PARKVILLE, MISSOURI – The Grand View men's basketball team fell to Park 82-76 on Tuesday evening in a hard-fought Heart of America Conference road game, dropping to 11-6 overall and 6-4 in conference play.

The opening half saw both teams trade baskets in a competitive contest. Lukas Helms got the Vikings on the board first with a layup to give Grand View a 2-0 lead. Park answered with back-to-back fast-break layups to take a 4-2 lead, but Daviyon Gaston converted one of two free throws and added a layup to put the Vikings back ahead 5-4. Tristan McRoberts scored a jumper to tie it at 6-6, but Helms knocked down a three-pointer assisted by Patrick Worrell to make it 8-6. Mannie Odo answered with a layup assisted by Bayley Crawford to tie it at 8-8, and Worrell hit a three-pointer assisted by Gaston to push the lead to 11-8. Otavio Armani scored a layup assisted by McRoberts to cut it to 11-10, but Gaston knocked down a three-pointer assisted by Worrell to extend it to 14-10. Armani answered with a fast-break layup assisted by Crawford to make it 14-12, and Worrell hit another three-pointer assisted by Helms to push Grand View's lead to 17-12. McRoberts scored a jumper and converted the following free throw to cut it to 17-15, and Worrell responded with a three-pointer assisted by Rodell Davis Jr. to make it 20-15. Armani hit a three-pointer assisted by McRoberts to cut the deficit to 20-18, and Amaire Perkins scored a layup assisted by Armani to tie it at 20-20. Davis Jr. knocked down a three-pointer assisted by O'Shawn Jones-Winslow to give the Vikings a 23-20 lead. Jaxson Young converted two free throws to extend it to 25-20, and Perkins scored a tip-in to cut it to 25-22. McRoberts added a fast-break layup and converted the following free throw to tie the game at 25-25. Davis Jr. hit a three-pointer assisted by Young to push the lead back to 28-25, but Mikkel Cintron answered with a three-pointer assisted by McRoberts to tie it at 28-28. Worrell converted two free throws to give Grand View a 30-28 lead, and Perkins scored a layup to tie it at 30-30. Armani converted a fast-break dunk and the following free throw to give Park a 33-30 lead. Joe Knutson scored a layup assisted by Gaston to cut it to 33-32, and Helms added a layup assisted by Gaston to give the Vikings a 34-33 advantage. However, Park closed the half strong. Crawford scored a fast-break layup assisted by Perkins to make it 35-34, and Young answered with a layup to put Grand View back ahead 36-35. Cintron scored a layup to give Park a 37-36 lead, and Perkins converted two free throws to extend it to 39-36. Perkins added a jumper to make it 41-36, and Young made two free throws to cut it to 41-38. McRoberts scored a fast-break jumper to push the lead to 43-38, and Gaston hit a three-pointer assisted by Jones-Winslow to bring Grand View within 43-41. McRoberts added a layup to make it 45-41, and Cintron knocked down a three-pointer assisted by Perkins in the final seconds to give the Pirates a 48-41 advantage at halftime.

The second half saw Park maintain control throughout despite Grand View's efforts to mount a comeback. Perkins opened the half with a layup to extend the lead to 50-41, and Helms answered with a layup to cut it to 50-43. Crawford scored a layup assisted by McRoberts to push it back to 52-43, and Gaston added a layup to make it 52-45. McRoberts scored a jumper to extend the lead to 54-45, and Young answered with a layup to cut it to 54-47. Crawford added a layup to make it 56-47, and Young scored another layup to bring Grand View within 56-49. Perkins knocked down a three-pointer assisted by Armani to extend the lead to 59-49, and Worrell converted one of three free throws to cut it to 59-48. James Ogrodnik scored a layup to make it 59-50, and Crawford responded with a layup and converted the following free throw to push the lead to 62-50. Ogrodnik added another layup to cut it to 62-52, and McRoberts scored a layup assisted by Armani to make it 64-52. Ogrodnik scored a tip-in to cut the deficit to 64-54, and Crawford made a layup and converted the following free throw to extend the lead to 67-54. McRoberts added a jumper to push it to 69-54, Park's largest lead of the game. Young converted one of two free throws to make it 69-55, and Gaston hit a three-pointer to cut it to 69-56. Brett Smith knocked down a three-pointer assisted by Crawford to extend the lead to 72-56, and Ogrodnik scored a tip-in to make it 72-58. Armani hit a three-pointer assisted by McRoberts to push the lead back to 75-58, and Young converted two free throws to cut it to 75-60. Helms recorded a steal and scored a fast-break layup to bring Grand View within 75-62. Jones-Winslow converted one of two free throws to make it 75-63, and added two more free throws to cut the deficit to 75-65. Young made two free throws to bring the Vikings within 75-67, and Cintron scored a layup assisted by Perkins to extend the lead to 77-67. Gaston knocked down a three-pointer assisted by Ogrodnik to cut it to 77-70, and Armani scored a layup to push the lead back to 79-70. Gaston converted one of two free throws to make it 79-71, and Helms recorded another steal and assisted Gaston on a fast-break layup to cut the deficit to 79-73. Young made one of two free throws to bring Grand View within 79-74, and Crawford converted two free throws to extend the lead to 81-74. Gaston scored a layup assisted by Young to cut it to 81-76 with under 20 seconds remaining, and Odo converted two free throws to seal the 82-76 victory for Park. The Vikings were unable to complete the comeback despite their late surge.

GAME NOTES:

• Daviyon Gaston led the Vikings with 20 points on 8 of 20 shooting, including 4-of-7 from three-point range, and added 5 rebounds and 1 assist.
• Jaxson Young contributed 14 points on 2 of 10 shooting and knocked down 10 of 12 free throws, and added 2 rebounds and 1 assist.
• Lukas Helms added 11 points on 5 of 11 shooting, including 1-of-3 from three-point range, and grabbed 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, and 1 blocked shot.
• Patrick Worrell chipped in 12 points on 3 of 5 shooting, including 3-of-5 from three-point range, and added 5 rebounds and 2 assists.
• Rodell Davis Jr. contributed 6 points off the bench, while James Ogrodnik added 6 points and 6 rebounds.
• Grand View shot 37.5% from the field and 40.0% from three-point range, but was outrebounded 40-37 and committed 13 turnovers while forcing 15.

WHAT'S NEXT?

The Vikings will travel to Benedictine on Saturday, January 17th, for a 4:00 pm tip.