Vikings Outlast Toilers
It was a close end to end game as the Vanier Vikings defeated the Peacock Toilers 85 - 84 in Moose Jaw city league junior boys division play on Thursday evening.
The game featured the Toilers starting slow in the first half and following the half time pep talk exploded on the floor rallying to eliminate an 11 point deficit that existed in the third quarter.
The third and fourth quarters witnessed fast breaks upcourt by both teams followed by intense rebounding.
The score at the end of the First Quarter was Vikings 25 and Toilers 18.
The score at Halftime was Vikings 48 and Toilers 37.
The Toilers managed to outscore the Vikings 27 - 16 in the Third Quarter.
The score at the end of the quarter was Vikings 64 and the Toilers 64.
The Fourth Quarter saw the Vikings score a pair of key baskets in the final two minutes.
The Final Score was Vikings 85 and the Toilers 84.
“There was a lot of heart from the boys. It was good to see them battle back especially after the first half when we played so poorly,” Toilers head coach Raman Mall said about the single point loss.
The first half had seen the Vikings at times easily cutting through the Toilers seemingly weak defence.
Mall gave commended the Vikings.
“Credit to Vanier. They came out swinging and they did a great job. Their press was really good in the beginning and they got a lot of points off of it.”
Mall said the momentum swung back and forth between both teams most of the game.
The third quarter saw the Toilers about about the 6:00 minute mark quickly score five unanswered baskets to even the score.
“I would rather have games like this than getting blown out by 30 (points) either way so us and the Vanier game are laughing (about it). It was fun for the boys on both sides,” Mall said.
Asked about the high scoring nature of the game - 169 combined points - he said it was due to defensive lapses.
“We had some defensive breakdowns on both sides and the boys can score on all of these teams. They can shoot the ball and pass well. It’s nice to see games like this when they’re high scoring. But it’s nice to see them when they’re close,” he said.
He said the game was similar to the loss earlier this week when they lost to the Central Cyclones Red earlier in the week.
A slow start, giving up a lot in the first quarter and battling back in the third quarter followed by a neck and neck fourth quarter.
Asked if he was disappointed by the loss Mall said he wasn’t.
“No, no this is junior basketball. I’m super happy to see close games. I’m super happy to see a lot of kids getting good playing time. I’m also happy to have good competitive basketball in Moose Jaw,” he said.
“This is not disappointing at all.”
