Alex Wolf and the Lady Vikes struggled against Jarrell for their final game of the 2009-10 season. (LOG photo by vasaraphotography.com)

By C.R. BARNES
LOG Correspondent

Four ladies said goodbye to the Lago Vista blue and gold Feb. 9 during the Lady Viking varsity basketball game against the Jarrell Cougars at Viking Hall. Unfortunately, the team couldn’t send them out on a winning note as it fell to the district powerhouse, 65-35.
The Cougars jumped out to an early 24-4 lead on the Lady Vikings in large part to a swarming defense and full court press that forced Lago into turning the ball over before reaching the center court line.
Sharp ball movement, and controlled, high accuracy shots gave the visiting Cougars a comfortable 39-14 lead going into the half. Jarrell’s high-octane outside game knocked down six three-point shots in the half and kept the Vikings from contending throughout the first 16 minutes of play.
“This was a much quicker and athletic team than we are used to seeing,” said coach Jason Stoner. “We had a real difficult time containing the outside game and when we did, Jarrell moved its game to the paint and beat us under the boards.”
The lead differential didn’t change much into the third quarter as Jarrell continued with the press defense that caused numerous turnovers in the backcourt and led to easy baskets for the Cougars. By the end of the quarter, Jarrell held a 54-29 lead that Stoner knew would be difficult to overcome.
“Turnovers have been our weakest point all year, and going into this game we knew that we must play flawless basketball to beat this team,” he said. “Jarrell just played a well executed game tonight and did everything correct.”
Jarrell kept the ball controlling offense and stifling defense going full throttle into the fourth quarter as it held the Lago shooters to six points in the remaining frame to coast to victory this evening.
Alex Wolf put up an all-around solid performance in the loss with 14 points and 15 rebounds to complement three steals. Marissa Whitehead added seven points while Erin Seely grabbed seven rebounds to aid the offensive and defensive efforts.
Suiting up for the Lady Vikings for the last time were seniors Kym Edwards, Kristen Meyer, Marissa Whitehead and Erin Seely. With win totals exceeding last year, senior guard Marissa Whitehead said this team is headed in the right direction.
“I had a personal goal of winning four games in District this season. I am proud that we accomplished that feat,” she said. “We also won more games this year and it is all due to coach Stoner. He made us focus on one goal and one game at a time. He has this team going in the right direction.”
Another graduating senior, Erin Seely, echoed the feelings of her teammate on the status of the team, and explained what Stoner has meant to the girls since taking over as coach two years ago.
“This was a good season. Coach Stoner has really helped us grow better as players and as a team,” she said. “We all learned how to work together as a unit. He is a terrific coach and will have the team playing good basketball next season.”
Though ending with a 10-19 non-conference record and 4-8 in district, the totals exceeded a victory total over the past four years and quadrupled the district victories from a year ago.
“I am extremely proud of how this team continuously improving week to week and playing competitively every night,” Stoner said. “Our team was in more games this year than the past. The program is moving in the right direction.”

Justin Flowers’ half-court pass to Jemarcus Johnson for an easy lay up with seven seconds left on the clock put the Lago Vista varsity basketball team sealed an upset of the Lexington Eagles, 61-59, at home Friday.
Lexington, coming in as the second-ranked team in District 25-2A, found itself in a contentious battle with a feisty Viking squad that was looking to end the season on a positive note.
The Eagles hit a three-point shot with 25 seconds remaining in the contest to tie the score at 59-59. Two missed free throws by the Eagles sealed their fate when Flowers soared for the rebound and found a wide open Johnson for the game-winning basket.
“This isn’t the way you draw the play up but Justin did a fantastic job finding JeMarcus streaking down the court,” said an exuberant coach Dan Boatright. “We finally defeated a team we shouldn’t have beaten. This was a great win for us.”
With a second-place finish in district on the line, Lexington wasted little time making its defense presence known as it shut down the Lago offense throughout the first quarter and limited the Viking shooters to 2 of 12 attempts and ended the quarter leading 14-4.
Lago regained its form while trading baskets back and forth with Lexington for the next eight minutes. Chipping away at the lead, the Vikings were able to dig out of the hole created in the first and enter the half down 30-25.
“I told the boys that they needed to work on effort and composure to beat this team,” Boatright said. “After trailing by 10 in the first and 12 in the second, we relied on self control and working hard to get back into this ballgame.”
Ryan Anderson’s clutch shooting in the third quarter helped Lago stay close to a Lexington squad looking to distance itself at every turn. Anderson knocked down nine of his team-leading 24 points in the frame and helped Lago narrow the deficit to 44-40 as the third quarter ended.
The Vikings took its first lead of the night deep into the fourth after a put-back rebound by C.J. Jacque. The teams traded baskets and free throws to keep the game tied until the remaining 25 seconds finally shut the door on a Lexington comeback.
Jacque, center and lone senior on the team, said going out with a quality win against a district powerhouse was a great way to end a productive and positive season.
“This win was great for our team, coaches and fans,” he said. “It means a lot to win at home in my last game. There is a lot of love on this team, and I can proudly say we played hard all year. I will miss my teammates and coach Boatright, but know they are in good shape for next year.”
With a previous loss to the Jarrell Cougars at home on Feb. 9, 72-50, the Vikings finished the 2009-10 season with a 16-12 overall record and 4-8 in district. Boatright said he knows the team will need to build upon this momentum for next season.
“Winning our last game is a great spring board. We are losing only one senior while returning the bulk of our starters,” he said. “Our work ethic and basketball fundamentals will remain the same as we look to ride that tidal wave to another great season.”

Jemarcus Johnson scored the game-winning basket against Lexington for the final Viking game of the 2009-10 season. (LOG photos by fourteenfourteen.com)

Vikings’ guard Justin Flowers (4) passes to Austin Terry (35) underneath the hoop. (LOG Photo by fourteenfourteen.com)

By C.R. BARNES
LOG Correspondent

It was a week of highs and lows for the Lago Vista boy’s varsity basketball team as division leader, Jarrell, handed the Vikings a lopsided 76-37 loss last Saturday on the road. The Vikes were coming into the game after surviving a defensive battle with Florence in which the team held on for a 41-32 win at home Jan. 12.
After the narrow victory, Lago was looking for a more convincing win against top ranked Jarrell. The Vikings knew this would be a battle won with defense and held form throughout the first quarter as it kept the high scoring Cougars to just 14 points and trailed 14-10 at the end of the quarter.
Using that same box and man defensive scheme in the second quarter, the Vikings managed to keep the outside shooters of Jarrell off balance and kept turnovers to a minimum while ending the half down only 10 points.
“Jarrell is a very smart team and fundamentally, the team does things right all the time,” Boatright said. “We did a good job keeping them in check and the defense played well to keep us in the game.”
The second half, however, didn’t match the first as the Cougars offense caught fire and outscored Lago 25-12 in the third quarter that put the game out of contention. With Jarrell holding a comfortable 56-32 lead heading into the final quarter, the Vikings couldn’t contain the outside shooting of Jarrell’s top scorers as they combined to put up 25 of the games 45 points in the second half to double up the Vikings.
“The two big guns for Jarrell came out in the second half and lit up the scoreboard,” Boatright said. “Between the two players, they accounted for 25 second half points. This just took the wind right out of our sails.”
Jarrell was able to contain any offense that Lago mustered, especially in the second half, as the team held the Vikings to just five points in the last quarter to easily put the game away. For the game, the Vikings were led by Jemarcus Johnson who contributed 14 points in the losing effort. The Vikings also got double digit scoring from Justin Flowers who added 10.
There was a stark contrast between the Vikings team that played Jarrell from the team that showed up to beat Florence just three days earlier. On a night where points were hard to come by and came in spurts, the Vikings held back a strong second half push from Florence to capture the second conference win.
The first half marked the lowest scoring output for either team this season, as both squads turned the ball over continuously to end the first quarter with Florence leading 3-4. It wasn’t until the last two minutes of the half when Lago Vista took the first lead of the game. Down 5-6 with 1:50 remaining, the Vikings went on a 10-1 run to end the half with a 13-7 lead.
“I told the boys at the break that a tidal wave was coming. It didn’t come as I expected, but it did come in big spurts that allowed us to separate from Florence,” Boatright said. “I didn’t expect this game to be as close as it turned out to be. We did enough as a team to get a win tonight.”
The third quarter saw the lead go back and forth between the Buffalos and Vikings. Each team used a fast break offense and smothering defense, to hold the scoring to 11 points for both teams to end the 3rd with a 24-18 Lago lead.
With the game down to the last 12, each team went on their own run to close the deficit. The Buffalos went on a 10-0 run to close the score to 31-28 with 4 minutes remaining. Not to be outdone, the Vikings ran off the next 8 points to separate the game with 55 seconds remaining and end any chance of a Florence comeback.
For the season, the teams record stands at 14-8 overall with a 2-3 record in district play. The team will next be in action at home when they host the Academy Bees on Jan.26th at Viking Hall.

Leading Rebounders:                                                                                                                   Piper Sisemore
Katy Hall
Allie McKinney

Steals Leaders:                                                                                                                               Haley Polk
Katy Hall

Assists Leader:                                                                                                                               Megan Kelley

Season Record:      2 Wins and 0 Losses
District Record:      2 Wins and 0 Losses

Coach comments: The Lady Vikings played outstanding defense throughout the game. Piper Sisemore hit a basket from just inside the three-point line as the buzzer sounded to end the game.

Academy defeated the Lago Vista 8B
girls basketball team Nov. 16, 20-4

Leading Scorers:        Annabelle May    4 Points

Leading Rebounders:    Annabelle May
Leah Gillham

Season Record:      1 Win and 1 Loss
District Record:      1 Win and 1 Loss