DES MOINES, IOWA - On a memorable senior day at home, the Grand View men's basketball team delivered a commanding performance, defeating William Woods 85-67 in a celebration that honored the program's graduating players.
The Vikings opened strong on their special afternoon with Jaxson Young scoring a layup in the paint to give Grand View an early 2-0 lead. After William Woods took a brief advantage, Adam Dunlap answered with a layup to retake the lead at 4-3, and Carson VandeLune followed with a jumper assisted by Young to put the Vikings ahead 6-5. Young tied it at 8-8 with another jumper, and as the game progressed, the Vikings found their rhythm. Young added another jumper to make it 10-8, and Joe Knutson scored a layup assisted by Lukas Helms to pull within 16-12. Rodell Davis Jr. connected on a three-pointer assisted by Daviyon Gaston to cut it to 19-15, and Helms scored a layup in the paint to make it 21-17. O'Shawn Jones-Winslow added a layup to bring Grand View within two at 21-19, and Gaston tied the game at 21-21 with a layup in the paint. Young scored another layup assisted by Gaston to pull within one at 24-23, and Davis Jr. drained a three-pointer assisted by Gaston to trail by one at 26-27. Gaston hit a three-pointer assisted by Young to retake the advantage at 29-27, and Young made a free throw to push it to 30-27. James Ogrodnik connected on a three-pointer assisted by Gaston, and Knutson added another three assisted by Luke Hart to give Grand View a 36-29 lead. Knutson capped the half with a putback layup, and the Vikings carried a 38-31 advantage into the break.
Grand View came out of halftime determined to make senior day special. Knutson scored a layup to push the lead to 40-37, and Young made two free throws to extend it to 42-37. Knutson added a layup, and Young hit a jumper assisted by Gaston to push the advantage to 46-39. Helms threw down a fastbreak dunk assisted by Gaston to give the Vikings a commanding 48-39 lead and force a William Woods timeout. Gaston scored a layup to make it 50-40, and Knutson added a jumper assisted by Patrick Worrell to extend it to 52-40. Young connected on a three-pointer assisted by Knutson to push the lead to 55-40, and Ogrodnik scored a layup to make it 57-40. Gaston added another layup assisted by Knutson to extend the advantage to 59-40, and Davis Jr. drained a three-pointer assisted by Young to give Grand View their largest lead at 62-40. The Vikings continued to pull away as Davis Jr. hit another three-pointer assisted by Young to make it 65-46. Young made two free throws after a technical foul on William Woods, and Knutson scored a layup to push the lead to 70-48. Worrell converted two free throws, and Knutson added two more to make it 74-53. Worrell scored a layup assisted by Gaston, and Ogrodnik added another layup assisted by Gaston to extend it to 78-56. Ogrodnik made a free throw to push the lead to 79-56, and the Vikings' deep bench took over down the stretch. Landen Lovrien scored a layup assisted by Davis Jr., and Dunlap added another to make it 83-61. Hart scored late to cap the scoring, and Grand View cruised to an 85-67 victory on their special day.
SENIOR RECOGNITION:
LANDON LOVRIEN
Landon was accompanied by his parents Tiim and Amie, along with his sister Hayden.
Landon is from Sioux City, Iowa and majored in Physical Education at Grand View.
His favorite memory is the bus rides and hanging out with teammates.
A piece of advice he would give to the younger guys is to not take anything for granted and have fun doing it.
Landon has future plans to hopefully teach physical education somewhere in Iowa and coach high school basketball.
CARSON VANDELUNE
Carson was accompanied by Bret and Katie VandeLune.
He is from Prairie, Iowa and majored in Marketing at Grand View.
His favorite athletic memory is playing against his younger brother Cutler.
One piece of advice he would give is that your four years here will go fast.
Carson has plans to pursue a marketing career in the future.
ADAM DUNLAP
Adam was accompanied by his parents Bill and Mindy Dunlap.
He is from Clinton, Iowa and majored in Business Administration with a concentration in marketing and finance.
His favorite athletic memory is beating #6 Baker at home during his junior year.
One piece of advice he would give the young guys is that you are only young once so take advantage of the chance to be close with your college friends.
Adam's future plans are to coach and pursue a job in marketing.
PATRICK WORRELL
Patrick was accompanied by his sisters, Amelia and Alexi.
Patrick is from Douglas, Georgia and studied Business Administration at Grand View.
Patrick's favorite athletic memory was defeating Baker at home last season.
His advice to the team would be to appreciate and be thankful for every moment each day because it will be over before you know it.
His future plans are undecided
JOE KNUTSON
Joe was accompanied by Aaron and Emily Knutson, along with his girlfriend Emma.
Joe is from Cedar Falls, Iowa and studied Organizational Leadership at Grand View.
His favorite memory was defeating nationally ranked Baker last year, at home.
His piece of advice for the young teammates is to enjoy it, because it goes to fast.
Joe's future plan is to work at Amazon in Minnesota following graduation.
GAME NOTES:
WHAT'S NEXT?
Grand View improves to 17-7 overall and 12-5 in conference play. Grand View returns to Sisam on Wednesday, February 11th where they take on Park University.
