CIRCLEVILLE, OH – The Villa Maria College men's basketball team competed in their first game of the weekend, taking on Ohio Christian University. The Vikings got off to a fast start, but as the game settled, the two teams were evenly matched. After some clutch late free-throws, Villa was able to hold on to a 76-73 victory. The team elevates to a 7-4 record, while the Trailblazers continue without a win, falling to 0-7.
The Vikings began their scoring at the 17:19 mark thanks to a
Jeriah Williams jump shot. The momentum picked up with jump shot makes by
Rhalon Bragg,
Nolan Shephard and Jerold Skillon to grab the lead, and then Bragg knocked down a three-pointer to give the team a double-digit lead with 13:33 to play. The largest advantage that the Vikings had was 15 points and it came with just under 11 minutes to play, when Williams once again converted a jump shot. The Trailblazers began to settle in at that point and chipped away at their deficit. The Villa lead shrunk to just one point and at the break, the score was 35-32 in favor of the Vikings.
Villa and OCU were battling each other to start the second-half, with the Vikings lead never getting past four points for the first five minutes.
Nolan Shephard was able to convert a jump shot after stealing the ball, but once again the opposition responded to cut their deficit to just two points. Bragg knocked down a pair of free-throws with 8:53 to play to go ahead by eight points, but was short lived as the Trailblazer went on a run to claim the lead 63-61 with 5:47 on the clock. Villa was able to reclaim and extend their lead by hitting clutch free-throws down the stretch, including three by
Trent Cordone, three by Skillon and two by Bragg to ice the game. Despite a late three attempt, the Vikings held on for a 76-73 win.
Bragg was the leading scorer with 20 points and tallied six rebounds, two blocks and two steals. Skillon shot 4-for-4 from the field, 4-for-6 from the free-throw line, to contribute 12 points and Cordone, Shephard and Williams all collected 11 points.
Up next is a battle with the no. 1 ranked Miami-Hamilton on the road. The game is scheduled for a 3 p.m. start following the women's game.
Be sure to stay up to date on all of your Viking's scores and news by following @VillaVikings on Twitter, @villavikings on Instagram and by liking the "Villa Maria Vikings" Facebook page.
