VC’s Noah Ruiz makes a triumphant return to the court

By Mike Zummo
Posted 12/26/24

Noah Ruiz injured his shoulder at the end of his sophomore season.

The injuries also cost him his junior year, and he is just seeing the varsity basketball court for the first time this season, …

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VC’s Noah Ruiz makes a triumphant return to the court

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Noah Ruiz injured his shoulder at the end of his sophomore season.

The injuries also cost him his junior year, and he is just seeing the varsity basketball court for the first time this season, as a senior.

It only took until the Vikings’ second game for him to make a significant impact, scoring a team-high 19 points in the Vikings’ 73-49 win over the Minisink Valley Warriors on Wednesday at Valley Central High School in Montgomery.

“I spent a lot of hours behind the scenes,” Ruiz said. “Coach could tell you. I’m just happy to see all the work pay off. It was like a whole year I was injured, and I was trying to get back into it. I let my defense speak for me last game, but this game it came out and I was able to show my skills.”

After a seven-point first half, which saw the Vikings take a 34-28 lead. Ruiz took over the game in the third quarter, scoring eight of the Vikings’ 23 points and then adding four more in the fourth quarter.

“I feel terrible for the kid,” Valley Central coach Frank Nutt said. “He gets hurt at the end of his sophomore year, misses his whole junior year. Then in June of last year, he tore his one shoulder and then tore the other one. He missed most of our summer league and was just cleared Dec. 12. Luckily, he’s been conditioning and doing everything but contact.”

He wasn’t alone with the second half outburst. As Shawn Magby added 15 points of his own, scoring seven points of those points in the third quarter.

The Vikings led the Warriors 57-36 after the third quarter, and then outscored them by three points in the fourth quarter to seal the victory.

The Vikings were able to survive the efforts of Minisink Valley’s Nick Hughes, who scored a game-high 24 points. He was able to keep the Warriors close in the first half, but the Vikings were too much for him to overcome in the second.

“We gave up a few second-chance opportunities that I thought hurt us, but I thought, in the second half, to one shot per possession,” Nutt said. “A lot of them were contested shots. We did a good job rebounding.”
The Vikings had more than doubled their offensive output from their previous game, a 35-32, win over the Goshen Gladiators.

“It always starts with defense for us,” Ruiz said. “Being able to execute, getting out stops, getting our steals, being able to convert on those easy layups we had.”

The Vikings were scheduled to open the Monticello Tournament on Friday with a league game against the Panthers. However, Friday’s snow moved the first round of the tournament to Saturday at Monticello High School.

The second half of the tournament has not been rescheduled as of press time. Results of Saturday’s game were not available at press time.

“We still have room to grow together,” Ruiz said. “Being a senior, I’ve got to be able to try and be a good leadership role model for my younger teammates out there, but we’re all growing together at the end of the day.”