The highly anticipated rematch between the Spring-Ford Rams and the Perkiomen Valley Vikings boys basketball teams kicked off last night at Perkiomen Valley High School. The fiery rivalry between these two teams has entertained students for years. A victory in this game awards not only another win, but bragging rights until the teams meet again. On January 28th, the home-team Rams edged out the visiting Vikings 53-47 in a close game down the stretch. Perkiomen Valley ranks third in the Pioneer Athletic Conference falling right behind the 2-1 Rams.
The Vikings started off the 1st quarter hot. They outscored Spring-Ford 22-12, garnering three 3-pointers and 3 free-throws. Senior guard Dominic Miceli, who would end the game with 15 points and a pair of three pointers, led the charge in the 1st quarter, leading the team in scoring. The rest of the game became the Tyler Lapetina show. The senior shooting guard finished with 33 points, heating up in the second and third quarter. Lapetina’s scoring outburst is the team’s highest this season.
Lapetina attributed his success to the teamwork of the boys in orange. “Honestly the team working together and being able to stay on toes and battle against their pressure and their tough defense, by doing that it led to a lot of open layups and a lot of open shots” said Lapetina.
The Vikings did have nearly twice the fouls as the opposition, but Spring-Ford couldn’t capitalize, missing over half of their free throw opportunities. Spring-Ford also struggled from beyond the arc, making only two 3-pointers the entire game.
The highlights of this game were the scoring efforts of both Tyler Lapetina and Dominic Miceli, as well as a poster slam dunk in the third quarter by senior Kam Parks. The Vikings walk away as the winners of this rivalry, making the season series tied at one win a piece. The Vikings next game is Wednesday, February 17 against Phoenixville at home.