(Photo/Olivia Ryan’18)
The CA boys basketball team is red-hot. After beating Whitehall, Patriot Academy, and West Jefferson this past week, the Vikes have extended their winning streak to 8 games.
Academy is now 13-3 on the season and looks ready for a difficult last stretch of the regular season.
On Tuesday, January 24, the Vikings hosted Whitehall and took on the tough Rams. After a frustrating loss to the Rams early in the season, the Vikes were hungry for revenge this time around. They got it. Academy escaped with a 55-49 victory. The two squads passed the lead back and forth in the first half, with neither side taking control. Whitehall senior CJ Prater had an answer for every CA score, and the teams went into halftime deadlocked at 21. But in the third quarter, the Vikings finally heated up. Senior Ryan Alexander attacked inside for layups, and sophomore Dorrian Moultrie knocked down several jumpers. Moultrie finished with 16 to lead the Vikes, and Alexander added 14. Academy outscored the Rams 18-11 in the period and entered the fourth with a 39-32 lead. Whitehall made several late runs in the closing minutes, but the Vikings made enough clutch free throws to stave off the Rams.
Next on CA’s schedule was a road game at 9-7 Patriot Academy. The Vikes led from start to finish, defeating the Eagles 72-63. Instead of another slow start, the Vikings exploded to begin the game with its highest-scoring first quarter of all the year. Alexander and sophomore Chris Boyle pounded the paint for easy buckets to give the Vikes a 21-14 lead. Alexander led CA with 21, and Boyle had 15. Patriot Academy would not go down quietly, however. Eagles senior Caleb Wears had a monster night, dropping 30 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. Wears powered his team to a solid second quarter to cut CA’s lead to 4 at the half. But Alexander would have no part in an Eagles comeback. The star forward was dominant to begin the second half, and the Vikes extended their lead to 6 heading into the fourth. The Eagles tried their best to pull off a late comeback, but the Vikings drained their free throws to finally put away Patriot Academy.
The next day, Academy took on the always strong West Jefferson Roughriders. The Vikes won yet another close game, edging out the Roughriders 51-47. West Jefferson’s physical defense held the Vikings’ offense in check, and CA struggled in the first half. But the Vikes came to play on defense as well, and the teams went to the locker rooms tied at 22. Academy came out of the half energized, and its offense began to click. Alexander and fellow senior Nick Stringer both got hot, and the two captains began raining threes on the Roughriders. Stringer broke out of a shooting slump to lead the Vikes with 15 points, with Alexander adding 12. CA continued to suffocate the West Jefferson offense and went to the fourth with a 6-point lead. The Roughriders chipped away at the lead and even tied the game with 3 minutes left, but clutch free throws from Stringer iced the game for Academy.
The Vikings are blazing hot, and have climbed all the way up to 2nd in the MSL. They will put their winning streak on the line on Tuesday, January 31, as they welcome the Utica Redskins into The Mack.
