Vikings Thrashed by Tigers but Wrangle Wolverines for Win

With plenty of excitement about the new season and new roster, the Vikings got off to a slow start against a former coach before beating up an NAIA opponent. Dennis Gates’ Missouri Tigers absolutely obliterated the Vikings 111-50 and it was never close, but CSU dismantled Michigan-Dearborn 103-79. 

With two opposite games, what can be learned about the entirely new 14-person team? One thing is for sure: Rayvon Griffith is the real deal. He finished with 13 against Mizzou but exploded for 34 against the Wolverines.

Away Game at Missouri (Tuesday November 3rd)

The Tigers got off to a blazing fast start with a dunk right off the tip against an undersized Vikings starting five playing without Derek Vorst (out with an undisclosed injury). Without the 6-10, 250-pound center, the Vikings started Dre Jones, Curtis Stinson Jr., Alex Bruskotter, Jordan Lowry, and Griffith. 

The starters were by no means small compared to last year’s team, but Mizzou’s interior defense was able to consistently swarm anything around the basket all game (finishing with 10 blocks) with the second tallest team in Missouri history. Outside of just the blocks, they were able to make every Viking uncomfortable around the rim and led to a lot of off-balanced shots.

The Vikings offense just could not get going–Bruskotter even missed two free throws as the Tigers continued to play fast. It was 15-0 before the other 6-10, 250-pound Viking center, Brandon White, grabbed an offensive board and scored on a nice move after four minutes of play.

At the first timeout, Mizzou was up 18-2 and CSU looked overmatched in every regard. Freshman Toni Bryant already had three three-pointers to start his college career to lead the Tigers. Griffith cut into the lead slightly with a reverse layup but Mizzou got right back to work. 

An offensive rebound by the Tigers and then a three-point play by expected superstar freshman Jason Crowe Jr. put them up by 17. Lowry hit the first three of the season for the Vikes but their defense couldn’t keep up with the quick passing of the Tigers to the corners, leading to another three.

Next, the best play of the game for the Vikes came on a beautiful pass by Gavin Headings to White for a slam to cut the deficit to 26-9. They would only score nine more points in the first half. The Vikes could not get an open look on the offensive side with all the Mizzou height.

A microcosm of the first half was an errant pass by Stinson Jr. picked off by Jamier Jones who got a layup and free throw on a Griffith foul. At half it was 56-18 Mizzou and Gates’ team was rolling. CSU only made eight baskets in the first half (Mizzou made 22) and one went 1-for-8 from deep. 

The second half was very similar, though the Vikes did score a bit more. They matched their first half stat from three, going 1-for-8 again for 12.5% overall. The main difference from the first half was the Vikings got to the line a lot more (13 times in the second half to just four in the first).

Griffith immediately got the Vikings on the board to start the second half with a classic three-point play. Mizzou’s Mark Mitchell took off in the key and slammed home an easy dunk followed by Trent Pierce slamming another one down on a runout. 

After 25 minutes of game, the Vikings had 25 points. The deficit continued to expand to 50 points (77-27), and CSU could not get anything other than some midrange shots. The Tigers were expanding their defense outside the three-point line the entire game. With this quickness on the perimeter and the size inside, they never allowed the Vikings to set up comfortably.

The second three of the game for the Vikings was hit by Ogbe Uagboe from the corner but even that was defended well. On the flip side, it seemed that Mizzou was constantly getting open looks with their fast-paced offense.

The Tigers didn’t let up the entire game no matter who was playing; they got up to a 63-point lead with a few seconds left. A final basket by Jones cut it to 61 for the final score: 111-50.

Key Takeaways:

1. Vorst was clearly missed. Coming over from Indiana State University, his size and experience would have been huge in a game against such a tough SEC opponent. With the height of Mizzou, CSU being down a center was impossible to deal with.
2. CSU needs to find a way to get open shots. They finished with two threes and were only 19-for-58 overall. They weren’t even great from the foul line (10-for-17). With all the added height, it was a question of who was going to score for the Vikings. That’s still a question after the opener.
3. The Vikes also need to protect the ball more. 14 turnovers led to 23 points for the Tigers. That obviously wasn’t the difference in the game but some of the passes were very ill-advised and would have been picked by any defense.
4. Jones had a good game with 13 points (tied with Griffith for the team high) and eight rebounds. Outside those two, no one had more than five points, but there were some flashes of good movement on offense.
5. Mizzou looks like the real deal. They have a very deep team and the aforementioned incredible height. Seven players scored in double figures and they out-rebounded the Vikings 43-to-29. They also dished out 23 assists to only four turnovers. Gates has put together an excellent squad that might have enough to make a deep run this year.

Home Game vs. Michigan-Dearborn (Friday, November 6th)

Without Vorst again, Summers started the same five as the Mizzou game and the same offensive woes showed up at the start. Playing an NAIA game, CSU didn’t seem to come out sharp, but eventually they found their way.

Jones got the Vikings on the board first but Michigan-Dearborn was relentless in the first half. Guard Nick Sobush ran all around the Vikes and sped up their defense enough to take the early lead 28-20 with just under eight minutes to go in the first half. 

A 9-to-2 run closed the gap to just one on a great alley-oop dunk by White, but the Wolverines continued their pressure to keep it close the rest of the half.

Lowery tied the game at 35 on a layup and then completed the traditional three-point play to take the lead. The Vikings would never trail again. Although it would be a one-point game in one more instance, CSU took a 48-40 lead into the break.

The second half was a completely uncompetitive contest, even though it seemed closer due to some threes by Michigan-Dearborn in the middle of the half. Within three minutes of the second half, the Vikings had stretched their lead to 14 and they kept pushing on both ends. 

The Wolverines looked gassed and although they hit a flurry of four out of five threes right around the midpoint of the half, the Vikings found their stride with Griffith driving continually to the hole. It was over quickly as the Vikes hit almost all their free throws and they got their first win, 103-79.

Key Takeaways:

1. Griffith finished with a career-high 34 points but he also added five rebounds, two assists, two steals, and only two turnovers. He shot 13-for-20 from the field including two threes. He had one of the most complete offensive games for a Viking in a while. “He had a monster game, but he’s going to be a big time for us all year long,” head coach Rob Summers mentioned.
2. Micah Bays added 18 points, Lowery contributed 15, and Owen Bronston Jr. had 10. After the Mizzou game, it was great to see such rounded scoring but with so many new faces, who was Summers happy with so far? “Dre Jones really surprised me with his ability to finish around the rim,” he said. “He’s got great length. He’s able to finish really well. He’s an athletic kid.” He went on to mention Headings, White, and Bays as good surprises so far.
3. CSU went 23-for-26 from the foul line. This shooting was also a major improvement over the first game. They will need to keep this up into the rest of non-conference play against tougher opponents to compete.
4. After the first half, the Vikings collapsed a lot on defense and didn’t allow as many easy baskets at the rim. “We really squared them up,” Summer noted. “We’ve been working a lot on keeping guys on the side, and really, we locked into watching a lot of Texas Tech basketball.”
5. What will happen against a team somewhere in between Mizzou and Michigan-Dearborn? The Horizon League lies somewhere in that gap, so how will the Vikings fare? They still gave up a lot of points to the Wolverines, but with an entirely new team…how much of that is just chemistry and will come together?

Next up for the Vikings (1-1):

CSU heads west to Bowling Green (1-0) Monday at 7 pm before heading to Alabama for an MTE against West Florida (1-1) Friday at 3 pm and host school Alabama A&M (2-0) Sunday at 3 pm.