On the road, in a rivalry game, in front of a big crowd, getting off to a fast start is ideal, to say the least. VASJ closed the first quarter on a 7-0 run to take a 21-8 lead on host Lake Catholic on Jan. 7, and the Vikings made that 13-point lead stand up in a 63-49 victory. VASJ improved to 6-5 with the victory, the Vikings’ second consecutive road win against an area rival, along with a 76-44 rout of Benedictine on Jan. 4. Senior Jeremiah Martin scored a game-high 23 points for the Vikings, and senior Sean Shenker sank four 3s for 12 points. VASJ 6-foot-4 senior Antonio Brown pulled down 14 rebounds, and 6-foot-6 sophomore OJ Spikes grabbed nine. @vasj_basketball sophomore OJ Spikes (7 points, 9 rebounds) discusses the Vikings’ 63-49 win at Lake Catholic pic.twitter.com/amU74Myujx — Jay Kron (@TownCenter2) January 8, 2025 “The key was just playing hard, getting back on defense, swinging the ball, being a team,” Spikes said. “It’s a big rivalry, and being up early was key.” Lake Catholic senior Ace Peterlin knocked down a 3 to start the scoring, but the Vikings responded with a 12-0 run, paced by Shenker, a sharp shooter who found himself open three times for 3s, and he buried all three. A triple by Cougars’ junior Stanton Powaski cut the deficit in half, but VASJ responded with a 9-2 run that pushed the lead to 21-8. Lake Catholic seniors Cross Nimmo and Frankie Trinetti each scored a couple times in the second frame, and the Cougars held the Vikings to 3 of 7 shooting as they cut their deficit to 30-22 at halftime. @vasj_basketball Coach Ashen Ward reviews VASJ’s 63-49 win at Lake Catholic (Part 1) pic.twitter.com/749PPoMbhK — Jay Kron (@TownCenter2) January 8, 2025 Martin, Shenker, and Spikes all helped VASJ take a 38-28 lead early in the third, and the lead hovered around 8-12 points until the Vikings went on another 9-2 run at the start of the fourth stanza to make it 55-38, their biggest lead of the game. @vasj_basketball Coach Ashen Ward talks about the Vikings’ 63-49 win at Lake Catholic and gives his thoughts on the season so far halfway through (Part 2) pic.twitter.com/5ZyXZRVecy — Jay Kron (@TownCenter2) January 8, 2025 “I thought we started well defensively, we executed pretty well offensively, but got sloppy toward the end, and I’m not pleased with that,” VASJ coach Ashen Ward said. “But our team is growing. We have a nice mixture of experienced guys, and some young guys, and we’re just trying to piece it all together. “It’s always nice when you can get a win on someone else’s home court, and we hope to continue the streak.” Martin, the Vikings’ leading scorer on the season, found more and more success as the game went on attacking the rim with drives, and he got his teammates involved with eight assists. Brown’s work under the basket has been an important aspect of the Vikings’ success this season, and Shenker doesn’t miss often when he is left open outside the arc. After a 4-2 start to the season that included a win over neighborhood rival Euclid, VASJ lost three straight, but among those were close losses to strong teams such as Columbus Walnut Ridge (69-68) and Lutheran East (76-69), before the the Vikings got back on track against the Bengals and Cougars. “I think the kids understand now the importance of discipline,” Ward said of lessons learned in the Vikings’ three-game skid. “Small details. Those games we lost earlier in the year, if you just tweak a couple things — turnovers, making the extra pass, boxing out — the little things go a long way.” Lake Catholic fell to 5-4 with its third consecutive defeat. Nimmo scored 14 points and had seven rebounds, and Peterlin added 11 to pace the Cougars. Lake Catholic appeared to miss some rotations defensively, leaving Shenker and other VASJ shooters open to hit eight 3s, and seemed to rush shots, leading to empty possessions. The Cougars lost the rebounding battle, 39-31, and connected on just 4 of 23 3-point attempts. @LC_Hoops Coach Matt Vespa breaks down Lake Catholic’s 63-49 loss to VASJ pic.twitter.com/nT1269MlEQ — Jay Kron (@TownCenter2) January 8, 2025 “I was disappointed with how we started,” Lake Catholic coach Matt Vespa said. “We had two really good practices the last couple days, setting the tone defensively, and tonight I don’t think we did that. “That’s a really good VASJ team, but a lot of (what happened) is on us. That’s the disappointing part. If we give everything we have and don’t come out with a win, we can go home and sleep no problem. But I don’t feel like we played our best or played our hardest tonight. In a big rivalry game, that’s disappointing.” VASJ will host North on Jan. 10 and travel to Shaw on Jan. 11. Lake Catholic will host Cleveland JFK on Jan. 11. THE SCORE (JAN. 7) VASJ 63, Lake Catholic 49