By Staff
NILES – The Ring Lardner seventh grade Gold boys' basketball team notched its first victory of the season on Tuesday night with a thrilling 35-34 come-from-behind victory over Schmucker Middle School.
The Vikings rallied from 11 points down heading into the fourth quarter.
Despite a height advantage for Schmucker, Niles did a solid job on the glass and on the defensive end of the court.
Aaron Pierce led the Vikings offensively with 11 points, capping off by hitting the game-winning free throw with one second remaining in the contest.
John Franklin and Elbert Briggs each scored six points, while Graham Hoppstock finished with five points.
Ring Lardner also got three points from Matt Schiele and two points each from Anthony Bice and Alex Wright.
Seventh Grade
The Ring Lardner seventh grade Blue and Gold teams both suffered their first losses of the season this week.
The Blue team fell to Benton Harbor 58-28 on Monday, while the Gold team was defeated by the Tigers, 50-43.
Logan Harpenau led the Blue team with 10 points, while Myles Busby finished with eight points.
Also playing well for the Vikings were Randy Wagner and Zack Webber.
The Gold team's Quintin Irby led all scorers with 22 points, while Seth Purucker added 13 points.
On Tuesday, the Gold team fell to Schmucker 34-26.
Irby led the Vikings with 10 points.