The end of the basketball season is quickly approaching, and the East Carbon Vikings prepare to finish the season at home February 27.
The Vikings prepared for the season ending game with two games played on the road last week. The first of which was played at home Wednesday against Dugway High. The Vikings entered the game strong, but failed to defeat the Mustangs, who finished the game victorious by the score of 68-42.
Tony McFarland, one of the key players for the Vikings had a successful game against the Mustangs. McFarland pulled down 15 rebounds and blocked 10 shots.
Pat Hanson also had a successful game with five blocked shots against the Mustangs.
According to Vikings head coach Steve Gutierrez, “we missed a lot of open shots which ended up costing us the game.”
The loss to the Mustangs may have dampened the Vikings spirits, but not their determination. The team headed North to play Meridian in Prove last Friday. The Vikings found themselves without key player McFarland who stayed behind due to illness. The team was also without Kevin Cline who injured his ankle in a junior varsity game.
Although the Vikings played with only eight team members, the team was determined to play their hardest. Unfortunately for the Vikings, Meridian played exceptionally well, hitting nearly 80 percent from the field. The tremendous scoring action on the part of the Meridian Mongooses lead to the Vikings defeat 85-42.
“We were just blown away by Meridian. We were down to only eight players, but we still played hard. Meridian was just a great team,” explained Gutierrez.
Austin Preston lead the Viking team in scoring with 21 points, 12 of which came off of three point field goals.
Contributing to the Vikings efforts was Hanson who scored 10 points, and Cameron Paiz who completed the game with six.
The two game loss drops the Vikings to 3-14 overall for the season. The team will host Wendover on Wednesday and hopefully close the season for this year on a winning note.
Vikings closing in on end of regular season
