The last match up between these Diablo Valley College and Sacramento City ended with a score of 70-68, highlighting a tough shooting night for the Vikings. Rodney “The Pope” Pope had an especially tough night, only connecting on 3 of his 14 shots taken.

The team all together only made 37.9% of their shots on the night, with Sacramento City edging them out shooting only 39.1%. The Panthers also had attempted 12 more free throws than the Vikings, and hitting 8 more. But this time around, the story was different. The Sacramento City Panthers had their guys rolling from the start, with KJ Duronslet beasting down low the paint, ending with 32 points and 17 rebounds on the game.

The Vikings had no answer for his constant energy throughout the game, evidenced by starting center Eric Nielsen hardly seeing any run this game. While easily being the biggest player on the court, it was clear today that the expression “speed kills” is by no means a joke. Nielsen, standing at 6’10, and the rest of the Viking defense had no chance stopping Duronslet, standing at only 6’3, from getting to his spots and attacking the glass to regain more possessions for his team.

Jovontae Carelton’s aggressive play led to a buzzer beater lay up at halftime, giving the Vikings some momentum going into the second half, with the Panthers holding a sizable lead of 41-28. But Carelton didn’t stop attacking in the second half. He came out driving hard, which would open up kick out opportunities for Pope and Victor Mijas and drop off passes for the big men patrolling the paint.

After 3 consecutive Rodney Pope 3 pointers, the Vikings were back in it. Once trailing by as much as 16, the Vikings brought it back within striking distance as the game clock was winding down. But after some tough foul calls against the Vikings and a few costly turnovers, the hustle and hard work by the Sacramento City Panthers was just too much to handle, leading to an 81-73 win for the road team.

This win put Sacramento City College into sole possession of 2nd place in the Big 8 Conference, and dropping DVC down to a tie for third with American River College and San Joaquin Delta College. Your Vikings will be playing at Cosumnes River on 2/14, hoping to regain some ground in the conference standings before the playoffs roll around.