LATHAM — A strong first quarter and 4 players reaching double figures in scoring proved to be the difference as the Symmes Valley Vikings earned a 72-66 win on the road against the Western Indians on Friday night in a Southern Ohio Conference game.
Fresh off scoring a school-record 53 points on Tuesday, Eli Smith scored a team-high 26 points. Will Jones chipped in 14 points, Bronx Carpenter scored 12 and Asher Maynard had 10.
Western was led in scoring by Kam James with a game-high 33, Drew Haggy added 20, and Landen Owens scored 14.
The Indians (5-4, 0-2 SOC) got the upper hand in the early going, as Haggy buried a long 3-point shot to give Western an 8-4 lead at the 4:22 mark of the opening quarter.
However, Symmes Valley (8-3, 2-0) would withstand the early push by the Indians and take the lead for good when Carpenter found Asher Maynard on a backdoor cut along the baseline for the layup and a 12-10 lead with 2:46 remaining in the first.
The Vikings would extend their lead to 21-13 by the end of the quarter.
Carpenter registered 9 points in the opening quarter. Tanner Corn, Jones and Maynard all scored 4.
Western would cut into the deficit in the second, outscoring the Vikings 15-12.
The Indians would get to within 3 when Janes would drive down the lane for a lay-in.
But Smith would follow that up on the other end with a pull up jumper and later a layup to make the halftime score 33-28 in favor of Symmes Valley.
Janes would catch fire in the third, netting 14 points to lead the Indians in scoring for the quarter.
Smith would scored 8 more points in the quarter, including a jumper just inside the 3-point line to give Symmes Valley its largest lead of the game at 39-30 at the 5:44 mark. Jones would add 6 to help the Vikings take a 49-43 lead into the fourth.
A layup from Janes would get the Indians within 3 after Owens would find him on a cut to the basket with 6:35 remaining.
The Vikings would halt the comeback attempt with 3-point goal from Gradee Holland and Maynard, and go 8-of-12 from the foul line to secure the win.
Sym. Valley 21 12 16 23 = 72
Western 13 15 15 23 = 66
SYMMES VALLEY (8-3, 2-0): Zayne Wilson 0 0 0-0 0, Gradee Holland 1 1 0-0 3, Ethan Smith 9 1 7-8 26, Tanner Corn 3 0 1-2 7, Bronx Carpenter 2 1 7-10 12, Noah Hutchison 0 0 0-0 0, Will Jones 6 0 2-3 14, Key Roberts 0 0 0-0 0, Asher Maynard 3 1 3-5 10. Totals: 24 4 20-28 72. Fouls: 17. Fouled out: None.
WESTERN (5-4, 0-2): Tanner Kerns 0 0 0-0 0, Samuel Cattaneo 0 0 0-0 0, Drew Haggy 7 2 4-6 20, Landen Owens 4 2 1-2 11, Kam Janes 12 1 8-13 33, Alex Silven 1 0 0-0 2, Cutter Clay 0 0 0-0 0, Ayden Riggs 0 0 0-0 0, Foster Davis 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 24 5 13-21 66. Fouls: 24. Fouled out: Clay, Davis.
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