Basketball Recap: River Valley Takes Loss Despite Strong Performances from Jansyn Smith and Braden Bennett

River Valley was not able to break out of their rough patch on Tuesday as the team picked up their fifth straight loss. They took a 59-51 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Wellston Golden Rockets. That's two games in a row now that the Raiders have lost by exactly eight points.

Jansyn Smith

Points (Career)

12/17/24 vs Wellston	14
12/03/24 @ Southern	11
12/13/24 @ Athens	9
11/29/24 @ Eastern	9
12/06/24 @ Vinton County	8

Braden Bennett and Jansyn Smith certainly did their best on Tuesday to avoid the loss. Bennett went 7 of 16 en route to 17 points along with five boards and four steals, while Smith posted 14 points. The dominant performance gave Smith a new career-high in points. The team also got some help courtesy of Landon Burns, who had 12 points and eight rebounds.

Even though they lost, River Valley smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 13 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive boards in seven consecutive matchups.

River Valley's defeat dropped their record down to 1-6. As for Wellston, their victory bumped their record up to 2-4.

Both teams will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. River Valley will head out to challenge Warren at 8:30 p.m. on Saturday. As for Wellston, they are taking a road trip to square off against Waterford at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Wellston is facing Waterford at the right time seeing as Waterford is stuck on a three-game losing streak.