Vikes close out regular season with Bloomfield win
WAUSA— It was Friday night, the gym lights were shining brightly, and the court was squeaky clean.
The silent gym gradually filled with the sounds of laughter, excitement, and good conversation shared between family, friends, and neighbors as they filed in to watch the boys’ basketball teams of Wausa and Bloomfield battle it out in their last regular-season game of the year.
As both teams warmed up, coaches Schindler and Eisenhauer met, as they did each year, in the middle of the court with a friendly handshake to wish each other the best of luck for a good game and a little healthy competition.
The stage had been set for a great night of basketball.
As the Vikings hit the floor, they felt ready for the challenge of taking down the Bees after previously being defeated by them earlier in the season.
In order to achieve their goal, the Vikes knew they had to stay positive, work hard, and play as a team. Their shots had to fall, but more importantly for this game, they had to be on the ball with defense.
Right away, the Vikes took the lead as Cory Schumacher, Cashe Carlson, and Brandon Kristensen successfully shut down Bloomfield’s “big,” senior Gabe Lauck, allowing him to only score three out of their nine points in the whole first quarter. On the offensive end, Cory Schumacher again led the Vikes in the first with five out of their 13 first-quarter points.
Winning the first gave the Vikes a great boost of momentum which carried them through to halftime.
At the end of the first half, the score was 17-13 in the direction of the Vikings. After halftime, the game looked a little more nerve-racking as Layne Warrior for the Bees came out with eight points of his own.
Fortunately for the Vikings, however, his buckets were still no match for Jaxon Claussen’s 11.
Going into the fourth frame, both teams had the will for victory. Frustration started taking over for both teams as Wausa’s Josh Wattier and Bloomfield’s Gabe Lauck both fouled out.
With them being disqualified from the remainder of the night, Wausa lost speed and ball handling skills, and Bloomfield lost rebounding and inside shot attempts.
At the end of the night, Wausa was able to hang on and close out Bloomfield for a 42-39 win.
Top scorers for the Vikings were Jaxon Claussen with 23, Cory Schumacher with 10, and Addison Smith pitching in for seven points.
BLOOMFIELD 9 4 12 14 — 39
WAUSA 13 4 12 13 — 42
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