Vikings drop two games

It was a tough week for the Ventura boys basketball team, as they dropped a conference matchup and a non-conference tilt.
NSK/A-R 48, Ventura 32
    A sluggish first quarter doomed the Vikings on Tuesday, Dec. 6, at North Sentral Kossuth/Armstrong-Ringsted in a conference showdown.
    Cold shooting by Ventura in the first quarter led to a 17-5 first quarter lead for the Eagles.

    “Number 12 for NSK hit some big threes and ended up 6/7 from the three-point line,” said Coach Chad Brown.  “That really tells the story of how we weren’t identifying and closing out the shooters.  They also won the rebound battle and got a lot of second chance shots.”
    NSK/A-R took a 25-14 lead into the break.
    The Vikings returned from the break with more fire and went after the ball a lot harder, but it wasn’t enough to make up the deficit.  They fell 48-32.
    “On the positive side, when we started to pressure we got some turnovers.  We definitely gained some confidence in our press, but it was just too late,” said Brown.
    Joel Toppin led the team in scoring with 12 points.  Jace Byers and Joel Watson picked up eight and six points respectively.  Rounding out the scoring was Sam Treloar with four and James Stephenson with two points.
    Jace Byers led the team under the boards with five rebounds, while Watson, Stephenson and Shawn Murphy each grabbed four.
    Toppin led the team in assists with two.  Byers grabbed two steals, while Toppin, Stephenson and Watson each had one steal.
    
West Hancock 65, Ventura 54
    It was another uphill battle for the Vikings, as they had a poor first quarter and just couldn’t make up the deficit on Saturday, Dec. 10 when they traveled to Britt to take - Read More Via e-Editon