Vikings hang on for narrow win over Toppers

GLENWOOD CITY — The Colfax boys’ basketball team kept their fans in suspense when they allowed a ten point fourth quarter lead slip to just three late in the game before pulling out a 54-47 win against Glenwood City Dec. 20 on the Toppers home court. The win gives the Vikings a 6-1 record heading into the holiday break and a 4-0 conference record while Glenwood City is 0-4.

 Colfax grabbed a quick 6-2 lead on Sawyer DeMoe’s two free throws and bucket from underneath along with Ethin Kiekhafers long deuce. But, the Toppers went on a seven point run to go ahead 9-6 when the Vikings came up with eight straight empty possessions via turnovers or one and done shots. Jared Rudi finally scored in the paint then added a free throw on their next turn down the court for a 9-9 score. Grant Phillips dropped in a pair of free tosses to end the quarter with Colfax up 11-9.

The Toppers helped Colfax out a bit when their senior starting guard Nick Mrdutt picked up his third foul to start the second stanza and went to the bench. Glenwood managed to tie things up on a Marcus Kadinger put back. DeMoe went back to work and scored from a Rudi assist and the old adage “If at first you don’t succeed” came to life as Kiekhafer, after misfiring on several three point attempts, finally knocked one down for a 16-11 lead. It appeared the Vikings would take control of the game as they pulled out to a 25-15 advantage and had a chance to add to it before the half ended. But a couple of free throws were off the mark as well as one in the paint, giving them just an eight point lead, 25-17 at  intermission.

“We did a good job of getting the ball inside,” Colfax coach Garrett Maas said. “They had a hard time matching up with DeMoe and Kiekhafer in the paint and Rudi did a nice job of attacking the rim.”

Kadinger did his best to keep the Toppers in the game with a triple and two free tosses to cut the Colfax lead to 30-26 partway through the third quarter. But, the Vikings had an answer as Kiehafer knocked down another three ball and Rudi scored on a trip through the lane to up the lead to 35-26. Kiekhafer hit 2 of 3 free throws and DeMoe scored from close range for an 11 point lead before Kadinger scored on a put back again. Kiekhafer knocked down his third trey of the game for a 42-30 lead but a Topper bucket cut the lead to ten. For the third straight quarter, Colfax had the ball with plenty of time to set up for a final shot before the buzzer sounded and didn’t come up with any points.

Glenwood came up with five points of their own to start the fourth, cutting the Colfax lead again, this time to five at 42-37. Rudi broke the short run with another drive in the lane. However, the Toppers, who seem to be getting their basketball legs back after a long football season, continued to put pressure on Colfax and with another Kadinger trey. The Vikings were up just 44-40, prompting coach Maas to call a time out. His directions to the team seemed to work as DeMoe and Kiekhafer both scored to give the Vikings some breathing room with 3:36 to go. Again Glenwood closed the gap when Richard Ross banged in a triple. The Toppers picked up their seventh team foul however, sending Phillips to the line as he hit one of two, but four points by the Toppers cut the Vikings lead to 50-47 with 1:26 left in the game. Rudi went to the charity stripe and hit the first of two, and after the Toppers misfired on a triple, Kiekhafer pulled down a long rebound and Phillips was fouled. He put in one of two free throws for a 52-47 lead. The Toppers were one and done on their next possession again as DeMoe hit the boards after the miss. Jeremiah Wait then finished the game off with his only points on the night as he canned a pair of freebies.

“The kids did a good job of not panicking when Glenwood cut our lead to three,” Maas said. “We did a good job of not fouling them and we were able to finish things off at the free throw line,” he added.

Colfax finished 15 for 25 from the charity stripe while the Toppers weren’t there very often and went 4 for 5. The Vikings’ two big guns, DeMoe and Kiekhafer combined for 39 of the team’s points with DeMoe scoring 20 and Kiekhafer 19. Rudi and Wait both came up with four assists and Kiekhafer led the team in rebounds with 10. Kadinger led the Toppers with 18 points.

The Vikings return to action with a home game Jan. 3 against Fall Creek and resume conference play Jan. 7 against Mondovi, also at home.

COLFAX (54) DeMoe 9-2-4-20, Kiekhafer 6-4-5-19, Rudi 3-3-6-9, Phillips 0-4-6-4, Wait 0-2-2-2

GLENWOOD CITY (47) Kadinger 6-4-5-18, Ross 4-0-0-10, Mrdutt 4-0-0-8, T. Peterson 4-0-0-8, K. Wallace 1-0-0-3

THREE POINTERS: Kiekhafer 3, Kadinger 2, Ross 2, Wallace 1