The boys basketball team improved their record to 5-2 with a 61-57 comeback victory over the Landon Bears Tuesday night.

The Vikings opened the game with an uncharacteristically weak performance on defense. In the first quarter Landon jumped out to a 20-15 lead, and by the half the Vikings were down by 16

points.

“We really had to bring more energy, and get more involved on the defensive end which was the real problem,” forward Shaq Diboti-Lobe said. “By the end of the first half they had just under 40 points. As a team we weren’t biting in and focusing: it just wasn’t clicking.”

But during halftime the Vikings regrouped to cut the Bears’ lead to five by the end of the third quarter.

“We didn’t have much energy coming out of the gate,” point guard Jack McClelland said. “We didn’t raise the intensity and we kind of came out flat in the first half. But after halftime we were able to flip a switch. On defense we locked in and adjusted the tempo.”

The Vikings struggled to close the gap early in the fourth quarter, but with 1:06 left in the final quarter, they hit a three to bring the game to a 57-57 tie.

On the following play, power forward Max Oppenheim was fouled and made the two ensuing free throws to give the Vikings a 59-57 lead, their first lead of the game.

Oppenheim was fouled again on the following play and picked up both free throws again to make it a two-possession game for Landon, securing a 61-57 victory for the Vikings.

The Vikings will face the 3-5 Churchill Bulldogs away at 5:30 Friday.