By Greg Gielczyk
GRAYLING — In just his second season as the Grayling boys basketball coach, Larry Mead has the Vikings in the MHSAA Division 3 regional tournament.
The Vikings (13-9) tip things off Monday night on their home court against the Tawas Braves (13-8) at 5:30 p.m., hoping that home cooking will pay off to extend their one more game.
Once the tournament begins, there is no other way to approach it than one game at a time, which sounds like a cliche during the regular season, but is right on target in the playoffs.
The other half of the bracket has Sanford Meridian (15-6) taking on McBain (8-14) in the second game Monday at 7 p.m., with the two survivors meeting in the regional championship game Wednesday night at 7 p.m.
After losing their last three games of the regular season, the Braves rebounded to beat Charlton Heston Academy, 80-41 and Oscoda, 49-32 in the district tournament to win the championship and advance to the regional.Grayling is on a three-game winning streak, during which the Vikings have scored 171 points to average 57 points a game.
Defensively, they’ve allowed 104 points for an average of 34 points per game. The Vikings struggled to keep everyone healthy most of the season, with various players missing time because of injury or illness.
But, the Vikings seem to have finally found some consistency and have won five of their last six games. The Vikings’ have enjoyed a balanced attack on offense, making them difficult to guard.
“Playing together has been the key for us,” Mead said. “If we continue to do that, we can compete with anybody. We certainly were all of that in the district final, and our pressure defense really bothered Mesick (which was 20-0 coming in).”
Vinnie Frank scored 14 points and Alex Kaems added 11 in the Braves’ 49-32 district final win over Oscoda.
“They are a well coached team,” said Mead. “Todd James has been there for quite awhile. They have some athleticism, they have some length.
“Really, they can do a lot of things well. They can hit the outside shot, they do a lot of circle motion concepts that are really tough to guard.
“You’ve got to grind through with them. Defensively, I’ve watched a few films and most often they drop back into a 2-3 zone, so our kids are going to have to be patient and attack gaps, and knock down some shots.”
Playing the game on their home court is certainly an advantage, and Mead hopes that Viking Nation comes out in force to support the team and create an electric atmosphere. Mead has been preaching to his team to just enjoy the moment since the tournament began.
“I’ve been telling the kids to enjoy the day, enjoy the day’s practice,” added Mead. “Thursday’s practice they were just kind of gritty, and into each other.
“We do this because we love the game. We do this because we have fun. It was fun (Friday) night to watch those kids enjoying the moment, supporting each other and being engaged.
“Just the smiling faces. They had some moments that they’ll never forget.
“Grayling is hoping to have another memorable moment Monday.
