Preview: Sun Valley Spartans vs. Ardrey Kell Knights
Sun Valley has enjoyed the comforts of home their last two games, but now they'll head out on the road. They will square off against the Ardrey Kell Knights at 7:30 p.m. on Friday.
Last Friday, Sun Valley came up short against East Mecklenburg and fell 52-45. While losing is never fun, Sun Valley can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 342nd, while East Mecklenburg is ranked 106th).
Sun Valley's defeat shouldn't obscure the performances of Nathan Tavares, who scored 17 points along with 9 rebounds, and Will Calhoun who scored 10 points along with 7 rebounds. Tavares scored a full 37.8% of Sun Valley's points, the fourth time in a row he's earned more than a third of the team's points.
Meanwhile, Ardrey Kell waltzed into Tuesday's contest with two straight wins but they left with three. They were the clear victor by a 68-46 margin over Porter Ridge. Winning is a bit easier when you work as a team to rack up 14 more assists than your opponent, as Ardrey Kell did.
Ardrey Kell's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Delani Hammonds led the charge by dropping a double-double on 11 points and 10 assists. The game was Hammonds' seventh in a row with at least ten points. Owen Wacker was another key contributor, scoring 16 points along with 5 rebounds.
Sun Valley now has a losing record at 2-3. As for Ardrey Kell, they now have a winning record of 4-3.
Sun Valley was able to grind out a solid victory over Ardrey Kell in their previous meeting back in December of 2022, winning 79-67. One of the biggest obstacles trying to stand in the way of that victory was Ardrey Kell's Brock Rose, who scored 20 points along with 7 rebounds. Now that he won't be playing on Friday, will it be that much easier for Sun Valley to walk away with another win? There's only one way to find out.
