Led by 16 points and 13 rebounds from Joseph Daley, the Vikings put the brakes on a five-game Tri-County Conference losing streak with a stifling effort on defense and on the boards.
Senior guard Kevin Patel said that the Vikings, now 2-5 in the league and 8-9 overall, knew their backs were against the wall from the outset.
“Coach Purvis let the seniors know before the game that we had to step up now or our senior year is going to be over with,” Patel said. “We know it starts at the defensive end. When you play aggressive defense, it carries over to other parts of your game.”
The Vikings picked on a team that came into the game tied for second place in the conference.
Union Pines had lost five consecutive conference games, including one to Asheboro last Friday. Asheboro only had one league win entering that contest.
In spite of a hustling start by the Vikings, the Cougars made seven of 11 shots from the field while taking a 17-12 lead at the end of the first quarter. But the visitors would only make eight more field goals the rest of the way, and did not grab their second offensive rebound until midway through the fourth quarter.
The Vikings’ B.J. McLeod interrupted a two-minute scoreless spell for both teams with a trey that tied the game for the first time at 24-24 with 2:10 left in the half. Bret Norbury was fouled attempting to convert a steal by Anthony Jones into a basket and made both free throws, giving the Vikings their first lead at 26-24. The Vikings’ ninth offensive rebound of the half was turned into a basket by Talmadge Whiney, giving the home team a 28-27 edge at halftime.
Daley said that Purvis told the team before the game that it would have a size advantage inside. By the end of the game, the Vikings had a 41-30 edge on the boards, including a 20-6 edge on the offensive glass.
“Coach told us they had one big guy (6-foot-6 Anthony Copple) who could box us out,” Daley said. “But if everybody else crashed the boards, we’d be in pretty good shape. He was right.”
Daley scored the first three baskets after the intermission, two of them coming off second chances. McLeod was fouled on a putback attempt and made one of two to complete a 7-0 run that gave the Vikings a 35-27 lead. Mathew Kiser made the first Cougar basket of the second half at the 4:05 mark of the quarter, making it 35-30.
But, Norbury fed Daley for a jumper, and then took a pass from Mario Morales and canned a short jumper from the side, sparking a decisive 9-0 run and a 44-30 lead. The Cougars were held to four points in the quarter. The closest they would get after that was nine points with just over seven minutes left in the game.
“We got hard play out of a lot of people,” Purvis said. “I was really pleased to see Joseph (Daley) have a good game. He had been in a little bit of a slump, especially offensively. Bret Norbury made a couple of hustle plays that were pretty big.”
The Vikings made 36 percent of their shots from the field and committed just 11 turnovers. The Cougars, now 4-3 and 9-8, turned the ball over 16 times and made 31 percent of their field goal attempts.
McLeod backed Daley with 13 points followed by Sam Wilborn with nine and Norbury with eight. Patel had five assists and three steals along with five points.
Brett Hoogkamp and Brad Key led the Cougars with 12 apiece, while Copple finished with seven points and 10 rebounds.
“For most of the season, we’ve been hustling,” Daley said. “The problem has been execution. Tonight we executed a lot better.”
Tonight the Vikings entertain High Point Central with the tip-off scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
