Sports : Vikings escape Benton comeback, 39-37

A close first half turned into a strangely-wild second Tuesday night as another chapter of the Vinton-Shellsburg/Benton Community rivalry played out in boys' basketball on the floor of the Garrison Fieldhouse.

The important point was that Coach Joe Johnson's Vikings won the game 39-37, but there was a lot more to the game than just that. It was scoreless through the first five minutes of the game before CJ Rickels broke the stalemate with a three-pointer. V-S led 7-4 after one period and the back-and-forth battle entered the halftime break with the Vikes leading 17-14.Then the strangely-wild part started.

The Vikings went on a 19-2 run that put them up 36-16 with under a minute left in the third quarter. Then it got stranger.

The Bobcats hit two late three to cut the Vikes' margin back to 14 at the end of three, 36-22. From there the streak continued to the point that with just under a minute left, the V-S lead was down to one at 36-35 as Benton held the Vikings scoreless for over eight minutes.

But a late Sam Griffith bucket and a clinching free throw from Rickels with two seconds left allowed the Vikings to escape with the two-point win.

Rickels led the Vikings with 12 points, helped out by nine from Tanner Rodman, seven from Jose Wilson, Griffth's five, four from David Lapan-Islas and two from Sam Moen.

The Vikings will make the short trip to Center Point-Urbana Friday night.

See photos here!