The Niles freshmen boys’ basketball team defeated St. Joseph 51-45 Thursday night.

The Vikings trailed 24-16 at halftime, but rallied for the win by outscoring the Bears 35-21 in the second half.

Tate Brawley, who was held scoreless in the opening 16 minutes of play, finished with eight rebounds and 17 points, including 1 3-pointer that sparked the second half rally.

Greg Jones added 16 points, while Conner Glick finished with 10 and Tate Rudlaff eight.

Freshmen girls

The Niles freshmen girls’ basketball team picked up its first home win of the season with a 31-26 victory over St. Joseph Thursday night.

Tala Gentry led the Vikings with 11 points, while Alyssa Middleton and Deserae Donley scored nine and five points respectively.

“The ladies worked hard tonight and earned the victory,” Niles coach Nic Hawley said. “Our passion and attitudes are improving every day and that helped mentally tonight.”

The Vikings are now 2-3 on the season and will play Mishawaka on Tuesday.