The boys’ basketball team (10-1, 17-6) crushed the Fremont High School Firebirds, 65-19, in a Santa Clara Valley Athletic League game at home on Wednesday, a fitting way to send off five seniors on Senior Night.
With a 62-51 win over the Homestead Mustangs last week, the Vikings clinched the SCVAL league title for the first time since the 2006-2007 season.
Although there were initial doubts whether the game would still be played after the city-wide power outage, the Vikings stayed prepared and easily dispatched the Firebirds.
“I really like how the kids reacted,” head coach Bob Roehl said. “It [the outage] was a barrier they learned to ignore.”
The team did not know for certain that the game was on until power returned around 6 p.m.
“We were just hoping the game wouldn’t be postponed because we were ready,” senior guard Joseph Lin said. “We did stuff at practice yesterday to prepare for tonight.”
The Vikings proved this preparation with a convincing victory over Fremont. This was the final home game for seniors Lin, Brendan Rider, Steven Kerr and Kevin Brown.
“It just felt good to kill them,” Lin said. “It was Senior Night, and it just felt special. We’ll remember this for a long time.”
Anticipating this opportunity to allow some players to gain more experience, Roehl gave every player ample playing time. For players like senior forward Niklas Wahlberg, who had seen little playing time in the past, this opportunity proved rewarding.
“It felt awesome,” Wahlberg said. “I’ve mentally been prepared. Every time it’s game time, I’m ready.”
Wahlberg scored seven points. Other leading scorers included junior forward Charlie Jones with 12 points, senior guard Brendan Rider with 12 points, junior forward Davante Adams with nine points, senior center Kevin Brown with eight points, senior guard Joseph Lin with seven points, and junior forward Max Schmarzo with seven points.
“They’ve all been practicing hard all year,” Roehl said. “I’m proud that they continued to play like a team. These kids have really become a team in better communication with each other.”
Sophomore Tory Prati also saw his first major playing time, and he felt prepared to step up for the team.
“Everyday I still go out and practice with them,” Prati said. “I’m always ready to play. I guess we were getting everyone playing because Fremont’s not that tough, and we’re also preparing for CCS playoffs.”
Although the Vikings committed eight fouls in the first half, Roehl did not feel concerned about this unusually high number.
“We were being aggressive, pressing and trapping,” Roehl said. “Aggressiveness gave us some fouls, but also many baskets.”
On Fremont’s side of the ball, the team suffered from its lack of depth, as only six players were present, allowing for only one substitute. Only three players contributed points – senior Jordan Sever with ten, freshman Connor Smi with six, and junior Ryan Swanson with three points.
The Vikings only have one more league game before playoffs at 7:45 p.m. this Friday at Wilcox High School.
“We feel comfortable,” Lin said. “Real ready.”