LEAVITTSBURG — LaBrae senior Derek Wilson scored a game-high 24 points to help lead the Vikings past Mineral Ridge 60-40 in the first round of the Division VI boys basketball tournament on Friday.

Wilson crossed the 1,000 career point mark at LaBrae (18-5) in the process.

“I started my career at Lordstown,” said Wilson. “I went over 1,000 career points earlier this season. But, tonight I went over 1,000 points at my new school alone. It’s a great feeling to know that all of the hard work is paying off.”

The Vikings didn’t get off to a great start. Chase Moore (team-high 16 points) blocked a shot, and took it the length of the court to put the Rams ahead 14-11 at the end of the first quarter.

Landon Bingham nailed a pair of 3-pointers out of the corner. Senior Jonathan Rozzi (12 points) made a reverse layup, and Mineral Ridge took a 26-24 lead into halftime.

The Vikings changed up their defense during the break, and number 22 seeded Mineral Ridge (13-10) couldn’t buy a basket in the third quarter.

“We got out of the zone defense, and went to a man-to-man (defense),” LaBrae coach Chad Kiser said. “We’ve been a zone team most of the year. But, we were losing guys behind the 3-point line, and to their credit, they were knocking down shots.

“We started moving the ball better in the second half. We attacked the rim. That was key to getting back into it.”

Senior Owen Boone (10 points) made one from behind the arc. Austin Rowe had a spectacular spin-move, and Dan McLaughlin put one up and in. Wilson was hustling, rebounding, and dishing out assists and the Vikings took a 41-30 advantage to the fourth quarter.

“We started the game sluggish,” Wilson said. “We just tried to change the energy. We wanted to get back into the fight. Once we got the momentum, we knew we were going to finish the game out. We’re going to give it our all every time we step on the court, and play to the best of our ability.”

Kenny Yoho made a wide-open layup in the fourth quarter for the Vikings. Rowe (10 points) drilled one from downtown, and Wilson added to his stat total.

“This was the same thing Derek Wilson has been doing all year,” said Kiser. “For him to go over 1,000 points, in two and a half seasons here, is quite an accomplishment.

“He attacks the basket. He’s just really athletic. He finds the open guy. He can run the floor. He finishes above the rim. He rebounds. When he does it at both ends, we’re a tough team to beat.”

The sixth-seeded Vikings will get another home game in the sectional final against Springfield on Tuesday at 7 p.m. after the 21st-seeded Tigers knocked off fourth-seeded Valley Christian in triple overtime.

“It’s going to be tough,” said Kiser. “We’ll come up with a game plan. The kids just have to be ready to play.”