The White Falcon - 17.12.1993, Blaðsíða 8

A.T. Mahan Vikings
Conquering untrodden
Story and photos by
J02 Carlos Bongioanni
Defeat doesn’t seem so agonizing when, in
the process of losing a battle, one overcomes
a barrier which had never been scaled before.
Such was the case for the A. T. Mahan boys
varsity basketball team.
Although they didn’t win last weekend’s
friendship tournament, they were able to
redraw the boundaries set by past experi-
ences. According to coach Bill Riggs, they
beat an Icelandic high school basketball team
for the first time in Mahan basketball history.
As if that wasn’t enough, the Viking squad
beat a second Icelandic team and threatened
to do more damage, before running out of
steam.
Of the eight teams that played in the three-
day, double-elimination tournament,
Mahan’s varsity team finished third The
Viking’s junior varsity squad also won a
game and landed a fifth place tournament
finish.
After their first-round, 44-22 win against
the Kefiavfk “B” team, the Vikings confi-
dently came into their second game with
visions of grandeur. “We’re going
all the way,” stated one player just
before the start of the game. With
an impressive 56-34 win against
Grindavfk “B,” the Viking’s boast-
ing seemed believable.
On day three of the tournament,
the undefeated Vikings clashed
with Kefiavfk “A,” the other re-
maining undefeated team. Up by
four points at halftime, the Vi-
kings stood a good chance of
beating the team that had, up to
that point, totally dominated ev-
ery opponent they had faced in the
tournament.
Just the day before, Kefiavfk
“A” used a relentless full-court
press in their 93-20 shellacking of
the Mahan junior varsity squad But now it
looked as though the varsity boys would pull
out an upset win. The deciding factor of the
game, however, came when Kefiavfk “A”
outscored the Vikings by 19 points in the
second half, winning 59-44.
“After the loss, the guys were exhausted
and simply went flat,” noted Riggs. “Four to
five of our players had the flu and just didn’t
have the energy to put up a good
fight in the loser’s bracket match
against Grindavfk.”
The Vikings lost to Grindavfk
“A” by only six points, 42-36.
Riggs added that his team played
exceptionally well despite their
two losses. “Two years ago, the
closest our team ever got to an
Icelandic team was within 40
The commander of the Iceland Defense Force, Rear
Adm. Michael D. Haskins, awards the KeflavCk "A"
team. (Photo by Matt Manning)
points. Even the coach from Kefiavfk said
this is the best team he’s ever seen from the
base.”
“Last year, we just shot a lot and didn’t
pass the ball around,” remarked Vikings
starter Ben Grimes. “This year, we’re work-
ing together as a team. Also, playing with the
military guys in the base leagues has hel]
us out by giving us experience and forcing
to play solid defense.”
In the final game of the tournament, second
place finisher Grindavfk “A” came up short
by a whopping 38 points, losing to Kefiavfk
“A” 78-40.
Rounding out the tournament were Kefiavfk
“B” which finished fourth, with Grindavfk
“B” taking sixth. The seventh and eighth
positions went to Njardvfk and Sandgerdi.
i the
Tony Francis rises above two KeflavCk “A"defenders to
sink a basket.
Sandra Betting was one of six A. T. Mahan cheerleaders who kept the
fans rooting for their team.
8
The White Falcon