LINDSBORG, Kan. – For the first time since 2022, the Smoky Valley Vikings boys basketball team is headed to the 3A Sub-State semifinals. Smoky Valley used a strong defensive effort in the second quarter of their quarterfinal game against Fredonia on Tuesday night to pick up a victory.
Smoky Valley 64, Fredonia 52 – A back-and-forth start to the game saw the Vikings and Yellowjackets tied at 16 at the end of the first quarter, as Ty Heitschmidt scored ten points in the opening frame for Smoky Valley. Fredonia would score the first two points of the second quarter on a basket from Jay Evans to take an 18-16 lead, but Smoky Valley controlled the rest of the quarter, closing the first half on a 10-0 run for a 26-18 lead. They scored the first four points of the second half to extend their run to 14-0 and take a 30-18 advantage. Fredonia did not go quietly into the night, though, as they cut the lead to 32-27. However, Smoky Valley would reel off the final nine points of the third quarter, capped by a three-pointer from the volleyball spike line by Kaleb Burgardt as time expired. Leading 41-27 going into the final quarter, the Vikings had held the Yellowjackets’ leading scorer Kamden Barnett in check with just three points, all from the free throw line. Barnett came in averaging over 23 points a contest and in the fourth quarter, he got going, scoring 19 points with three three-pointers and shooting 8-8 from the free throw line. Despite the strong fourth quarter performance from Barnett, Smoky Valley had a neutralizer in Braylon Olson as he also shot 8-8 from the free throw line in the final quarter. With the strong finish, the Yellowjackets never got closer than nine points as the Vikings capped a 12-point win.
Heitschmidt finished with 25 points, matching a career high. Olson had a season high with 15 points. Smoky Valley moved to 13-8 overall and they will now face #1 seed Wichita Collegiate in the Sub-State semifinals on Tuesday. Collegiate dominated Kingman 106-53 to improve to 22-1. As for Fredonia, they finished the year at 11-10. Barnett finished with 22 points and Ethan Bryant scored 12, making four three-pointers on the night.
Fredonia – Barnett 22, Bryant 12, Coulter 7, Alexander 4, Evans 4, O’Leary 3
SV – Heitschmidt 25, Olson 15, Pavlovich 6, Anderson 5, Burgardt 5, Ryan 4, Gengler 2, Reed 2
