Wylder Norris soars above the Broncos' Tyler Hillis to net two points for the Vikings. (T-G Photo by Jimmy Jones) [Click to enlarge]

Josh Hull scored a game-high 15 points and cleaned the glass for 12 rebounds to lead the Community Vikings to a 54-38 win over Boyd Christian in Unionville Friday night.

Hull backed his effort with a renewed appreciation for the defensive side of the ball as he held Bronco star Tyler Hillis to just nine points.

Both teams took turns trading baskets as the lead changed three times in the first quarter before a steal and a nice drive in the lane by Wylder Norris gave the Vikings a 15-14 lead to carry into the second period.

Hull and the boys tightened the screws defensively with a smothering trap press that only allowed three field goal attempts in the quarter by the Broncos, resulted in zero points and a 26-14 halftime lead for the capacity homecoming crowd to savor.

"I told Josh in the locker room that if he gave this effort every night that we are going to be a hard team to handle down the stretch," Community coach Jace Bryant said. "He is a senior and the other kids feed off of his energy. Tonight he established himself as the team leader that we envision him to be. Now he needs to continue to build off of that."

The Vikings pushed the score to 39-24 in the third quarter and were never really seriously challenged the rest of the way as eight players would score baskets over the rest of the game.

Community senior Chris Molder makes an all out attempt to save a loose ball from going out of bounds against Boyd Christian. (T-G Photo by Jimmy Jones) [Click to enlarge]

"We got a district win and that is always a good thing, but I sure would have liked us to play better," Bryant said. "We are still way too inconsistent as a team. We run teams out of the gym for a quarter or two and then figure we can just rest a while.

"I have to do a better job of instilling that killer instinct to finish teams off when we have them where we want them. Until then, we are just a team with tremendous potential."

Hull was joined by Justin Stallings, Cody Pierce and Norris with eight points apiece to lead Community.

Casey Myers totaled 12 points for the Broncos to go along with the nine put up by Hillis.

The Vikings connected on 16-of-28 free throws, including 7-of-16 in the fourth quarter when the Broncos were forced to foul to preserve the clock.