The Vikings came into this game with a 10-11 overall record on the season, including a 2-2 outing at their latest tournament

JJ Myles got a quick start in the game, having 6 points early on, and also grabbing a couple of steals. Both Maine East and Niles North had balanced, first quarters, and the coaches were liking what they saw. The first time out was called late in the first with 2:30 left in the first quarter. The score at the end of the first was 14-9 in favor of the Vikings. Not quite the start the teams might have had in mind offensively, but it was satisfactory.

After a trap by Stephens and Myles, the Vikings came up with the ball and Stephens slammed it home for 2. There was a dry run of scoring for both teams late midway through the 2nd quarter. Neither team scored for 4 minutes of game time. The score remained 20-16 at half, Vikings lead. There were a lot of good looks for both teams, however none were able to fall.

To start the 3rd quarter, JJ Myles went cold, missing two open 3 point shots, however Duante Stephens was able to get a quick 2 buckets. Crishawn Cook got an easy layup off a great steal to extend the Vikings lead. James Sarris didn’t wait long to impact the game, coming off the bench and hitting a quick 3 which provided a great spark for North.

The 3rd quarter ended with a score of 29-20 and that carried into about a minute of the 4th. In the 4th quarter, it was the Duante Stephens show, who completely took over the game in attempt to put it away for Niles North. While he struggled from the charity stripe, he was cruising into the lane like nobodies business. He was able to get just about everything to fall and scored 12 points in the 4th quarter alone. Not only was he effective offensively, he made a difference on defense as well, snatching 3 steals in the 4th. Stephens finished the night with a game high 21 points.

After the game, I asked Stephens about his 4th quarter performance. “Recently we’ve lost a few games in the fourth quarter, so I felt like we needed to assert ourselves more,” Stephens said. “Coach told me that I needed to have the ball in my hands towards the end, so that’s what I tried to do.”

And he did just that.

Coach Olson commented on the remarkable offensive rebounding by his team, saying they “wanted to exploit the zone defense.” When asked about the impact of James Sarris, Olson said, “We needed a guy who could come in and knock down a shot, and that’s what he did. He’s a confident player”

The final score was 43-34, bringing the Vikings to 11-11 on the season (3-3 conference). The boys’ travel to Deerfield next Friday, the 31st, in attempt to snag another conference win.