Vikings end season with win
Pat Gareau
Editor-in-Chief
The Vikings ended the season on a high note with a 70-64 victory over Delhi on Saturday.
Only a few days after a loss to Fulton-Montgomery ended their playoff hopes. They finished the season with a win that brought their record to 15-13.
Elijah Newsome’s big second half helped Hudson Valley overcome a five point halftime deficit and come out on top in their final game of the season. He scored all 17 of his points in the the second half, helping the Vikings outscore the Broncos 45-34 in the final 20 minutes.
“My job is to be a scorer and I just had to make myself responsible for not doing my job in the first half,” said Newsome.
Newsome was named third team all conference on Friday and led the Vikings with an average of over 15 points per game this season.
Hasseb Kaurejo scored 13 points and Nhoel Deverson added 9 to round out a strong showing from the Vikings backcourt on Saturday.
“We’re not going to regionals but we’re a team that’s finishing on a win,” said head coach Mike Long.
The Vikings entered this week needing to win both of their games, each against teams that had previously defeated them this season, to have a chance at making the playoffs.
They came up just short on Wednesday in an 82-79 loss on the road. Newsome was their leading scorer in that game as well, with a season high 29 points.
Newsome is hoping to transfer and play at a four year college next year. He spoke highly of his time at Hudson Valley. “It was an excellent experience. I didn’t feel like I was ready to play at a higher level after high school… now I definitely feel ready to take it to the next level,” he said.
While Newsome will be difficult to replace, the Vikings have a number of key players that can come back next year. According to Long, Brendan Archer is planning on returning. He was the team’s leading rebounder and second leading scorer this year.
Other impact players that are eligible to return include Nhoel Deverson, Imre Megyeri and Blake Mosley. Deverson and Megyeri were the team’s third and fourth leading scorers, and Mosley played a key role in rebounding and low post defense.
Long hopes as many of them as possible choose to return, and if they do he feels good about their prospects next year as long as they add some key recruits. “I always feel good with experience. We need to get some scoring. We’re going to need a backup point guard. We need to get some size, more rebounding,” he said.
Despite not making the playoffs, Long had high praise for the team. “This was a great group of guys and they were a pleasure to coach,” he said.