Vikings lost two straight to end December schedule

STANTON — A lay-up with seconds remaining gave Stanton their second straight loss heading into the holiday break, last Tuesday.

Stanton lost the game to the Sidney Cowboys, 46-44, on a Brendon Hardy lay-up off of a steal.

The Vikings had an opportunity to win, with the game tied 44-44 and 10 seconds remaining when the ball was stolen, setting up the Hardy lay-up.

“To Sidney's credit, they ran a really nice play to get the ball game tied up. It was probably my fault, we had about 10 seconds, I should have called a timeout and didn't. We turned the ball over. It was one of those games where it could go either way,” Vikings Head Coach Steve Bruning said.

Both teams had traded the lead late in the game. Stanton was down by as much as six points late, when Brent Hanson hit a lay-up, followed by free throws on ensuing possessions to tie and take the lead.

The Vikings had to play the final few minutes without Jeff and Greg Marshall, who both fouled out of the game.

The first three quarters of the game, both teams scored less than 30 points. Both teams scored single-digit points in the first and third quarter.

“We had some opportunities at the very beginning of the game, we were playing good defense, but we weren't scoring any points to go in the other end,” Bruning said. “I think we kind of blew an opportunity to take a six or eight point lead real early.”

Jeff Marshall finished the game as the team's leading scorer with 13 points on 5-for-13 shooting with five rebounds.

Cade Confer stepped up for the Vikings by scoring eight points on 3-for-4 shooting off of the bench.

“Some of the guys we brought in off the bench did a nice job for us,” Bruning said.

Hanson and Greg Focht each scored seven points in the loss. Hanson had nine rebounds, while Focht had eight.

Last Monday, Stanton lost to Riverside, 49-31. Focht was the leading scorer for the game as he had eight points on 4-for-5 shooting, with five rebounds, two steals and a block.

Hanson scored seven points, while Jeff Marshall recorded eight. Austin Becthold and Greg Marshall both scored four points each.

With the losses last week, Stanton enters the break with a 5-3 record. They'll be back in action Jan. 6 to play Fremont-Mills in Tabor.