Williams Vikings win four in a row, move to 13-5 as sectional play begins

WILLIAMS, Ariz. - The Vikings had a good week of basketball with four wins that moved them to 13-5 on the season.

Williams beat Rock Point 51-28, Tonopah Valley 52-46, El Capitan 53-46 and Fredonia 57-27 and are currently in the lead in their section.

The Vikings played El Capitan at home Jan. 15. Martin Soria led the team with scoring at 18 points followed closely by Payce Mortensen with 15 and Andrew Karlsberger with 14.

"El Cap was a really good win for us," said head coach Troy Mortensen. "They're pretty strong in our section."

Payce Mortensen was named player of the game. He shot 38 percent from the field and had a 42 percent shooting average for 3-point shots.

"Payce came out and had a really good shooting night," Mortensen said. "He had five 3-pointers and a couple of assists."

Soria had a 67 percent field goal percentage making six of nine shots near the key. Soria leads the division and section in steals per game.

"Martin is excelling with steals," Mortensen said. "He's averaging about five to seven per game."

Karlsberger led the team with free throws, pulling in 10 out of 14 attempts for a shooting percentage of 71 percent.

"Andrew is up there (ranked) in his rebounding," Mortensen said. "He is second in the section."

Mortensen noted that Sergio Cardenas and Connor Betz led the team in rebounding with eight rebounds each in the El Capitan game.

The Williams Vikings are 4-1 at home with the win against El Capitan. The Vikings are now ranked ninth in the Arizona Division V rankings.

On Jan. 16 the Vikings handily beat Fredonia 57-27.

Mortensen was pleased with several players who came off the bench in the game.

"We have a lot of guys contributing," Mortensen said. "Diego Pedraza has been hustling a lot and chipping in a lot as far as rebounds."

Mortensen said he is glad to have Daniel Lopez and Juaquin Gutierrez back on the team after suffering injuries last fall.

"Juaquin is still a little tender," Mortensen said. "But he's been chipping in a few minutes here and there. He and Zack Perkins are playing a lot of JV, but they'll be contributors here pretty quick."

Mortensen was also pleased with the play of Rafael Hernandez.

"He has been getting in a bit and hitting some good shots," Mortensen said. "The Fredonia game was a good game for him."

Karlsberger was selected as player of the game leading the team in scoring with 24 points.

Guiterrez followed Karlsberger with 11 points and Mortensen brought in seven.

Guiterrez had a 60 percent shooting percentage and made three of four 3-point field goal attempts.

Pedraza and Karlsberger each had five rebounds, and Karlsberger had three blocked shots.

"We have some good depth now," Mortensen said. "We were a little thin in the beginning. We had some injuries but now people are coming back."

The Vikings played Chino Valley on Jan. 19 (after the paper went to press). Mortensen is hoping to return with a win after losing to them in Route 66 Holiday Classic tournament.