surry

WEST JEFFERSON � The Buckin' Elks from Elkin had beaten the North Wilkes Vikings twice this season with the help of a strong zone defense and some off shooting nights from the Vikings.

On Friday night in the Mountain Valley Athletic Conference tournament championship game, neither the Elks' zone or poor shooting troubled the Vikings.

North Wilkes connected on 57 percent of their two-point field goals on their way to a commanding 60-40 win.

The win for the Vikings avenged their only two losses of the season and they now enter the North Carolina High School Athletic Association 2A playoffs with a record of 25-2. The loss dropped the Elks to 23-3.

Jennifer Rhodes led all scorers in the game with 17 and went 6-of-9 from the floor including three 3-pointers. Point guard Victoria Young � the MVAC Tournament MVP � added 12 points as did Allison Livengood. Livengood also pulled in a team-high nine rebounds.

Savannah Billings added eight points and five boards and Emily Phillips chipped in four points and handed out a team-high seven assist.

The Vikings' man-to-man defense stifled the Elks for most of the game and as a team, Elkin shot only 26 percent from the floor.

Miracle Walters had a team-high 12 points for the Elks and Kenly Burchette added eight in addition to her seven rebounds. Kylie Thomas had a game-high 11 rebounds to go along with her four points and four assists.

The North Wilkes boys' basketball team has come full circle.

With its 66-58 win against East Wilkes on Friday night in Hays, North Wilkes earned itself a share of the Mountain Valley Athletic Conference championship after going winless the year before.

The Vikings (16-8, 11-3) earned a share thanks to co-champion Starmount's loss at Alleghany on Thursday night. It's North Wilkes' first league title since the 2009-10 season.

"It's incredible. It's something that you hope will happen but not sure it will � it's a big leap," North Wilkes Head Coach Marty Behrens said. "I knew it was possible. Back in the summer, I told them I was starting to feel something special starting to build with the relationships. They're a fun group and a special group; they make everything close but they always seem to a find a way and it's a nice feeling."

It was also senior night and the Vikings started all three of their seniors � Cameron Tribble, Dylan Bauguess and Brigg Adams. Bauguess quickly gave North a 17-13 advantage after his second 3-pointer of the night.

"I just felt confident with my shot and it felt good. They were just falling," said Bauguess, who finished with 12 points.

Despite the early advantage, the Vikings came out a little shaky as evidenced by turning the ball over on three straight possessions during the first three minutes of the ball game. North extended the lead to 21-15 on a Jake Richardson layup off an assist from Tribble.

The Cardinals, which dropped to 9-15 on the year and 5-9 in the league, used a 9-2 run to regain the lead (24-23) following a layup and one from Andrew Nance. The senior led the Cardinals with 26 points.

"I think it was jitters. They knew what was on the line tonight and there were some younger guys who were having to play with Daniel (Pruitt) being sick," said Behrens. "I thought we had some guys step up and make some big plays. Cameron Tribble played so well in the first half and then Jonathan Wagoner comes off the bench and hits two big threes. The guys were just making plays."

Wagoner's first three came just before the buzzer for the first half to give the Vikings a 32-29 advantage.

Jordan Wallis gave the Vikings their biggest lead of the contest (seven) at 39-32 with a 3-pointer to punctuate a 7-0 run. But every time the Vikings extended the lead, East Wilkes cut into it.

First, Nance connected on a 3-pointer in the final 15 seconds of the third quarter. The senior proceeded to cut the deficit to a point on a layup to start the fourth quarter and gave the Cardinals a 49-47 lead with 5:36 left in the game on his fifth of five treys on the night.

The two teams combined for 16 3-pointers on the night with the Vikings hitting nine of them.

"I thought they were doing a good job of doubling down on Jake (Richardson); even when we were able to get it to him, they did a good job of digging the post," said Behrens. "In doing that, they were leaving some shooters open and we were swinging it over to the weak side."

After Camon Bryan put East ahead three (51-48) with 3:48 left, Wallis responded with a basket and Tribble converted a 3-point play to go ahead 53-51.

Tribble finished with nine points but has seen his role increase since Pruitt went out with an illness following the contest with Elkin on Feb. 2. He's also relished the opportunity to contribute more.

"It's just next man up. We have to step up into our new role and adapt to it and I just learned to be confident with it and do whatever I can to help the team win," said Tribble.

Tribble also felt Friday's contest was a perfect ending to the regular season especially after an 0-23 campaign last season.

"It's amazing. When you get down, you just feel so out of it, and then when you come up on top because you worked so hard and you know you deserve it and proved it tonight," said Tribble.

East retook the lead at 58-56 following a pair of free throws from Nance. It would be short-lived as Wallis converted on a 3-point play and in the process, Joah Logan picked up his fifth foul.

After Bryan's missed layup following the possession, Tribble missed the front end of a one-and-one but Richardson was right there to pick up the rebound and put it back for the 61-58 advantage with 45 seconds remaining.

The Vikings closed out the contest on a 10-0 run after East took the lead.

"It was tight all the way. I thought our guys played hard until the final buzzer and that's all you can ask of them," East Wilkes Head Coach Brad Davis said. "We were doing a really good job of getting good shot selection but multiple times tonight we had quick triggers."

Notes: Logan joined Nance in double figures with 13 points while Shareef Ray added seven�Richardson chipped in 12 points for the Vikings and Wagoner finished with seven� The 16 wins this winter is the most under Behrens in his six seasons as the Vikings' head coach... in JV action, North Wilkes bested East Wilkes 51-33 to end its season at 14-9 overall and 10-4 in the league. North's Nathaniel Everette led all scorers with 15 points and Ethan Brown scored 13. Kameron Walsh and Grant Lenderman added seven and six points respectively. Brannon Church led the Cardinals with 11 points while Vess Bullins and Sean Sidden added seven and six points respectively.