Corey Tielinen scores 28 points as Oxford Hills crushes Mt. Blue.
By Randy Whitehouse
Staff Writer

SOUTH PARIS – There’s still a week for the Oxford Hills Vikings to improve before the post-season begins, but judging by Friday night’s 68-42 blowout of Mt. Blue, they’re going to have to look pretty hard to find ways to get better.

The Vikings dominated both ends of the floor from about the six minute mark on. Corey Tielinen led the offense with 28 points, including four 3-pointers, while Matt McDonnell and Leif Kothe chipped in with nine points apiece.

“You could tell that the momentum had shifted when it would take them 20 seconds to get a good shot and to score and we’d run down and score in about three seconds,” said Vikings’ coach Scott Graffam. “That’s very demoralizing for a team. Mt. Blue is a good basketball team. I thought that was a good statement game for us.”

“They dominated us defensively. They dominated us off the boards. Offensively, we had no answers for them, not even close,” said Mt. Blue coach Jim Bessey.

The Cougars enjoyed some success early on with their inside game. Brian Wells (12 points) and Ted Neil (eight points) got things going in the paint for an early 10-9 lead.

But the Vikings (15-1) took control with an 8-0 run to end the first quarter. Tielinen put them in front for good with a three-point play, then drained a 3-pointer with two seconds left to make it 17-10.

Things went downhill from there for Mt. Blue (11-5), as Neil and Wells both picked up their third fouls within a minute of each other early in the second quarter. With both of their big men on the bench, the Cougars tried to stall with a four-corners offense, but they still found themselves down nine at halftime.

“We weren’t as patient offensively. We just never got into an offensive rhythm, ever,” Bessey said. “We held the ball trying to get to halftime with our two scorers out and then come out and make a run. That didn’t work.”

Rather it was the Vikings who made the run in the third quarter. After a Wells bucket made it 32-22 with 5:47 left in the quarter, Oxford Hills closed out the period with a 17-2 run, keyed by seven quick points from Thomas Kothe. The defense, meanwhile, led by Tielinen (four blocks) and Leif Kothe (two blocks) swallowed up the Cougars’ inside game, holding them without a field goal for over six minutes.

“We played really well defensively tonight,” said Graffam, whose team held the Cougars to 28 percent shooting from the second quarter on.

The win clinched a first-round bye for the Vikes, who also guaranteed themselves a spot in the KVAC championship game.

The Vikings’ biggest concern this season has been peaking at the right time. It looks like they might be doing just that.

“We hit a plateau earlier, but then in the second half against Edward Little (last Friday) we played really, really good basketball, and then we went to Lawrence, which is a terrible place to play, and handled them (Tuesday),” Graffam said. “Then with this one tonight, I’m very happy with the direction we’re headed in right now.”

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