
Vinton County outduels Athens to win a close game
By: Simon Lupfer
Posted on:
MCARTHUR, Ohio (WOUB) — Vinton County (9-8, 8-2 TVC-Ohio) hosted Athens (8-9, 4-5 TVC-Ohio) on Tuesday evening, and needed a win to stay alive in TVC-Ohio contention. The showdown exceeded expectations and the Vikings battled through a back-and-forth game to take down the Bulldogs 52-47.
The defenses on each side were suffocating early, giving each offense a tough time to get started. Vikings senior Cobra Sharp was able to get to the line early, leading Vinton County to a 10-7 advantage after the first quarter.
“We preached getting off to a good start,” Vinton County head coach NJ Kight said. “I just feel like if this team can win the first quarter it sets the tone for the rest of the game.”
Kight’s feeling proved to be true, but not without a tough fight from Athens. Senior guard Leo Martin contributed eight points on the night and led the Bulldogs to a 21-20 lead going into halftime.
As the second half began, Vinton County surprised Athens by coming out in a full-court press. The new look from the Vikings generated turnovers and resulted in easy points, leading to a 38-33 lead for Vinton County after three periods.
“We hadn’t shown any of our 1-2-2 or 1-3-1,” Kight said. “When we came out into the second half we jumped in that, and it got us a couple of steals and layups to get things going.”
The Bulldogs continued to battle into the final minutes, but Vinton County sustained the late push. The Vikings relied on senior Luke Dimel to do the dirty work and score physical points to finally put the game away.
Dimel said the reason he was able to help the Vikings close out this game was spacing.
“Finding a place in the defense where nobody is, we work on that a lot,” Dimel said. “Just being aggressive, finding a place where you can score, and going up strong with the ball.”
Up next for Vinton County is a trip to Nelsonville-York on Friday. The Vikings must beat the TVC-Ohio foes to stay in contention for the conference title.