Resilient Vikings pull out season?s best games

by Peter Jakey, Managing Editor

Posen fans showing their school spirit, at a level not seen in the Posen High School gym in some time, were rewarded with two of the most exciting victories of the year. Jacob Delekta’s game-winning free throws with two-tenths of a second lifted the Vikings (6-5, 5-3) to a 49-47 win Tuesday night, but it still couldn’t match the dramatics of Friday’s double overtime thriller against Mio, 58-56.

Head coach Steve Hentkowski had four players foul out, and four on the floor for the final 25 seconds, but still managed to get the homecoming win in front of a crowd dressed from head to toe in school colors and hungry for a win. The student section stood the entire game, cheering every play, and occasionally getting encouragement from Hentkowski to make more noise. ?The fans were fantastic,? said Hentkowski. ?I think without the fans tonight, there’s no way we would have won this game. They really put pressure on Mio’s free-throw shooters tonight.”

EVERYTHING HAD to fall in place against Mio, as Posen trailed by seven points with 2:52 left in the fourth quarter. Shane Hentkowski, the first Viking to foul out, was on the bench, making a comeback all the tougher, but Mio became unraveled at the end of regulation with a technical foul and several missed free throws. Justin LaPointe’s pass to Jerome Ciarkowski in the paint for two got Posen to within one, 42-41. However, K.C. Fox made two-of-four free throws on back-to-back trips to the line to put the T-Bolts up by three with 27.2 seconds left.

This is when the Viking heroes started lining up to grab their moment of glory from this game. David Kerr, who had a game-high 18 points, made the first of two free throws to get the Vikes within two. The second missed and was rebounded by Luke Bruski. The ball ended up in the hands of Scott Couture, who put up a high arching shot just inside the three-point line to tie the game at 44.

Mio?s Clarence Buhlman tried a three at the end of regulation, but the ball rimmed out. AT THE END of the first overtime, with Posen again trailing (48-47), Couture forced contact at the three-point line with 1.1-second left. He made the first to tie the game, but failed to convert on his other tries, sending the game into a second overtime, where it was time for Kerr to shine. He made a pair of free throws to get things going, giving the Vikings their first lead since early in the third quarter.

Kerr made Posen’s first four points in overtime and grabbed an offensive rebound and put it back in with about a half a minute left, to put his team up by five, 57-52. Mio answered with a bucket, and had a chance at a three-point play, but the free throw was missed with 25 seconds left. It was about the same time the fourth Viking player fouled out, leaving Posen with only four players on the floor, including eighth-grader Nick Hincka.

Delekta, Tuesday’s hero, made a free throw with 17.7 seconds to go, to make it a four-point game. Mio got another three try by Chadd Obermiller, but missed it. The Vikings ended up with one senior, two sophomores and an eight-grader on the floor at the end.

?The resiliency of this ball club was just awesome,? said Hentkowski. ?I’m really proud of this team tonight. This is, without a doubt, the best win of my coaching career. This was a great, great team effort.? TUESDAY?S GAME seemed destined for overtime, as neither side could pull away. Posen led by one at the end of the half, while Au Gres had a three-point advantage heading into the fourth. ?It?s never easy in here, never,? said Au Gres coach Gordie Ostrander to his players on the bench, early in the fourth quarter. No sooner had the words left his mouth Kerr and Ciarkowski made field goals putting the Vikes up by two.

Coming out of a timeout with 1:15 remaining, Hentkowski found Kerr right under the basket with a brilliant pass making the score, 46-44. On Au Gres? next possession, the Vikings got the steal, let it get away and fouled Kyle Boensch, who went to the line, and with the ?Viking Vextors,? as coach Hentkows

ki called the fans making their loudest noise of the night, he missed the first shot. A lane violation was called on the Wolverines on the second shot.

Kerr extended the lead to three when the Wolverines were forced to foul, although Conner Pendred popped in a three from the right corner to tie the game at 47. With time dwindling on the clock, Delekta caught an errant three-point try under the basket and was fouled with two-tenths of a second on the clock. He made both for the two-point win, 49-47. ?I was really nervous,? said Delekta after the game. ?I was just hoping to drain them and finish it off.?

The Vikings want to carry the momentum into Fairview Friday. Their next home game is Wednesday against Cedarville. THE JUNIOR VARSITY (8-3, 7-1) handled both Mio and Au Gres quite easily. Three players scored in double figures in a 61-34 win over Au Gres. Zach Idalski had a team-high 14 points and 11 rebounds. Jacob Boyke and Kohl Stowe both had 12 each. Against Mio, it was a 28-point victory, 58-30. Boyke put in 18, while Tyler Kuffel had 15 points and 19 rebounds.

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