The second-seeded boys basketball team won its first playoff game in a hard-fought defensive battle with the seventh- seeded Kennedy Cavaliers, 37-31, Feb. 28.

The game was close throughout its entirety, with each team forcing long possessions with not much scoring.

The Vikings started the game off slowly, getting outscored 9-2 halfway through the first quarter and not capitalizing on offensive rebounds. They stormed back, however, and at the end of the first quarter guard Kyle Depollar buried a three as the clock was winding down to give the Vikes a 11-10 lead after the first quarter. Then, guard Ben Castagnetti hit a layup as the clock ran out before halftime to take a 21-20 lead that the Vikes then wouldn’t give up.

After a 46-30 loss last week, the Cavaliers decided to change their defense, switching to a zone that forced the Vikings to extend their possessions and wait for a shot, something that seemed to trip them up early.

“We figured out what spots were open in the zone and were patient,” Castangetti said. “When we could attack, we did and tried to get into the paint.”

The third quarter then became a defensive showdown with the Vikes only scoring five points and the Cavaliers not hitting a shot until one minute left in the quarter. However, even with the lack of scoring the Vikings were taking threes and at one point had shot over 20 part way through the third.

Just like last week, the Cavaliers’ long possessions came back to haunt them and as the game had winded down, even the two-possession Viking lead became too much for Kennedy to come back from.

Castagnetti carried the team by scoring a game high of 18 points and energizing the Vikes with turnovers and tight defense. As for the rest of the Viking offense, no player had over six points and the team’s leading scorer Kyle Depollar had just six points.

While they took a huge number of three-pointers, the Vikes only hit five, with guards Riley Shaver, Max Steinhorn, and Depollar only combining for two.

Even though the Cavaliers and Vikings played for the two seed last Friday, with Maryland’s playoff system calling for random seeding after the one and two seed, the Vikings draw gave them the seventh-seeded Cavaliers for the second time, even though Kennedy finished third in the regular season.

Next up will be the Richard Montgomery Rockets who the Vikes are 2-0 against this season. After taking down the Churchill Bulldogs, 46-45, on Friday, the Rockets will travel to Bethesda to face the Vikes on Tuesday, Mar. 4 at 7 pm.