Baraga coach Jon Boever gives instructions to his team during a time out in a game against Watersmeet Wednesday at the Baraga Gym. (Eddie O’Neill/Daily Mining Gazette)

BARAGA — The Baraga Vikings boys basketball team sailed into the new year with a 72-62 win over the Watersmeet Nimrods on Wednesday. For Baraga coach Jon Boever, the win meant more than just scoring more points than their opponent.

“The guys played great tonight,” he said, “and many of the things we worked on over the Christmas break came into play tonight. I was happy to see that as we had guys stay back from holiday vacations and trips, and work on their basketball game. That hard work seemingly paid off tonight and hopefully will continue into the new year.”

He added that a key component to Wednesday’s win was ball movement – something they spent a lot of time on during the break.

“We talked about having our eyes up the floor and not staring at the floor,” said Boever. “This allows us to see the entire court and perhaps someone open.”

Many of the Vikings’ points came from open players either under the basket or on a fast break. For the most part, the Vikings (4-4) lead by more than five most of the game. This included a 16-11 lead after eight minutes and a 41-27 lead at halftime.

“I liked too how we played more loosely,” Boever added. “We have some offensive sets that we like to run, but at the same time they (the team) need to think on the floor and play their game, and have some fun. That occurred tonight.”

While the Nimrods (2-5) won both the third and fourth quarters, outscoring the Vikings 35-31, it would not be enough to overcome their 14-point deficit at halftime.

Jayme Denomie led the scoring for the Vikings with 27.

“He started hot and stayed hot,” stated his coach. “He is a high-motor guy that won’t slow down on both ends of the court.”

He was followed by Nolan Hendrickson with 18 points. Ben Ekdahl sunk 11 points and Isaac Parrish had 10.

For the Nimrods, Blake Shively led the scoring with 21. Asher Garrison followed with 18, and Miles McGeshick sunk 11.

“We had the shots, but they just would not fall tonight,” said Watersmeet coach George Peterson III. “We did not play good defense as well. We have the talent but need to put it all together.”

UP NEXT

The Vikings will head to Jeffers to take on the Jets on Tuesday. Tip off is set for 7:15 p.m.