Senior James Groth had a great game against the Cromwell Cardinals on Tuesday, January 19. Groth made a huge threepoint shot that ignited the Viking faithful and gave Cook County a 48-47 lead with just over two minutes to play in the game. The Vikings won, 51-48.
The Cook County boys’ basketball team split their two games last week with an upset win at home against Cromwell and a loss on the road to Floodwood. The Vikings were to play a third game last week versus Ely on Saturday, but due to poor weather conditions, the game wasn’t played. Cook County is now 4-6 on the season.
On Tuesday, January 19, the Vikings played host to the Cromwell Cardinals. In their earlier meeting in December, the Cardinals gave Cook County their worst loss of the season, 30-61. The Vikings would look to this game as a barometer to measure the team’s improvement.
In the early stages of the first half, it looked as if this might be a re-run of the previous game, as Cromwell jumped out to an early 4-11 lead after just four minutes of play. The Vikings settled into the game, however, and cut the Cardinal lead to three halfway through the half, 13-16.
Cromwell then took advantage of numerous Viking turnovers to finish the half on a 14-8 run as Cook County trailed 21-30 at halftime. Senior Mike Austin was keeping the Vikings close with nine first-half points as Cook County felt fortunate to be down by only nine points at the break.
The Vikings, who seemed somewhat lifeless at halftime, came alive in the second half. Cook County started the half with a 13-0 run that gave them their first lead of the game, 34-32, with 12:26 remaining in the game. Two key shots by freshman Colin Everson led the way as Cromwell was forced to take a timeout.
The Cardinals then recaptured the lead, 43-45 with just 4:54 remaining in the game. Everson answered with another big shot to tie the game at 45-45. Cromwell took back the lead on the next possession, 45-47.
After working the ball around the perimeter for about a minute of game time, the Vikings called a play to get a three-point shot against Cromwell’s zone defense. Everson’s skip pass was perfect, and senior James Groth made a huge three-point shot that ignited the Viking faithful and gave Cook County a 48-47 lead with just over two minutes to play in the game.
Cromwell tied the game at 48-48, but a Brock Hommerding slash to the basket for a tough lay-up gave the Vikings a 50-48 lead with 32 seconds remaining on the clock. David Bergstrom then came up with a big steal to secure the Viking win. After Bergstrom made one of two free throws to give the Vikings a 51-48 lead, the Cardinals did attempt one last desperation three-pointer. The shot was short and the Vikings had pulled off the come-frombehind victory.
Austin led the Vikings with 15 points and 16 rebounds. Everson added 14 points, missing only four shots in the entire game.
Three days later, the Vikings traveled to Floodwood to take on the 9-3 Polar Bears. Boasting a very talented and athletic lineup, the Polar Bears are considered one of the better teams in the Section.
Cook County struggled to get going offensively and Floodwood didn’t, as the Polar Bears raced out to a 38-16 halftime lead behind five three-pointers and tough man-to-man defense. At halftime, Groth led the Vikings with just six points on two three-point shots.
In the second half, the Vikings got back to basics and worked strictly on their manto man defense. In addition, Cook County did a better job on the offensive end of the court. While not shooting well, the Vikings outscored the Polar Bears, 24-22 in the second half. Despite the 40-60 loss, the Vikings learned a little something about their competitive nature in the second half and hope to build on that in the games to come. David Bergstrom led the Vikings in scoring with nine points.
The Vikings play this week in Babbitt on Thursday night and then at home Friday night against the Wrenshall Wrens. Look in next week’s edition for all the scores and highlights.
Leave a Reply