The boys basketball team put up a strong performance in its home opener Fri. Dec. 13, crushing rival the Landon Bears 64-45, and improving its record to 1-2.

The boys started off hot, hitting their first three three-point attempts, racing out to an early lead. The shots then kept falling and by the end of the first quarter the Vikes led 26-9.

The second quarter was a little tighter with the Bears playing tighter defense and cutting the Viking lead to 36-21 at half but were never able to get any closer.

The second half was more of the same for the Vikes who just needed to maintain their big lead and were able to coast to a 19-point victory.

The offense was lead by guards Kyle Depollar and Riley Shaver who both had 18 points, and point guard Max Steinhorn who added 12 more of his own.

The win was the first of the season for the Vikes and will serve as a big motivator throughout the season as the team moves forward.

“It was awesome beating Landon,” guard Ben Castagnetti said. “It shows us that if we play well we can beat anyone.”

Both teams, especially Whitman, had big crowds that kept the gym loud and energized.

“Having so many fans there was great because it kept our intensity up,” Castagnetti said.

The boys will look to carry over their offensive outburst into their next three games against the Wootton Patriots Mon. Dec. 16, back at home against Northwest on Wednesday,  and finally Churchill  on Friday, Dec. 20.