The boys basketball team suffered a tough loss to rival  Churchill, Feb. 4, by a final score of 54-50, dropping its record to 12-4.

The game was close until the Bulldogs took a late lead and were able to close it out from the free throw line.

Going into halftime the game was tied 23-23 and the Vikes’ defense came to life to start the third quarter, grabbing steals on seven of eight Churchill possessions. However, the offense was unable to capitalize on chances, scoring just ten points all quarter.

The team did, however, hold the Bulldogs to only three points all quarter and took a seven point lead, 36-33, into the fourth.

The Vikes kept a steady lead through the first four minutes of the quarter but the Bulldogs once again started knocking down their shots and eventually tied the game.

On a late Churchill inbound play, guard Riley Shaver went to trap the ball and was called for a reaching foul while suffering an elbow to the face. Shaver went down hard to the floor and was later diagnosed with a concussion.

The foul on Shaver sent the Bulldogs to the line and after that they were able to put the game out of reach, hitting 18-20 free throw attempts throughout the game and keeping the lead to prevent any Viking comeback.

Guard Kyle Depollar led all scorers with 22 points and four three-pointers and Shaver was second on the team with ten.

The Bulldogs were led by their top three scorers who combined for 47 of the team’s 54 points and went 16-18 from the line.

“One of the biggest reasons we let them back into the game was a lack of energy,” center Ryan Hannegan said. “Being our first five o’clock game of the season, the team’s enthusiasm didn’t seem as high as usual and once we had the lead going into the 4th quarter we sort of had the feeling that we could coast to the finish which obviously did not work out for us.”

The Vikes will now travel to the 1-13 Walter Johnson Wildcats, Feb. 7, to try to pick up a big division win and get back on track.