Last night’s boys basketball game against Olathe Northwest was a huge victory for the Vikings. After a quick start, West stayed poised and played well on both offense and defense.

The game started with 5’7″ junior Mike Meier tipping against Northwest’s Willie Cauley, who is 6’9″. It was a strange sight to see, but the height difference in the game didn’t prevent the Vikings from playing well, especially from the perimeter.

West hit eight three-pointers in the game, three coming from both senior Mitch Mansour and Meier.

The Vikings did the little things right last night. They passed well, they made their free throws, and they played strong defense (especially in preventing Cauley from getting to the basket). In the end, West was able to hold the lead and force a few turnovers (and a costly technical foul of Northwest), which helped them pull out the win.

Two players also got unexpected playing time last night. Freshman Austin Chambers, who ended the game with two points, and sophomore Jay Temaat played a few minutes in the game.

Overall, West just shot better than the Ravens. They made their shots when they counted the most, and they were able to get strong efforts out of all of their players, especially without the help of senior Derrian Henderson.

Mansour finished the game with a team-high 19 points while Meier finished with 13. Senior Matt Smith and junior Mitch Witter also put up six points each. It was a good victory for the Vikings, especially with much more important games in the future.