The Vikings avenged their only conference loss of the last two-plus years and moved into sole possession of first place in the Wisconsin Little Ten Conference with an emphatic 63-55 win over Beaver Dam before a raucous crowd at WLHS.
The Beavers scored the first four points of the game, and the two teams engaged in a see-saw first quarter. But Larry Moore's three pointer with under a minute to go in the frame gave Wisco a 14-11 lead, and the Vikings would never trail again. Things stayed tight in the second quarter until a late 7-2 run by the Vikings gave them some breathing room at the half, 34-25.
Wisco's depth paid off in the third quarter, as they began to wear the Beavers down. The Vikings held Beaver Dam scoreless for a 5-minute stretch that lasted until the closing seconds of the quarter. Meanwhile, the Wisco offense was rolling, reeling off 11 points over that same stretch to take control of the game. The Vikings were able to extend their lead even further in the fourth quarter, breaking down the Beaver defense for good looks around the basket, and limiting quality shots for Beaver Dam on the other end. Emilio Lopez's layup off a Chris Golden pass gave Wisco an 18-point advantage, 62-44, with just 2:23 remaining. The Beavers hit a few late threes to make the final margin close, but when the final buzzer sounded, the Vikings had won their 29th straight home conference game and moved back into sole possession of first place.
Deiondre Cunningham played his best game in a Wisco uniform. He scored 13 points, grabbed 9 rebounds, and handed out 8 assists. Chris Golden led the Vikings in scoring with 19 points and Emilio Lopez scored 10 points, grabbed 4 rebounds, and handed out 4 assists. Wisco shot 56% from the field and held the Beavers to just 36% shooting. They outrebounded Beaver Dam 36-28, and handed out a season-high 18 assists on the night.
The win gives the Vikings the inside track on their seventh straight conference title. They will continue WLT action next Tuesday night at West Bend East. Game time is 7:30 PM.
| Beaver Dam | 12 | 13 | 11 | 19 | 55 |
| Wisconsin Lutheran | 14 | 20 | 14 | 15 | 63 |
| Wisco Scoring | Category Leaders | ||
| Chris Golden | 19 | Rebounds | |
| Deiondre Cunningham | 13 | Deiondre Cunningham | 9 |
| Emilio Lopez | 10 | Assists | |
| Larry Moore | 5 | Deiondre Cunningham | 8 |
| Caleb Tesch | 4 | Steals | |
| CJ Polk | 4 | Chris Golden | 2 |
| Andy DeNoyer | 3 | Blocked Shots | |
| Jansen Van Grinsven | 3 | Caleb Tesch | 1 |
| Zach Ginster | 2 | Deflections | |
| Zach Ginster | 3 | ||
| Charges Taken | |||
| Jansen Van Grinsven | 1 | ||