CAREERS COME TO AN END...which includes Lucas Hershberger (above) and the two other seniors for the Vikings.

Bob Moore
cccbasketball.com

The Miami East Vikings played their final game of the season as they fell to the Greenview Rams 57-43. The Rams had a lethal combination of youth, size and outside shooting. The Vikings zone had a hard time stopping the Rams as they started a 6'6" freshman and sophomore in the paint and drained 7 shots from 3 point range from the remaining 3 starters.

The Vikings kept pace at the beginning of the game as the two teams traded baskets in the first 2 minutes of the game. The Rams went on a 8 point run to open the game to 12-4 advantage until Joshua Snyder connected on a bucket in the lane to start a 6 point run for the Vikings. Snyder made a nice pass to Evan Wolf for two on their next trip down the floor and Wolf ended the run with an offensive rebound and a stick back to narrow the gap to 12-10 at the end of the first quarter.

Sophomore Gunner Shirk tied the game at 12 with a bucket for the Vikings to start the second quarter. Tim Cooper, the lone senior on the Greenview team nailed his second of three 3 point baskets on the next possession to gain the lead back for the Rams. Justin Hershberger scored next for the Vikings to narrow the gap to one point and at the 5:35 mark, Shirk gave the Vikings their only lead in the game at 15-16. Unfortunately for the Vikings this would be their last bucket of the half as they only got two more attempts at the basket from the field. The Vikings committed 6 turnovers down the 2nd quarter stretch and the Rams took advantage to extent their lead to 6, 22-16 at the break.

The Rams took advantage with their size in the paint in the 3rd quarter scoring 6 points off of offensive rebounds. Scoring 8 points in the quarter was their 6'6" freshman Evan Bradds. Bradds is the grand nephew of Ohio State Hall of famer Gary Bradds, who played basketball for the Buckeyes from 1962-64. Bradds led the Rams in scoring with 17 points that included a dunk that gave his team a 12 point lead in the waning minutes of the 3rd quarter. Bradds sophomore teammate, 6'6" Ronnie Drinnon, added a bucket off an offensive rebound to extend the lead to 40-26. Wolf ended the quarter with an old fashioned 3 point lead for the Viking to narrow the gap to 11 points at the end of the 3rd quarter.

Wolf hit a free throw at the beginning of the 4th quarter to get the Vikings with 10, 30-40, but this would be the closest the Vikings would get the remainder of the contest. The Rams outscored the Vikings 17 to 14 in the final frame and will advance to the Division III District final with a 57-43 victory.

Viking Coach Alan Mack commented that he was proud of his team's effort even though things did not turn out the way the wanted on this night. "I'm proud of my team's effort the put forth this game and of the effort theY showed the entire season."

"We didn't want to get so far down that we would have to extend our zone or go to a trapping defense, but we had to play aggressive to try to get the ball back," continued Mack. "Give Greenview all the credit. They had all the pieces in play tonight with how they moved the ball and were able to get balanced scoring with their play inside and from the perimeter."

Mack also gave praise to his three seniors, Lucas Hershberger, Jared Brown and Tyler Dunivan. "Tyler is a 3 year starter and has been part of a lot of wins for the Vikings over his playing career."

The Vikings will return a good nucleus of younger players for next year's campaign in the Cross County Conference. "This is the time of year for the underclassmen to work hard and to dream of their future," concluded Mack.

Scoring by quarters
Miami East ......10.....16.....29.....43
Greenview ......12.....22.....40.....57

Miami East
Coomes - 4
Dunivan - 2
J. Hershberger - 8
Shirk - 9
Snyder - 4
Wolf - 12
Vogel - 2

Greenview
Bradds - 17
Cooper - 15
Drinnon - 12
Green - 9
Raynor - 4

3 Point Goals
Miami East - 1 (Shirk)
Greenview - 7 (Cooper 3, Green 3, Raynor)