Vinton County Vikings fly over Golden Rockets with a strong second half comeback
By: Conor Mallonn
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Wellston, Ohio (WOUB) – The Vinton County Vikings headed to Wellston and took on the Golden Rockets in a TVC-Ohio conference matchup where they would mount a sizable comeback and defeat the Rockets 53 to 63. The Vikings entered the night at 4-6 and looked to lock up their 5th win of the regular season.
The first half was dominated by a mixture of imposing paint defense and rebounding from Wellston, and a slow start to the Vinton County offense. Efficient ball movement from the Vikings allowed for them to find quick cuts and score over the Rockets in the paint.
On the opposite end of the court Vinton County’s defense was stout despite a distinct size disadvantage. The Vikings capitalized on forcing the ball to the outside and keeping the ball out of the hands of Wellston guard Wes Briggs, who tallied 22 pts, 6 rbs, and 2 ast on the night.
Briggs led the Golden Rockets on both ends of the court as an effective scorer in the paint and from three, and a sizable force on defense. Wellston would hold a 10 point lead just before
halftime but a late three from Hayden Reynolds would prove to be the spark Vinton County would need
going into halftime, and despite being down 29-22 the second half would prove different for the Vikings.
Coming out of the locker room, guards Hayden Reynolds and Cobra Sharp would lead the Vikings
offensively, cutting the deficit over the course of the third quarter with a rain of 3-pointers and strong
midrange scoring.
As the third quarter closed out Vinton County would hit a massive go-ahead 3-pointer
from Josh Montgomery and take a 38-41 lead. Despite strong pressure from Wellston for the remainder of the game Vinton County would continue to build on their lead with a standout 22 points and steal from Reynolds, while Sharp tallied 17 and helped to facilitate movement late in the game that would prove to be the difference maker down the stretch.
The Vikings would take down the Golden Rockets by a final score of 53 to 63, and now move to 5 and 6 on the season, Vinton County will take on Fairfield Union in their next matchup, on Jan. 22nd.