Vikings are off to great start as 2022-23 season opens
WAUSA – It was a nice way to start a new season for the Wausa Vikings’ boys basketball team.
The Vikings opened up the 2022-23 campaign with a 2-0 start after beating the Plainview Pirates (63-55) on the road on Dec. 2 and the Boyd County Spartans (47-40) at home on Dec. 3.
The typical highs and lows of the early days of a season were evident for Wausa head coach Tim Schindler as the Vikings started off on the right track.
“Both games, we got outplayed in the second quarter, but had good third quarters to get back in the game,” Schindler said. “Cashe Carlson and Josh Wattier both had big nights on the boards to help us out.”
Carlson, a junior, and Wattier, a senior, went for 14 and nine boards against Plainview, respectively, while they grabbed 12 and seven the next night, respectively. Senior Jaxon Claussen added seven rebounds and five assists in the win against Boyd County.
Claussen (22 points) and Carlson (17 points) spearheaded the offensive attack against Plainview and Wausa rallied from a 25-17 halftime deficit against Boyd County with a 21-point performance from Claussen and nine points from Carlson.
“It was great to see rebounding performances the first two games,” Schindler said. “We have a mix of inexperienced guys that have growing pains, but will get better as the year goes on. Both were intense games that came down to the wire and we were able to get stops to win.
“We need to work on getting better looks on offense,” he said. “Moving without the ball is a big key for us. If we can do those things and shore up some defensive things, we will hopefully get better.”
Senior Addison Smith said the offensive struggles were more of a case of trying to find the Vikings’ chemistry and rekindle what has worked so well in recent years.
“Our first half, we don’t play the best, and the second half, we come back and play like we should,” Smith said. “We just have to figure out how to play that way the entire game. That’s how it’s been so far.
“Defensively, we’ve been really good, and offensively, we need to get better looks and pass the ball and move it more,” he said. “Overall, they were both solid games. (Boyd County) was rough offensively.”
Smith said the biggest hiccup for Wausa is the team dribbling too much and allowing the opposing defense a chance to lock in.
“We are not moving the ball enough,” he said. “We are trying to dribble to get places instead of passing it.”
Smith noted the losses from last year’s roster combined with the narrow miss of a trip to the state tournament.
“It’s definitely motivating us to get prepared for those potential match-ups again,” he said.
Wausa played Creighton on Dec. 6. The Vikings will next play at 5:45 p.m. Dec. 10 against Elgin Public-Pope John and at 8 p.m. Dec. 13 at Gayville-Volin, S.D.
Wausa 11 12 24 16 — 63 Plainview 10 22 14 9 — 55 SCORING
Wausa - Jaxon Claussen, 22; Cashe Carlson, 17; Henry Kumm, 8; Addison Smith, 6; Josh Wattier, 5; Preston Schlote, 4; Ashton Bietz, 1. Wausa 11 6 20 10 — 47 Boyd Co. 12 13 8 7 — 40
SCORING
Wausa - Jaxon Claussen, 21; Cashe Carlson, 9; Preston Schlote, 6; Josh Wattier, 5; Addison Smith, 3; Ashton Bietz, 2; Brady Bloomquist, 1.
