MOUNT BERRY, Ga. - The Viking men's basketball squad fought the Centre Colonels in a nailbiter "Pack the House" game on Saturday. Energy was at its max, and each team had something to prove but the Vikings emerged with a 63-62 victory. 

The game started out electric, with the Viking Drumline adding to the already pulsing Viking spirit. As regulation started, Cameron Pope came out of the gates strong with back-to-back buckets, mounting pressure on the Colonels early on, gaining an early 3-0 run. The first half was met with consistent field goals from Ryan Luttrell and Drew Winegarden. A fan favorite moment from the first half included a flashy Aaron Gordon-style dunk from Nile King, which sent the crowd into another dimension. The Vikings ended the first half, leading 29-24. 

As the masses started to pile in for the second half, it seemed like the whole school was ready to see a special night of Basketball. Mason Lawrence and Issac Martin set the pace with early second half buckets, maintaining a decent 36-27 lead. Bouncing off that momentum, Martin and Nile king sent the lead to 12, asserting a "this is our turf" attitude. 

As the Viking's started to turn up the jets, so did the Colonels. Various fastbreaks and turnovers shrunk the Viking's lead to just 7 points. The tide started to turn here, seeming like this wasn't going to be a runaway game. With about 5:32 to go on the clock, the Viking's lead was tested once more, now to 3.  

At this point, Coach Richter called a crucial timeout to talk things over with his guys. As the buzzer sounded, the crowd roared. The sound of the crowd made the Cage feel like Valhalla on a Saturday, and the Vikings put their heads into gear. Nearing the end of regulation, Drew Winegarden nailed 2 big free throws, pushing the lead back to 5. This doorway opened to Nile King and Cameron Pope hitting clutch shots. The score was 60-61, and Pope sank a game-time layup, putting the nail in Centre's coffin. The Vikings prevailed 63-62 in a cinematic battle on their home court with a huge defensive stop to close it out.

The Vikings plan to close out their weekend at home against Sewanee on Sunday.