,” said head coach Colin Everson.
“We came out a little sluggish and it took us a while to gel offensively. Defensively, we put together a solid game, which was good to see. Down the stretch of the second half we finally found a little groove and we were able to find some shooters for some rhythm shots. It was good to see some adversity and we responded, which is nice to see.”
The 14-11 Vikings’ victory earned a date with 19-8 Nashwauk-Keewatin Spartans at UMD’s Roman Gym on Saturday, March 9. The Vikings beat Nashwauk 69-62 in Nashwauk on February 22.
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