Third time’s the charm.

After two losses to the SM South Raiders during the regular season, the Vikings managed to eek out a win in the first playoff game of the season.

After a dominant first quarter by the Vikings, which saw them up by as many as 17, aggressive defense and trash talking became the story for the rest of the games for both teams. Senior Mike Hood received a technical foul as well as South guard Isaac Soares.

Hood started the game with the hot hand; he scored 18 points in the first half, 12 of them coming from behind the arc; he finished the game with 25.

Senior Zach Witters showed off some incredible passing skills, including a no-look, behind the back pass to junior Elijah Graham, who finished the game with 11 points.

It was one of the most intense games of the season, and in the closing seconds of the game, Soares hit a miraculous turnaround three-pointer which trimmed the Viking’s lead to just three. After several clutch free throws by Hood and junior Cameron Southern, however, the Vikings pulled away for a final score of 73-68.

Their next game is tonight against Olathe Northwest, on the road.