Carter, Viking boys turn up intensity to beat Wildcats

Valley’s boys basketball team was in trouble midway through the second quarter Thursday when head coach Brian Farnsworth called a timeout.

After the game, Farnsworth couldn’t remember exactly what he said in the huddle, but his players definitely got the point. Caleb Carter logged 17 points and 10 rebounds to help the visiting Vikings rally past Las Vegas High, 60-53.

“We had a talk at the bench,” said Carter, whose team finished the second quarter on a 10-0 scoring run to take a 27-22 lead into halftime. “We talked about how we needed to pick it up and play with a little more intensity.”

The Wildcats finished the first quarter with a 17-12 advantage, thanks to Juwan Major’s 11 points in the period. Las Vegas stretched the lead to 22-17 with 3:34 left in the first half before Farnsworth’s team kicked it up a notch.

The Vikings took control with a swarming defense, holding Las Vegas without a field goal through the final five minutes of the second quarter.

“We have 10 seniors on this team, so I knew they weren’t going to panic,” Farnsworth said. “They stayed calm and made things happen — that’s what seniors do.”

Though the Wildcats cut the deficit to 27-26 on a layup by Phil Dunigan early in the third, the Vikings responded with a 13-2 run to pull ahead, 40-28.

Farnsworth credited his players for taking charge of the backboards.

“That’s been our key to success all year,” said Farnsworth, whose squad finished with a 41-31 rebounding advantage. “We have three big kids that have been our backbone.”

Las Vegas (12-11, 5-6 Northeast) rallied late, making it 58-53 on a long jump shot by Travon Langston in the final minute, but Valley (19-4, 10-2) made key free throws down the stretch to finish with the win.

The win helped build momentum for his team’s ultimate goal, Farnsworth said.

“Every game’s important at this point,” said Farnsworth, whose squad held on to second place in the Northeast League with the win. “We dug ourselves a hole early in the season, but we’d obviously like to host a postseason game.”

Christian Kessee helped the Vikings with 11 points, and teammate Royce Finley had nine points and eight rebounds.

Major finished with 18 points to lead the Wildcats, and Langston added 16 points.