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Act now—your donation to local news ensures a brighter, more informed tomorrow. DECORAH — It was a clear-the-bench kind of night for the Decorah Vikings Boys Basketball Team, but not the kind of bench-clearing that made the Detroit Pistons infamous in the 1980s. Do you remember the Bad Boys? No, this was in fact quite the opposite. For the Vikings, Thursday evening, February 27, it was a total team win, with every player securing minutes on the floor as they earned a "W" over the Mustangs of Independence. Junior Caden Malanaphy put it this way: "We're all so supportive of one another. The nerves are going, the crowd is into it, and we're just here for one another." Indeed, the crowd was into it. Playing in front of a packed house, the Vikes started strong and never let up. On the opening play, senior guard Zach Driscoll found 6-10 junior Cael LaFrentz on the left block for an easy two-footer. On the very next play, Driscoll himself found the exact same block on a left-handed drive that resulted in a jump stop and a lay-up. One play after that, Driscoll and LaFrentz connected on a pick-and-roll for yet another layup. Coach Carlson was happy with the way the team set the tempo. "Proud of the way our guys came out with intensity and set the tone on the defensive end in the first quarter, which allowed us to get going offensively." The Vikings did in fact tighten the reins on the Mustangs, not allowing a single bucket until 3:30 left in the first quarter. Not long after, Peyton Webb checked into the game and rattled off eight straight points—back-to-back treys and a baseline drive for an easy two. The quarter ended with the hot-handed Vikings up 29-9. The Mustangs galloped to life in the second quarter. They found a few buckets around midrange and even had a block on LaFrentz. That rejection gave them a shot of life. The Mustangs played aggressively, drawing a few fouls around the rim and converting their free throws. Each team scored 17 in the second quarter, but that was as close as the Mustangs would get. At halftime, Decorah led 46-26. Any momentum the Mustangs had gathered before half was tamped down at the start of the third with a Noah Milburn trifecta: two alley-oops and a dunk. Both alley-oops for the junior forward came off Driscoll passes, as Milburn ran the baseline and converted the lobs into layups. A few plays later, Milburn had a breakaway steal and dunk. By now, the entire crowd was on their feet. "We just wanted to out-work them," Malanaphy said. "We wanted to focus on our transition game." And all night, the Vikes brought the energy. Even in the second half, when the Mustangs tried a zone press, the Vikings fought their way out of it, making long, crosscourt passes and finding the open player. Still, for as much as their transition game was on point, they established a dominant halfcourt game too. They worked the ball around the arc, fed it into the post, and back out again. Junior point guard Keaton Nalean-Carlson, a southpaw, fought his way around defenders and into the lane a couple of times, drawing multiple double-teams, but he was able to find his open teammates. On the evening, many of the passes and offensive rebounds ended up in the hands of LaFrentz, who finished the game with 44 points, which broke a 28-year scoring record held by Patrick Sallee, a firetruck, long-range bomber who could score from any distance on the court. LaFrentz added his own punctuation to the evening with a couple of monster dunks to finish the night. Joining LaFrentz in double-digit scoring were Driscoll (13), Milburn (10), and Webb (10). The final score was 93-46. On Monday, March 3, the Vikings host the Saints of Xavier, who beat Dubuque Wahlert by six points to advance in regional sub-state play. Earlier this season, the Vikings hosted Wahlert and beat them by the same six-point margin. Coach Carlson acknowledged, "[We] play a very talented Xavier team on Monday, but we will be ready." Tipoff is at 7:00 p.m. at the Decorah High School Gymnasium. More team and individual statistics can be found here. Feed your curiosity! Subscribe to the free newsletter and indulge in all that's local. Your friends will be impressed.

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Record-Breaking Night for LaFrentz, Vikings Move on in Post-Season Play