The Grand Views

Issue date: 3/5/10 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Jenna Jacobs Corey Viet, senior forward

Media Credit: Taylor Hinkle Matt Banzhaf, senior foward, starts to cut down the net after the Vikings beat William Penn

Media Credit: Taylor Hinkle Grant Burns, senior point guard

Greg Schulz, senior forward

The men's basketball team is headed back to the national tournament after beating William Penn 85-71 to capture the MCC Tournament championship.

With the win, the Vikings earned an automatic bid to the national tournament in Branson, MO. It is the fourth appearance under coach Denis Schaefer.

Coach Schaefer was very pleased with the team's solid play all night.

"I thought it was one of our better performances of the year, particularly in the first half," Schaefer said. "We did a great job defensively and offensively moving the ball and making shots."

The Vikings jumped out to an early 23-4 lead led by senior Corey Viet who posted a 6-7 shooting exhibition that resulted in 13 first half points. The Vikings led 47-23 at half time.

"I think our defense was the main reason we had such great success in the first half," Corey Viet, senior forward, said. "And when you are playing great team defense I think your offense tends to feed off of that and we hit some shots."

The Statesmen didn't go down easily, however. Midway through the second half the Vikings gave up a 16-6 run that pulled the Statesmen within ten, 70-60, with 3:03 left in the game. But the Vikings bounced back and senior Greg Schulz drained a three-pointer to build the lead back to 17 with only :45 left. The Vikings shot 8-11 from the free throw line in the final two minutes to help capture the championship.

"Senior leadership and trusting each other to make plays was the key to our success late in the game," Greg Schulz, senior forward, said. "It's nice having 5 scoring options on the court to stop William Penn's run."

The Vikings now look ahead to their second consecutive trip to the national tournament where they will face No. 17 Sioux Falls of South Dakota. The game will tip off at 8:30 am Wednesday, March 10.

Looking ahead, Schaefer believes they will be up to the challenge.

"We're just going to have to make sure we come defensively and shut down their two guards," Schaefer said. "Secondly we need to have a physical presence on the floor. If it's going to be a physical game, I think it will work to our advantage. Thirdly, we need to make sure to get our post players involved early. Lastly, we need to take care of the basketball. I'm sure they will apply some tough pressure."

Viet also thinks defense will be their key to success in the tournament.

"I think we need to just focus on doing what we do best, which is playing solid defense and then getting good shots on offense," Viet said. "If we play like we did in the MCC tournament, we will put ourselves in a good position to win."

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