Vikes scare coach in OT win

If the first two games are any indication of how the season is going to go for the Community Vikings, then their young head coach may just very well turn into a senior citizen well before his time.

Fast starts have not exactly been their forte so far and, once again, the Purple and Gold found themselves down by double digits late in the game only to fight and claw their way back to earn a 69-68 overtime win over visiting Richland.

The Raiders (1-1) jumped out to a 16-7 advantage after one period and held a narrow four-point lead at the half.

The third quarter was all Richland as they powered their way over around and through the Vikings (2-0) to lead by as many as 17 points on their way to a 51-39 cushion to begin the fourth quarter.

"I told our kids between the third and fourth quarters that we are not a good defensive team but that we are a great one. I challenged them to step up and play like one," Community coach Jace Bryant said. "When we have that mentality we are a good team.

"To their credit the kids responded and took the game over."

The Vikings defense pressured and harried the Raiders into seven turnovers in the fourth stanza to outscore the visitors by an 18-6 margin to snatch the momentum and get their very large contingency of fans worked into a frenzy.

There were several pivotal moments in the quarter but none were bigger than a 3-pointer by Dustin White to take the lead and two free throws by junior Cody Pierce with four seconds showing on the board, and his team down by two points, to send the game into overtime.

The quarter was notable not only because of outstanding defense by White, Pierce, Justin Stallings, Wylder Norris and Kyle Dyer, but they also hit 7-of-7 free throws when the Raiders were forced to foul.

The Raiders got on the board first in the overtime period on a basket by Cameron Edwards, but it was a short-lived lead as Stallings drained a trey from the top of the key and the Vikings never trailed again.

The Vikings were clutch at the free-throw line in the extra period with Stallings, Pierce, Norris and White combining to hit 8-of-10 to seal the deal and send the visitors on a long bus ride home on a cold and bleary night.

"It speaks volumes for our team that we were able to beat a talented and very well coached team after such a poor start," Bryant said. "We played about as well as we ever have in my time here in the fourth quarter the last two nights and that is exciting.

"I am pretty proud of the way the guys responded to the challenge tonight. They have earned a few days off and we will get back to it after the holiday."

The Vikings placed three players in double figures with Norris stepping up with 24 points to earn game-high honors. Stallings kicked in with 20 and Pierce netted 10, including 8-of-9 from the charity stripe.

Community returns to action on Tuesday when they welcome White House-Heritage to Unionville at 6.