DES MOINES, IOWA – Grand View Men's Basketball hosted the MidAmerica Nazarene Pioneers in a tightly contested game on Saturday afternoon. Despite mounting a late comeback from a 14-point deficit with just under 12 minutes remaining, the Vikings ultimately fell short, dropping the contest 75-73.
The game opened with jump shots from
Joe Knutson and
Ayden Foster to get the Vikings' offense rolling, but the Pioneers quickly answered with a three-pointer. The teams traded baskets in the early minutes, with key contributions from
Patrick Worrell who hit a three-pointer,
Matthew Boldt who scored on a layup, and
James Ogrodnik who electrified the crowd with a dunk. However, a nine-point run by MidAmerica Nazarene swung the momentum in their favor.
Jaxson Young stopped the run with a layup, but the Pioneers maintained their lead heading into halftime, with Grand View trailing 28-38. Young and Worrell led the Vikings in the first half, each scoring six points.
Coming out of the break, Grand View struggled to gain traction as MidAmerica Nazarene continued to answer every challenge. With just under 12 minutes left and the Vikings trailing by 14, a layup from
Luke Hart and a tip-in by Young sparked a shift in momentum. The Pioneers responded with quick baskets, but three-pointers from
Connor Robertson and
Gavyn Strand kept the pressure on. As MidAmerica Nazarene held an 11-point lead with under eight minutes to play, Young's layup and a jump shot from
Ofek Sirkis cut the lead to seven. Green knocked down a three-pointer and then assisted Foster on an and-one layup, bringing the Vikings within five. With just three minutes remaining, Ogrodnik, who had been a defensive force with three blocks, calmly sank two free throws to cut the lead to three. Young then powered through traffic for another layup, and Green followed with a go-ahead basket, giving Grand View their first lead of the second half. However, the Pioneers responded with a clutch three-pointer and a quick layup to regain the lead. Despite a final layup from Foster and a near-miss half-court shot from Knutson, the Vikings fell just short, losing 75-73.
GAME NOTES
- Jaxson Young led with 14 points and 6 assists.
- Ayden Foster tallied 13 points and 7 rebounds.
- Jackson Green recorded 11 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists.
- Grand View shot 52.9% from the field and 50% from three-point range.
UP NEXT
The Vikings return to action next Wednesday, January 15th, when they host the Park University Pirates at home for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off.
