LAWRENCE COUNTY – Due to rescheduling from the recent winter storms, the Community Vikings were forced to play back-to-back road games at Loretto (11-9, 5-1) on Friday and at No. 9 Summertown (18-4, 5-1) on Saturday. Despite a pair of valiant efforts, Community (13-10, 2-5) went 0-2 in those contests, falling 45-36 in the first game and 56-50 in the second.

On Friday, the Vikings trailed by just a single point, 34-33, with just under six minutes to go, but Mason Tidwell, who scored an astonishing 31 points while knocking down five three-pointers, got position in the post to grow the lead to three. After Josh Powers could not convert on the other end, Tidwell found a way to cash around the basket yet again to extend the lead to five points, 38-33. 

Two possessions later, Loretto’s Cam Andrews, who finished with nine points on the night in his first start of district play, knifed his way to the basket for two more with 2:50 remaining to put his team up 40-33. Community was unable to generate enough offense to make the Mustangs sweat after taking down Loretto in the first matchup as the Vikings made just a single three-pointer all night long. 

Charlie Haskins led Community with 14 points, but he was held scoreless in the fourth quarter. Josh Powers scored all seven of the Vikings’ points in the fourth en route to an 11-point outing, but the Mustangs shut out Andrew Tocchio after Tocchio torched Loretto for 12 points on three triples in the first meeting. 

Early on, the Vikings took an 11-8 lead after the opening period, even holding onto a slim lead, 20-19, heading into the halftime locker room despite Tidwell nailing three treys and scoring all 11 points for the Mustangs in the second quarter. 

However, Loretto took over in the third quarter, led by Tidwell’s 10 points as well as Andrews hitting a three and Kylon Wilkerson scoring a two-point field goal. Andrews, Wilkerson, and Tidwell were the only Mustangs to score on the night, and the hosts outscored Community, 15-9, to grab a 34-29 lead heading into the final frame. 

The Mustangs ultimately found a way to close out the win, outscoring the Vikes 11-7 in the fourth while shutting out Haskins in the period.

COMMUNITY: C. Haskins 14, J. Powers 11 (1), J. Lawwel 6, J. Williams 3, K. Boyce 2.

LORETTO: M. Tidwell 31 (5), C. Andrews 9 (2), K. Wilkerson 5 (1). 

On Saturday, the Vikings faced a tough turnaround with a trip back out west, this time to No. 9 Summertown. The Eagles blew out Community, 75-52, in the first meeting on Jan. 9 in Unionville, but this time Hunter Ferrell’s squad came ready for revenge. 

Community played the Eagles close from the opening tip, trailing by just five points, 17-12, at the end of one. Andrew Mabry came out on fire for the hosts, scoring eight of his 11 points in the first quarter alone. The Vikings actually outscored Summertown by five, 13-8, in the second quarter to draw level at 25 heading into the halftime break. The Vikings connected on four triples in the first half after hitting just one the night before, and Josh Powers was leading the way at the break with nine points on three treys. 

Coming out for the second half, Lleyton Sherman began to find his groove for the Eagles after scoring just three points in the first half, knocking down a pair of triples en route to an eight-point period, but the Vikings had the juice to match the hosts, tying the game up at 45-all entering the final frame. Andrew Tocchio connected on a pair of triples, Haskins got four points at the free throw line, and Jaxon Williams scored five of his own in the period. 

However, the Vikings seemed to finally run out of gas in the final frame as the Eagles pulled away by outscoring Community 14-8 to win by six, 56-50. Sherman nailed two more triples for the Eagles as well as Ryder Blackwood knocking down a three. Haskins attempted to counter with a pair of three-pointers to bring his scoring total to a team-high 15 points, but the Vikings just could not convert on other open shot attempts down the stretch.

The Vikings fall to 13-10 overall. Community returns home on Tuesday, closing out the district slate against Chapel Hill at 7:30 p.m. With a win, the Vikings would secure the No. 4 seed in the District 9-AA Tournament.

COMMUNITY: C. Haskins 15 (3), J. Powers 13 (3), J. Williams 10, A. Tocchio 9 (3), K. Boyce 3. 

SUMMERTOWN: L. Sherman 18 (5), A. Mabry 11, G. Howell 7, S. Sherman 7 (1), K. Springer 7 (1), R. Blackwood 6 (1).