Santa Monica High School won big last Thursday night against Dorsey High School in their sixth game of the season. 

While it was a team effort, a few Viking players stood out, including junior Jayden Xu, and seniors Holden Hendrickson and Anton Berge. They worked together well, and after a few buckets, the Vikings were feeling good. Within the first four minutes of the game, and with full velocity and quick hands, the team had an 11-0 lead. Vikings fans in attendance were fired up and made themselves heard. 

Dorsey, on the other hand, was struggling. No matter how many times they touched the ball, they were unable to score as quickly. That is until Dorsey made two free throws due to a foul by the Vikings. By the end of the first quarter, the Vikings were in the lead, 23-2. 

“I felt our focus, energy, and enthusiasm were great. We kept the pressure on them,” head coach James Hecht said. 

After 30 years of coaching the team, Hecht is no stranger to the Vikings fan’s support. As the lead kept increasing, the claps became louder by family and friends watching the game at Santa Monica High.

In one instance, Xu delivered six quick points after making back-to-back 3-pointers. When Dorsey scored a couple of points shortly after, Xu impressed the crowd by immediately making another 3-pointer followed by senior Anton Berge Wells’ 2-pointer. SaMo was comfortably ahead, 58-24.

While Dorsey had a few visiting fans, nothing they brought to the arena could overcome the Vikings cheerleaders and their chants of “DE-FENSE!” The Vikings continued to stretch the lead. With the help of Sophomore Onieli Thruston and Zach Bennett, they were able to gain nine more points, 67-27. 

Within 2 minutes left in the game, Thruston made the final four free throws. The cheerleaders counted down the final seconds until a loud buzz was heard around the gym. The Vikings finished the night with a score of 71-27.

While Dorsey was able to score a few more points throughout the game, the end result was never in doubt. It’s not a surprise why coach Hecht showed enthusiasm when talking about the boys, and how he encourages them. 

“We have different guys step out and step up. Whatever we do, we’ll do as a team,” he said. “We have a good group. We ask them to always keep the senior leadership both on and off the court,” he continued. 

Win or lose, Coach Hecht is known for keeping in touch with fellow alumni. 

“One of the best parts of my job is hearing what they are doing now,” he said after stating he will be attending an alum’s wedding in the coming weeks. “Be it college, after college, a job, a wedding, or the birth of a kid – knowing what they are up to is my favorite part.”

On his current seniors, Hect said, “They make it fun to come to work every day. They make it fun to come practice every day,” he said. “Hopefully, we can keep this going for as long as we can cause it’s a special group.”

Until then, they will keep pushing hard in hopes of winning the next 19 games on the schedule and moving on to the playoffs. 

The Santa Monica Vikings will compete again this Wednesday night against the Whitney High School Wildcats from Cerritos. 

Photo by the author. Pictured: #5 – Jayden Xu, #15 – Holden Hendrickson, and #32 – Anton Berge Wells.