WICHITA, Kan. – After a first round Sub-State win over Fredonia on Thursday in Lindsborg, the Smoky Valley boys basketball team was faced with the tough task of going on the road to take on the top team in the state in 3A. The Vikings did their best to hang in early, but after blowing the game open in the second quarter, #1 Wichita Collegiate rolled to the semifinal win.
Collegiate 76, Smoky Valley 43 – Smoky Valley held a 4-2 lead two and a half minutes into the game, but the Spartans picked up the pressure on defense and went on a 23-0 run to lead 15-4. They held a 24-12 lead after one quarter and outscored the Vikings 21-7 in the second quarter to take a 45-19 lead at half. Smoky Valley put a strong effort in during the third, only being outscored by one, but the Spartans had the clock running in the fourth on their way to the 33-point win.
Kristian Ryan, who led the team in scoring all season, was the only player in double figures for the Vikings with 18 points. Atticus Pavlovich added nine. Smoky Valley finished their season with a record of 13-9. They had a win improvement of nine games compared to 2024-25.
Collegiate moved to 23-1. Their only loss this season is to 5A Kapuan-Mt. Carmel, which is 24-0 and ranked #1 in Class 5A. The Spartans got a game-high 29 points from AJ Batiste, scoring 11 in the third quarter alone. Sebastian Hines-Turner added 11 for Collegiate as they move on to the 3A Sub-State #1 championship game in Haven on Friday against Neodesha.
SV – Ryan 18, Pavlovich 9, Heitschmidt 4, Olson 4, Burgardt 2, Gengler 2, Griffith 2, Riedel 2
Collegiate – Batiste 29, Hines-Turner 11, Bond 8, Drumright 7, Jennings 7, S. Issa 5, Johnson 4, Langston 3, J. Issa 2
