SANBORN — They barely held on.
In a game where neither team truly had an advantage, a pair of free throws from Grand Island’s Jon Neville sealed the deal.
A year after falling in the championship game, the Vikings defeated Kenmore West, 64-60, to leave Niagara Wheatfield High School as Niagara Frontier League champions Wednesday night. It’s the first time Grand Island has won the league since they won ECIC in 1978-79.
The Vikings also avenged their only loss of the season, a 64-57 Blue Devil win on Jan. 28.
“We were struggling in the beginning, moving the ball, moving the offense,” Grand Island head coach Chris Simpson said. “Everybody got on the same page. And Zach Christian, who was our senior, and our sixth or seventh man, came in with big clutch threes, and we played pretty good in the second half on their players.”
The first quarter was a back-and-forth affair full of intensity as the teams traded buckets and tied three times, at four, six and 14 apiece. Jayce Wylke, who had 23 points in the game, scored the first four points for GI (18-1) before the Blue Devils went on a 6-0 run to lead 12-6.
Ken West’s Aidan Haas picked the ball from the ground and netted a layup as time expired to lead 16-14 after the first quarter. After being down by as much as 13 in the second quarter, Grand Island went on a 13-3 run to trail by three at the half.
Haas netted a couple of back-to-back buckets, but GI’s Zach Christian hit consécutive 3-pointers before Wylke dunked to cut the deficit. Ken West (13-7) led 32-29 at halftime. The Vikings netted 21 points in the third quarter to take a 52-47 lead over Ken West.
Christian hit a three to take advantage and spark a 9-2 run that gave GI a five-point lead, which they held onto until the end of the quarter. The Vikings netted several threes as the teams continued to trade buckets heading into the final quarter, which had fans on the edge of their seats.
“It’s even better (winning as a senior),” said Christian, who finished with 18 points. “It’s your last year playing. Winning in your last year there is really a different experience compared to anything else.”
Grand Island jumped out to a 10-point advantage, their largest of the night before Ken West scored eight uninterrupted points to trail 59-57.
Wylke drew a foul with less than a minute left and netted both from the charity stripe before Ken West’s Rami Carney nailed a layup to make it a one-possession game with 19 seconds left. Wylke made another free throw before Ken West’s Harlem Brannon netted his own to make it 62-60 in favor of GI.
Neville was sent to the line with 2.6 seconds left in the game and made both free throws to make it official — the Vikings are your 2024-25 NFL Champions.
“I just wanna let everyone know we’re coming,” Wylke said. “We’re coming for that section championship and we’re coming for the states. We’re coming for everything and I just hope everyone watches out because Grand Island is not a joke.”
Kenmore West’s Harlem Brannon scored a game-high 24 points.