Vikings upset defending champion Raiders, advance to sub-state championship

After a tough, physical game that sent the Shawnee Mission West boys basketball team to the free throw line 45 times, the Vikings hung on to knock off defending state champion Shawnee Mission South 59-54 in overtime on Thursday.

With the victory, the Vikings advanced to the Blue Valley West Class 6A Sub-State No. 1 championship game where they will travel to Blue Valley North tonight at 7 p.m. for a chance to go to state.

"We’re excited about the opportunity," Shawnee Mission West coach Ryan Darst said. "Blue Valley North is a very good team. We’ve watched a lot of film so it is going to be a tough task, but our kids are ready for the challenge."

The Vikings trailed 14-4 at the end of the first quarter, but kept pace in the next two quarters before outscoring the Raiders 18-10 to tie the score in the fourth quarter. In overtime, the Vikings outscored the Raiders 10-5.

"We got down big early, but talked about keep fighting and keep playing through possessions and we just nibbled away," Darst said. "That’s the biggest thing, we played each possession."

This story was originally published March 8, 2014 at 10:04 AM with the headline "Vikings upset defending champion Raiders, advance to sub-state championship."