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Show Highland j Closes Out Vike Year By DAVE WIGHAM Clipper Sports VIEWMONT -- Highland High pulled aw from a stubborn Viking team last week to. a hard fought 82-66 victory over the home,,! The loss ended a frustrating season f0r" Vikes while the Rams now head into the M tournament as the third place team from 2 gion Four. "GOING INTO the game we had sele, goals to accomplish" noted Viking Coach R, Johansen, "one of them was to get somen, pie some playing time in order for them to n the requirements of lettering." Simply sm that meant some younger players would i action. One of the setbacks was that one of th brightest youngsters, sophomore Brett CI ward, missed the game with a ankle injun, sustained on Monday in practice. THE SENIORS started the game for ( Vikes and for a while they gave the talent Rams all they wanted. After one period of pi the Rams looked like they would run away j this battle as they held a 29-1 8 edge but thend Vikes came roaring back in the second peno they outscored Highland 1 2-0 at one stretch, pull within a field goal at 42-40 at the halftii buzzer went of. During that first half explosion several of( Viking players enjoyed thir finest hours. Ma Law and Kurt Mathews were especially effe tive in those first two periods as both of th suddenly found the hot hand. AS HAS BEEN their custom in recent gam the Vikings started using their bench effectiv ly as one definitely needed a program to ke track of all the subs the Vikes were throi into the battle. It was an effective ploy in t first half as it kep the Rams off guard and o them down with their run and gun style. Hi land enjoys the fast tempo type game buttv the Rams were concerned over the pacet Vikings were going with. In the end though, or the second half, t Rams simply had too many guns for the V ings as Highland slowly but surely pulled a when some of the shots that Viewmont made the first half simply wouldn't drop in I second. "We played great in the first half almost everything was falling down for a offered Johansen, "but then the sk wouldn't drop in the second." AS USUAL senior Kevin Smith led the Vik in scoring as the star forward ended his Vie mont career with 18 points. All season to Kevin has been the leading scorer for the VI despite getting most of the attention from t opposition's defense. "He's one of the pi miere players in the region" offered Bouniil coach Mike Hall of the Viking standout. Kev got a lot of support in this battle as senior Ki Mathews poured in 16 on the night with seni Mark Law closing out his Viking career i 13. |