Making history; Vikes advance to semifinals

By Becky Walz,

Matthew Bockman dives for the loose ball as fellow Vikings Ben Bockman (22), Trey McCain and Kaiden Quandahl watches the scramble unfold. (Driftless Multimedia photo by Becky Walz)

The Vikes are still hungry for more as the Decorah boys’ basketball team downed Williamsburg 66-42 in the Class 3A quarterfinals Tuesday afternoon. The win is a first for the program’s history as the Vikes now face Assumption (Davenport) in the semifinals Thursday, March 7, at 2 p.m.

“This is exciting and this was obviously our goal to start the year — to get to state and win one game. But obviously that’s not enough we still have more in the tank. Locking in defensively in the second quarter and getting out in our transition offense going. We match Williamsburg athleticism and I thought we did a good job of that,” Viking Coach Jonathan Carlson said.

Game time

Decorah got off to a shaky start against the Raiders who entered the tournament with a 16-9 record as the eighth seed. Williamsburg kept the Vikes from scoring in the first two minutes of play to take 4-0 lead. Ben Bockman finally broke the ice with a jumper with 5:43 left in the first and put Decorah in front, 5-4, with a three-pointer just over a minute later. The two teams traded the lead several times before time ran out with Decorah trailing 12-14. 

That would be the last time the Vikings were down, as Decorah outscored Williamsburg 12-1. A defensive rebound by B. Bockman passed up the floor to Noah Milburn on a fast break, gave Milburn the easy lay-up to tie the game 14-14 less than a minute into the second quarter. Then it was B. Bockman who went to work, scoring the next four points. A layup by Cael LaFrentz gave Decorah a 22-14 lead. The Raiders would score their lone point of the quarter at the charity stripe with 1:37 left before the break.

In the second half, the Vikes continued to dominate the glass on the defensive end and push the ball up the court for easy points, while keeping Williamsburg from scoring for nearly seven minutes. Decorah finished the third period with 29 points and pulled ahead 53-20. The margin grew to as many as 35 early in the fourth period before Coach Carlson cleared the bench of his reserves.

The numbers and thoughts

B. Bockman led all scorers with 29 points, connecting on 5-of-9 threes. The senior also contributed seven rebounds and two steals. It was a double-double for Cael LaFrentz with 12 points and 13 rebounds, along with a pair of blocked shots. Coming off the bench Noah Milburn pulled down 11 rebounds and put in six points, while Kaiden Quandahl was there for six points and six rebounds.

“We started a little slow, but found our groove in the second and extended it into the third quarter,” said senior Ben Bockman. “We were definitely hungry because the loss two years ago hurt really bad. We are just going to enjoy this one and look forward to playing again Thursday.”

Trey McCain echoed the sentiments about the Vikes’ loss in the quarterfinal two years ago.

“I spent a whole year rehabbing from an injury last year to try and get back on the court and making it back here with guys I have been playing with my whole life is a really neat experience. It’s been on my mind to get back here. We are going to enjoy this win but we still have business to handle,” said McCain.

Kaiden Quandahl added, “It was a team performance on rebounding. We do a lot of drills on rebounding in practice and that really helps us in the games. The key today was to rebound as a team. We are unselfish and just want someone from our team to get the rebound.”

Williamsburg 14 1 5 22 42

Decorah 12 12 29 13 66

Scoring – Ben Bockman 29; Cael LaFrentz 12; Kaiden Quandahl 6; Noah Milburm 6; Trey McCain 4; Zach Driscoll 4; Louis Bucksa 3; Matthew Bockman 2

Rebounds – LaFrentz 13; Milburn 11; B. Bockman 7; Quandahl 6; Driscoll 4; McCain 3; Andrew Rhodes 3; Carter Dlhy 2; Assists – Driscoll 4; McCain 3; Quandahl 1; Gavin Groux 1; Dlhy 1; Steals – B. Bockman 2; Quandahl 1; McCain 1; M. Bockman 1; Milburn 1; Blocks – LaFrentz 2

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