The Ventura boys basketball team jumped to an early 20-6 first quarter lead against Corwith-Wesley-LuVerne and never looked back.  The Vikings defeated the Panthers, 83-48, on Tuesday, Dec. 18 in their home gym.
    Ventura maintained momentum through the second quarter for a 41-16 halftime score.  The Panthers did rally in the third quarter and actually outscored the Vikings by one point.  The fourth quarter was all Ventura once again, as the Vikings outscored them 27-16 in the final period.
    “Our defensive pressure is what is remaining consistent throughout all the games, which is a good thing because if we shoot poorly we are still in the game,” said Coach Nick Schauf.
    The Vikings did not shoot poorly on Tuesday night.  The Panthers could not stop Ventura from the three point line and the Vikings connected on nine shots.  Tyler Peterson led the team from the arc with three shots, contributing to his 11 points.  Brian Mostrom and Brandon Harthan each connected on two, three point shots, while Cody Kadolph and Philip Cox each hit one.
    Kadolph led the team in total points with 15.  Tyler Betz and Peterson were close behind with 12 and 11 respectively.  Aaron Christians added 10, Mostrom had eight and Harthan chipped in seven.  Scoring five points apiece were Scott Watson and Cox.  Rounding out the scoring was Josh Henely with four and Jeremiah Hagen, Kevin Waldron and Dustin Dyre with two points apiece.
    Team leaders under the boards were Betz and Christians with six apiece.  Kadolph grabbed four, Henely had three and Watson had two.  Kadolph and Peterson led the team in steals with five and four respectively.  Kadolph also led the team in assists with six.  Hagen also had three steals and four assists to aid the team.
    “I was really proud of not only my top nine players, but the whole team, because of the way they all came in and played really well,” said Schauf.
    Ventura played Clay Central-Everly on Thursday, Dec. 20, that game’s results will appear in next week’s edition of the Clear Lake Mirror-Reporter.