Vikings Bring Back First Trophy Since 2016

Posted

SPOKANE — It’s been a long time coming for both the No. 11 Mossyrock boys basketball team and head coach Tom Kelly. 

The last time the Vikings were in Spokane in 2016, they brought back a trophy to Mossyrock, and in their return trip in 2023, the Vikings are once again bringing back some hardware. 

Guided once again by a hot start and a balanced scoring effort, the Vikings defeated No. 16 Orcas Island, 71-63, Saturday morning to capture fourth at the 1B state tournament in Spokane. 

Kelly, who is rarely unable to find the right words to describe anything, was at a loss immediately after the Vikings clinched their first trophy in seven years. 

“It’s the first time I’ve ever coached boys,” he said. “This is a good team. It was something. This is probably my favorite season ever, even though it wasn’t a state championship, because of them. It was unbelievable.”

Installing a new system and defenses throughout the year, the Vikings peaked at just the right time, defeating three teams seeded higher than them and only dropping a quarterfinal contest to No. 4 Willapa Valley on Thursday. 

Saturday morning, Zack Munoz again led the way scoring 23 points, but Hunter Isom added 14 huge baskets off the bench, and Matt Cooper and Keegan Kolb added 14 and 10 more points, respectively. 

On the other end, the Vikings forced 12 turnovers and held Orcas Island to 33% shooting from the field. 

“I love these guys, they’ve earned everything,” Kelly said. “They bought in from the start and just kept going. We played a lot of man defense, which is something I don’t do a lot, and they got better throughout the year. We’re changing defenses all the time, and they were always able to adjust and change. That’s not easy for players. We wanted to push that ball, and they did.”

Tack on a girls program trophy, which is on the way with Mossyrock playing for a state title Saturday afternoon, Mossyrock is the only local school to have both their boys and girls program finish in the top-4 in the state this season. 

It’s not lost on Kelly the support the girls program has given his boys, while they chase a title of their own. 

“That’s big for basketball in Mossyrock,” he said. “The girls program has been behind us every game, not just at home, at Willapa Valley they were right behind us. And we’ve supported them.”