Addis Boyd’18 takes a shot over multiple defenders. (Photo/Chris Heerman’18)
Still riding their momentum from a huge win over Bexley, the Academy boys basketball team has gone on a tear, winning three consecutive games and improving its record to 9-3. In the past week, the Vikes have disposed of Grandview Heights, West High, and London, proving that they are among the best teams in their league.
The Vikings traveled to Grandview Heights on Tuesday, January 10, to take on the talented Bobcats. CA could never quite pull away but squeaked out a 56-50 win. The boys came out of the gates slightly sluggish, and Grandview took a 13-11 lead after the first quarter. But behind several big jumpers from senior Nick Stringer, the Vikings responded with a great second period and took a 25-21 lead going into the half. Despite Academy’s momentum, the Bobcats refused to go away. Each time the Vikes seemed to be taking over, Grandview would find a way to crawl back. With a couple of buckets from senior Ryan Alexander—including a layup that put him over 1,000 points for his high school career—kept the Vikings on top heading into the fourth. The Bobcats continued to hang around late in the game, but sophomore Dorrian Moultrie scored 10 of his 18 points down the stretch to ice the game for Academy. Alexander finished with a season-high 20 points.
Next up on CA’s schedule was a home game against West High School. The Vikings started slowly once again but hit the gas in the second half and blew out the Cowboys, 69-49. Given how the first quarter went, it seemed as if the 1-8 Cowboys were the team on the floor with the impressive 9-3 record. West dominated for most of the quarter, but both Stringer and sophomore Chris Boyle hit threes near the end of the period to draw the Vikes within 1. Stringer finished with 15, and Boyle had 12. Led by an offensive burst from Moultrie, the Vikings seemed to wake up in the second quarter. Sparked by a couple of Stringer threes and layups from Alexander, CA’s offense exploded, and there was nothing West could do. The Vikes outscored the Cowboys 38-19 in the second half and coasted to a 20-point victory.
Academy stayed home for its conference matchup with the London Red Raiders. The Vikes shook off yet another slow start to beat the Red Raiders 71-57. CA began the game cold, and London took a 15-11 lead after the first quarter. But, as opponents have learned in the past, it is only so long before Academy’s offense turns it on. Knowing that London had a couple of talented shot-blockers, junior Addis Boyd, along with Moultrie and Boyle, began attacking the paint and getting them into foul trouble. The London players now had to play cautiously to not pick up any more fouls, allowing the Vikes to feast inside. The Vikings had just a 1-point lead at halftime, but they felt the game was firmly in their control. They were right, as they outscored the Red Raiders by 13 in the second half and breezed to their 4th consecutive win.
Academy is playing its best ball of the year, and it has several tests coming up to see just how good the boys are.
First is a road game against an 8-1 Gahanna Christian team on Tuesday, January 17.
