Preview: Smoky Valley Vikings vs. Halstead Dragons
Smoky Valley is 9-1 against Halstead since February of 2019, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Tuesday. The Smoky Valley Vikings will be playing at home against the Halstead Dragons at 7:30 p.m. Given that both teams suffered a loss in their last game, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this game.
Smoky Valley's recent rough patch got a bit rougher on Friday after their third straight defeat. The game between them and Hesston wasn't particularly close, with Smoky Valley falling 53-35. While losing is never fun, Smoky Valley can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Kansas basketball rankings (they are ranked 235th, while Hesston is ranked 29th).
The loss doesn't tell the whole story though, as several players had good games. One of the most active was Kristian Ryan, who scored ten points. Another player making a difference was Ki Blanchat, who scored ten points along with eight rebounds.
Meanwhile, Halstead came up short against Haven on Friday and fell 45-38. Halstead has not had much luck with Haven recently, as the team's come up short the last eight times they've met.
Smoky Valley has been struggling recently as they've lost nine of their last 11 contests, which put a noticeable dent in their 4-15 record this season. As for Halstead, their loss ended a three-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 6-13.
Smoky Valley was able to grind out a solid victory over Halstead in their previous meeting back in December of 2023, winning 68-58. Will Smoky Valley repeat their success, or does Halstead have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
