Scheffler makes history in Vikings victory
Senior Cole Scheffler made history for the Vikings Thursday night at home against the Treynor Cardinals becoming the all-time steals leader in the history of AHSTW.
“Every time he makes a play, it’s our play, not just his,” said Junior Nick Denning of Scheffler. “We’re both bird dogs. It’s just fun to play with him.”
Sophomore Luke Sternberg got the Vikings going opening the scoring from 3-point range. Junior Cardinal Jace Tams answered him with a 3-pointer. Senior Kyle Sternberg was fouled on a made shot, added the extra point, to give the Vikings their 3-point lead back.
The Vikings put some distance between themselves and Treynor when Cardinals head coach Scott Rucker called a timeout approaching the 3-minute mark.
The Vikings had control leading 18-11 at the end of the quarter. [Kyle] Sternberg got the Vikings going with a shot from downtown, putting his team up by 10 to open the second quarter. The Cardinals were clawing their way back in keeping it close. Senior Brayden Lund got the crowd to its feet when he hit a 3-pointer, giving the Vikings a 5-point lead.
“Well, they hadn’t really shot it real well last couple of games against other opponents and we were prepared for them to shoot 60%,” said Vikings Head Coach G.G. Harris. “They knocked a lot of shots down. We liked the purpose we were playing with, so we wanted to do that. When they do miss, we’ve got to get those boards, get into transition and put them on their heels a little bit.”
Scheffler got the Vikings going with a bucket to open the third quarter. Senior Cardinal Ethan Dickerson was fouled on a made shot with a chance to cut the lead to 4, but missed the extra point with his team trailing by 5.
With the quarter winding down, Lund was fouled on a made shot, added the extra point to give the Vikings a 7-point lead. A few more buckets were added giving the Vikings an 11-point lead heading into the final quarter.
Dickerson dropped the first basket of the fourth quarter with the Cardinals continuing to hang around. Harris called a timeout when Treynor made a 3-pointer and then a layup on the next possession cutting the Vikings lead to 8.
Treynor was hanging around when they managed to get within 5 of the Vikings with just over a minute left in regulation. A few more buckets were made, but the Vikings hung on for a 57-49 win.
“I thought we maintained our composure,” Harris said. “There were some moments there where it things looked like they were turning their way and that’s kind of what they wanted to do. We weathered the storm multiple times, so I’m really proud of our composure and the way we competed for 32 minutes.”
The Vikings next opponent will be the 12-7 Tri-Center Trojans on the road Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. The Trojans are led by Michael Turner with 369 points and 96 assists.
“It all starts with the defense,” Denning said. “We really need to lockdown Michael Turner. He’s a great player, but defense is where it’s at. You’ve just got to play fun, play fast and that’s how you win."