On Dec. 7, the H-F boys basketball team faced off against the Lincoln-Way East Griffins in a much anticipated rivalry conference matchup. The game ended in a final score of 77 to 72 with the Vikings bringing home the victory. 

The Vikings got off to a hot start getting back on offense quickly to make easy buckets. Senior Dominic Pangello started off the second quarter by hitting four straight three point shots all within the span of a minute to give the Vikings a big lead of 51-31 going into halftime. 

Coming out of the locker rooms, the Griffins came out quick with sophomore guard, Karson Thomas making shots from all around the court. Thomas absolutely directed their offense in the second half to cut the H-F lead down to five in the last quarter and scored 27 points in total. 

Thankfully, the Vikings had a lot of help from senior point guard Gianni Cobb who finished up with a total of 27 points. Cobb is a solid shot maker and can drive into the paint to make key layups. Junior point guard Jayden Tyler had 14 points and six rebounds, and senior center Mac Hagemaster had three blocks. 

Though it was a nailbiter throughout the entire second half and at times you could tell that the energy was coming from the lincoln-Way east bench, the Vikings pulled through and left with a win.

 This game has deep roots, as our 6 ‘7 center Hagemaster transferred from Lincoln-Way East to H-F for his senior year. This sparked lots of controversy as many were questioning his decision to switch schools in his final year of high school basketball. 

The main question is why would one with such impact to a team’s defense leave in his final year playing high school basketball? 

Hagemaster said it felt good to beat his previous coaches and teammates. 

“It feels great to beat them, because they didn’t really trust in me last year,” said Hagemaster. “I was the starting center for their team during the regular season but they took me out during the regional l game to put in a ‘better defender’ but he let up a bunch of rebounds to let Neuqua Valley come back.” 

Now that Hagemaster is playing for the good guys, he has been playing solid minutes and starting almost every game. He provides a dominant presence on the court. Most of the players who matchup against him have a severe height and weight disadvantage, so Hagemaster has the upperhand when it comes to grabbing rebounds. 

The Vikings are only eight games into their season with a current record of 7-1. Their only loss came to Gonzaga Prep, a nationally ranked team who they played on Dec. 2 which ended in a final score of 47-77. 

Now, coming off the huge win against Lincoln-Way East, the Vikings are ready to take on the rest of their season and hopefully take a shot at a state title.