JACKSON – It is nights like Friday night Winnebago Lutheran boys basketball coach Jeremiah Hoffmann is thankful for the leadership and poise that comes with having seven seniors on his roster.

The Vikings had just watched as what was a 10-point lead was cut to two with one minute to play.

The seniors did not falter on the court, getting a big stop and hitting their free throws to salt away a 46-40 Wisconsin Flyway Conference victory in front of a packed house at Kettle Moraine Lutheran High School. (WATCH THE FULL GAME HERE!)

“We’re all seniors, us five guys on the court and we were all through (a race like this) last year and that kind of got us ready for this year,” said WLA senior guard Cody Jackson, who finished with a game-high 18 points and went 5 for 5 from the line in the fourth quarter. “We knew what to expect and have been in those situations to hit those free throws.”

The victory puts the Vikings (10-0, 14-1), ranked No. 8 in this week’s Associated Press Division 3 poll, on the brink of winning their first conference title in 16 years with a two-game lead on the Chargers (8-2, 11-6) and the rest of the WFC.

“We’ve talked about the fact that we control our own destiny the whole way,” Hoffmann said. “We had Laconia Tuesday night and then to win this game give us two big wins, but it certainly isn’t over. We have three of our final four conference games at home. Those guys want to beat us just as bad as Kettle did tonight.”

This game was a bit closer than Hoffmann would have liked down the stretch as the Chargers, who shot 1 of 10 from the field in the third quarter, finally put some offense together to cut into the lead.

Junior forward Caleb Wolf got the Chargers within two with 1 minute, 6 seconds to play with a three-pointer. It was the closest the Chargers had been since the start of the second half.

“There was no panic. They knew they could make a run and get back in it,” KML coach Todd Jahns said of his team’s run in the fourth. “Caleb has not been in an environment like that. We expect that from him.

“That’s cold-blooded.”

The Vikings defense was a big reason for them opening up the lead in the second half. The Vikings held KML without a field goal for 7:25 which covered parts of the second and third quarters. It helped put WLA out front 25-20 at halftime and set them up for the second half.

“We got some momentum going into halftime when we got that five-point lead,” Jackson said. “We went in at halftime and said we had to build off it.

“After halftime we really clamp down on a team and play well defensively. We know the offense will come.”

Chargers senior point guard Zach Jahns had 11 of his team-high 16 points in the first half and was taking the scoring on his shoulders, but drew a crowd when he got into the lane in the second half.

“He is a smart player and he recognized Dylan (Rusch) and Blake (Basse) were not scoring early and felt the need to score a little more,” coach Jahns said. “They did a better job of collapsing on him.”

Notes: KML held a 17-11 lead with 5:21 left in the second quarter. The Vikings outscored the Chargers 22-6 through the end of the third quarter. … Rusch added 10 points for KML. … Mike Schraufnagel added 11 points for the Vikings.

WINNEBAGO LUTHERAN ACADEMY…..8 17 8 13—46

KETTLE MORAINE LUTHERAN……………..9 11 3 17—40

WLA—Ryan Stollfus 7, Sean Augustyn 4, Keith Blum 4, Mike Schraufnagel 11, Cody Jackson 18, Chad Skaer 2. 3-PT: Jackson 3, Stollfus 2, Blum 1. FT: 12-19. Total Fouls: 11.

KML— Brandon Mantz 3, Zach Jahns 16, Dylan Rusch 10, Caleb Wolf 7, Blake Basse 4. 3-PT: Mantz 1, Wolf 1. FT: 6-13. Total Fouls: 21. Fouled out: Jahns.