Sports : Years of playing together lead to Vikings\' 2011-12 hoop success, says coach

Three times this year, the Vinton-Shellsburg boys basketball team has played games decided by two points. They defeated Williamsburg and Marion by 2, and lost at Clear Creek-Amana by a field goal. The Vikings face rematches of those last two games this week, as they travel to Williamsburg on Tuesday then host CCA on Friday.

Only seven teams in Class 3A have records better than the WaMaC-West leading Vikings, who are 13-2 on the season.

The Vikings success has come as a surprise to some. The team has have just one senior, no returning starters, and the average height of their starting five is right around 6'-1".

Coach Joe Johnson said that one reason that for the team's success is that the players have been playing together on a variety of teams for many years, and that has given them a sense of teamwork.

The Vikings traveled to Benton Community on Friday. The Bobcats held the Vikings to less than 50 points for just the second time of the season, but the Viking defense was even tougher. V-S defeated BC, 47-39.

The young Vikings have struggled at times; they are shooting just 43.1 percent from the field, and 29 percent from behind the 3-point line. They have also been somewhat slow in scoring; in seven of their 15 games, they trailed after the first quarter.

But still, they have kept winning. Their 13 wins is four more than second-place CPU.

Junior Grant Sagan continues to lead the conference in scoring, with a 17.1 point per game average.

See VS stats from the Benton game HERE. Click HERE for BC stats.