Still in the midst of the tune-up portion of the schedule, the Vikings traveled to Valley Stream South for a non-league matchup on Dec. 19 in the Coaches v. Cancer Tournament. The Vikings managed to quiet the boisterous Falcon crowd by jumping out to a 26-17 first quarter advantage. To the Falcons credit they hustled back into the fray to draw within a point by half time 38-37.

In the second half, with the crowd getting louder, the game became a basket swapping affair. The referees lost any semblance of impartiality in the third quarter when they whistled North Shore for five fouls and Valley Stream South for zero. In the second half, North Shore was not awarded a single shot from the charity stripe until the waning seconds of the contest. Meanwhile, Valley Stream feasted at the foul line. Forward Tim Schenkel, who had been an effective player for the Vikings, fouled out with under five minutes left in the game. With the score in the Falcons' favor at 66-64 and less than two minutes to go, North Shore missed a three pointer. The Falcons gathered in the rebound and sunk a three point shot of their own. That, as they say, sports fans, was the old ball game. The final tally, Valley Stream South 75, North Shore 66.

Guard Frank Guidici led the Vikings with 23 points, followed by forward Ankit Shah with 15 points and guard André Moskowitz with 13. The Vikings welcomed back sophomore forward Chris Galano from the sick bay this week. Despite the loss, North Shore showed the grit, hustle and offensive cohesion that should serve them well throughout the season. Thursday, Dec. 27 and Saturday, Dec. 29, the Viking men travel next door to Roslyn for their holiday tournament.