On Tuesday Night, the Rainier Beach Vikings showed the Roosevelt Rough Riders who’s the boss in Metro League basketball for the second time this season. In a high scoring game for both teams, the Vikings beat the Rough Riders by 16 points with the final score being 87-71.
Both teams headed into the game on a high, as the Vikings had just pulled off one of their biggest wins of the season against Nathan Hale, and the Rough Riders were on an impressive 12-game winning streak, their most recent victory being against the previous state champion, Eastside Catholic. Despite the Vikings’ recent victory, they came into the game as the underdog, having lost to the Rough Riders by a whopping 38 points during their first faceoff in January.
Determined to have a successful second shot against the Beach, the elite Rough Rider duo Elliot Somers (27 points) and Jacob Sprangers (14 points) were strategic and quick on the court, racking up points in the race to keep pace with the high-flying Vikings. Unfortunately for the Rough Riders, even their best couldn’t take the Vikings down.
As much as we all love an underdog story, statistics speak volumes. Beach has beat Roosevelt in every game since the 2017 season and is seeded at No.1 in the state whereas Roosevelt is in at No. 65. While the Vikings put up a good fight, they were no match for the Rough Riders D1 commit guards Jaylen Petty (New Mexico) and Kaden Powers (Rutgers). Petty and Powers were a force to be reckoned with on the court and only got more aggressive when the Vikings were able to get a few shots in the net.
Following their victory, Beach’s winning ratio went up to 19-2 and the Vikings now have a losing record of 10-11.
