Vikings Boys’ Basketball Team Defeats DeSmet at District Championship

The Vikings boys’ basketball team defeated seventh ranked DeSmet,  57-46, on Friday, Feb. 24, to capture the District championship, after defeating Parkway Central in the District semifinal. This marked the first ever District championship for the boys’ basketball program at North. The Vikings were led in scoring by junior Aaron Hines, who had 28 points in the two wins together.

 “It feels great [to win Districts], because we’re the first ones,” said sophomore Edin Bracic. “It feels good because I’m the youngest [on the team], and we all played harder than good.”

The Vikings shut down DeSmet standout junior Nolan Berry, who averaged nearly 20 points per game in the regular season, by holding him to only 13 points on 6-14 field goals.

Seniors Darrel Johnson and Donavin Newsom combined for a total of 21 points in the most recent win over the Spartans.

With this win, the Vikings advance to Sectionals for the first time in school history, where the Vikings will take on the Marquette Mustangs. The Mustangs are led by center, senior Ryan Rosburg. Rosburg, who is averaging over 20 points per game, and who is a three-star recruit, committed to play at University of Missouri-Columbia next year.

 “It’ll be good competition; I’m looking forward to playing against one of the other best big men in the area,” said Johnson.

North will play Marquette Wednesday, Feb. 29, at 7:45p.m. at UMSL’s mail gym.

Written by Daniel Scribner