The AHSTW Vikings will head back to a Substate Final for the second straight season after taking down Van Meter 64-49 in the Class 2A District 13 Final on Tuesday night. The Vikings did a terrific job of sharing the basketball and a lot of players contributed to the scoring in a packed gym at West Central Valley High School in Stuart. AHSTW head coach GG Harris loved the group effort from the outset and credited some unsung heroes giving them the edge.

The Vikings had three players in double-figures led by 20 points from Brayden Lund. He eclipsed the 1,500 point mark for his career. Lund said it was a great confidence boost to see everyone get in on scoring the ball early in the game.

Kyle Sternberg dropped in 14 points, Nick Denning added 11, and Ryan Wedemeyer had 8. Coach Harris said the guys really executed the plan to move the ball around on offense.

The Vikings improved to 21-2 on the season and will play in the 2A Substate 7 Final on Saturday night. Lund said the team has been preparing for a long time for this opportunity.

The Vikings will face Des Moines Christian in that Substate 7 Final at ADM High School in Adel. The Lions advanced with a buzzer-beating three to knock off Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont on Tuesday night in Oskaloosa. We’ll have that game on Saturday on KJAN with pregame at approximately 6:45 p.m.

Van Meter was led by 20 points from Aydn Netten and the Bulldogs end their season with a 16-7 mark.