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MB (NewsDakota.com)–Saying your team never trailed in a matchup is usually enough to explain the story, but that was far from the case for the Viking men Thursday night.
Valley City State never trailed, but saw several big leads evaporate and had to survive a regulation buzzer-beater and overtime to knock off the University of Winnipeg Wesmen 93-85 in the semifinals of the Wesmen Classic in Winnipeg.
The win gives the Vikings a chance at history, as they can become the first non-Canadian team since 1968 to win the tournament. Bismarck State won the title that season, the second year of the tournament.
To earn that chance, and for the second straight night, the Vikings had to overcome adversity.
Sekani Milligan (Jr., Fort Lauderdale, FL) scored 26 points, then fouled out late in the fourth quarter, with the Wesman pressuring the Vikings for possessions, leaving the Vikings to figure out overtime without their leading scorer and go-to finisher.
During the extra frame, the Vikings turned to last year’s breakout star.
Aaron Duske (So., Buffalo, MN) scored six of his 17 in overtime, including four straight makes from the free-throw line on a night when the Vikings were brutal from the stripe. His final free throws turned the game into a three-possession edge that the Wesmen, who had been overcoming big deficits all night, could not overcome.
The Vikings started white hot, scoring the first 15 points of the game, putting the host team of the tournament and the ten-time tourney champion in a big hole.
But the international game, with it’s 24-second shot clock, is made for big comebacks, and the Wesmen fought back to cut the lead to 44-37 at the break, as Erik Zimmerman (4, Winnipeg, MB) began hurting the Vikings for the second time this season. After his 15 lead the Wesmen in their loss at VCSU in October, he scored 16 in the opening half to fuel the comback.
Again the Vikings rolled to start the second half. Sylvester Walker (Sr., St. Paul, MN) scored six of his 19 in third to fuel a 14-5 run that blew the lead back to 58-42 with 4:05 left in the third.
The Wesmen countered with Travis Krahn (2, Winkler, MB), who scored a four-point play and hit two late threes. Zimmerman hit a late trey to lead a 15-3 Wesmen run that cut the Viking advantage to 61-57 after three quarters.
The Vikings appeared to take control of the game with a late surge by Milligan and Walker. Milligan earned a bucket-and-foul, followed by Walker scoring on a baseline cut, moving the lead to 79-71 with 2:31 left.
It was not enough. Wesmen Andrew Cunningham (3, Toronto, ON) scored six of his 17 late, including two late field goals. With 25 seconds to play, Dominique Brown (3, Toronto, ON) sank a three on the left wing to end a 10-2 run that tied the game at 81-81.
Aiding the Wesmen comeback was a Viking free throw shooting effort that simply failed to extinguish their opposition. Valley City State shot 16-27, 59%, from the line in regulation, with any one conversion of the 11 they missed being enough to end the game after 40 minutes.
Valley City State had one more chance. Viking John Raquel (Jr., Hawthorne, CA) led the Vikings into the front court, but spent most of the possession waiting for a screen, then dashed to his right hand, slipped and was ultimately called for a travel that gave the Wesmen the ball with two seconds left.
Using the international rules to their advantage, the Wesmen used a timeout, which allows a team to inbound in their front court. Zimmerman spun a jumper up at the buzzer that missed, and the teams went to overtime.
It was defense that earned the final advantage for the Vikings. They held the Wesmen to just one field goal in the extra frame, and field goals by Duske, his first since the opening quarter, and Walker earned an early advantage. The Vikings added a brilliant transition basket by Chris Embden (Fr., Plantation, FL) to push the lead to six.
Duske would then sink four straight free throws, and Raquel added two more, and the Vikings, down a man and in serious foul trouble, survived their showdown to move to the finals.
With the win, the Vikings move to 12-4, winning four straight games, 10 of their last 11. They will face either the University of Brandon or the University of British Columbia-Okanagan in the finals Friday night at 8:00 p.m. Pregame coverage will begin at 7:40 p.m. on Dakota Country Radio.