VASJ vs. East Tech boys basketball: Vikings pass physical test against Scarabs, 56-45

Nov. 27—Physical and aggressive on both ends of the floor were the name of the game for both VASJ and East Tech when they squared off at Cleveland Heights in the Great Lakes Classic on Nov. 27.

The Vikings led from wire to wire, but the Scarabs battled back late in the fourth as the VASJ lead shrunk to five. But trips to the line and strong free throw shooting gave VASJ the win, 56-45.

While the Vikings had the lead, it wasn't the best shooting performance from the floor to start. Then Demetrius Rivers checked into the game.

Rivers hit a pair of triples as the first quarter came to a close and started the second with a breakaway dunk.

Coach Ashen Ward has seen Rivers become a leader from the bench and someone who can work with a lot of the players regardless of the situation. Ward said that will pay dividends as the season progresses.

"Demetrius is a true spark plug for us," Ward said. "He's the heart and soul of this team, he's the guy always talking in practice and on defense, tonight was his coming out party. I expect a lot from him being our emotional leader and he takes a lot of pride in doing that."

When Rivers provided the spark the Vikings needed, it allowed for Quandell Wright to get things going. Wright finished with a team-high 14 points to go with five rebounds.

The boards were the name of the game for the Vikings as Brayden Daniels added eight, as well.

With the physicality of the game and fouls racking up, the Vikings put worrying about the foul situation to the back of their minds as they controlled the boards.

"We work on it every day in practice," Wright said. "We get things going with the defense and that turns into the offense. Coach gets on us about being tough and aggressive. We box out as a team and rebounds just come."

Jeremiah Martin also had 12 points to be the third Viking in double figures.

The zone defense also lent a hand to the Vikings controlling the boards as well as drawing several charges through the game.

The fourth quarter however, saw East Tech begin to eat into the Vikings' defense, in large part to their six turnovers in the frame.

As the Vikings lead shrunk to five, Ward called timeout and allowed his team to regroup.

After the pause, it was a clean sheet the rest of the way for the Vikings. They also added several trips to the line and those easy buckets saw the lead pushed back to double digits.

While light on experience, Ward liked the toughness his team showed. That's something he's stressed at practice and was happy to see come to fruition against the Scarabs.

"I told the guys coming in that we wanted to be the tougher team," Ward said. "We knew how tough East Tech plays. I knew if we could match their intensity while still playing our same brand of basketball, being smart and taking care of the ball, we had the chance to win."

East Tech was led by Mohammed Shakir with 14 and Demetrius Lawrence added 10.

The Vikings go for back-to-back wins to start the season when they host Walsh Jesuit on Dec. 2.