STERLING, Kan. – Following the same trajectory for the Sterling Invitational, the Smoky Valley basketball teams each went 2-1 this past week, taking fifth place finishes in tough battles on Friday.
Girls
Quarterfinals-Scott City 52, Smoky Valley 32 – The Beavers held a 10-5 lead after first quarter and stretched it to 20-9 by halftime. They steadily pulled away for the 20-point win in the end. Natalee Brown led the Vikings with eight points and Kamryn Ryan scored seven in the loss.
Consolation Semifinals-Smoky Valley 48, Trinity Catholic 17– Kamryn Ryan scored a career-high 14 points, leading three players in double figures, as the Vikings cruised to the 5th Place contest. Kenzley Haxton and Illie DeBaere both scored 10 for Smoky Valley. Smoky Valley had just a 23-13 lead at halftime, but outscored the Celtics 25-4 in the second half for the big win.
5th Place-Smoky Valley 44, Kingman 38 – Overcoming a slow start, the Vikings used a huge fourth quarter to pull away for their fourth win of the season. Smoky Valley led 12-8 after one quarter, but scored just four points in the second as the game was tied at 16 at halftime. The Eagles took a seven-point advantage after three, outscoring Smoky Valley 10-3 in the quarter for a 26-19 lead. Smoky Valley, and specifically DeBaere, erupted in the fourth quarter for 25 points. After scoring just two point through the first three quarters, DeBaere broke out in the fourth, connecting on four of four three-point shots. She tied her career high with 14 points. Haxton went 4-4 from the free throw line in the final quarter to help seal the deal, finishing with 10 points. Smoky Valley improved to 4-7 with their 2-1 finish at Sterling. Kingman was led by Caylor Helm with a game-high 22 points. They are now 2-13, finishing 6th at Sterling.
Kingman – Helm 22, Beam 7, Jy. DeWeese 4, Watkins 3, Ja. DeWeese 2
SV – DeBaere 14, Haxton 10, Brown 7, Ryan 5, Patrick 4, Whittaker 4
Boys
Quarterfinals-Trinity Catholic 59, Smoky Valley 48 – Playing without their leading scorer Kristian Ryan, the Vikings still got of to a solid start, taking a 10-point lead late in the first half. Trinity Catholic scored the final four points to cut the lead to 27-21 at halftime. Ty Heitschmidt made a three-pointer to put the Vikings up 36-30 in the third, but the Celtics reeled off 19 straight points from there to take a 49-36 lead early in the fourth quarter and never looked back in the 11-point victory. Alex Guajardo led Trinity with 13 points, while Roberto Guerrero had 12 off the bench and Beau Towell added 12. Heitschmidt paced Smoky Valley with 15 points in the loss and was their only double figure scorer.
Consolation Semifinals-Smoky Valley 59, Southeast of Saline 55 – Ryan was back in a big way for Smoky Valley, causing nightmares for the second time this season for Southeast of Saline. The win did not come easy for the Vikings, though, as Southeast of Saline held a six-point advantage late in the third quarter. The Vikings chipped away and took a 49-47 lead in the fourth and never gave it back despite some stressful times down the stretch. Ryan and Braylon Olson combined to go 6-6 from the free throw line in the final minute to relieve that stress and help Smoky Valley to the win. For the second time this season, Ryan scored 28 against the Trojans, matching his total from the season opening win in Lindsborg against Southeast. Heitschmidt finished with a season high 18 as well. Hednrix Lund dropped a career high with 20 in the loss for Southeast, while Trenton Ptacek added 15.
5th Place-Smoky Valley 63, Lyons 54 (ot) – Smoky Valley had control of the game in the first half and midway through the third quarter as they held a 54-40 lead over the Lyons. However, Lyons did not back down, eventually erasing the 14-point deficit and taking a 48-46 lead of their own late in the game. Tied at 50, Smoky Valley had two decent looks to end the game in regulation, but fell short. In overtime, the Vikings reclaimed control of the game by finishing down the stretch at the free throw line for the second straight night. Seven of their 13 points in the extra frame came at the charity stripe as Ryan went 5-8 and Heitschmidt made his two attempts. Ryan dropped 28 points for the second straight night and Heitschmidt scored a season high for the second night in a row, finishing with 22 as the senior post players combined for 50 of Smoky Valley’s 63 points. Smoky Valley is now 7-4 with the win. Quanick Hamilton was the star of the night for the Lyons. He shot 8-8 from the floor and 3-3 from three-point land in regulation. His only miss of the night was in overtime as he finished with a team-high 20 points. Tegan Link added 13 and Paco Espinoza scored 12 for the Lions. Lyons fell to 6-8 overall.
Lyons – Hamilton 20, Link 13, Espinoza 12, Stanley 7, Ventura 2
SV – Ryan 28, Heitschmidt 22, Pavlovich 5, Anderson 2, Burgardt 2, Gengler 2, Griffith 2
