Basketball Recap: Smoky Valley Comes Up Short

Smoky Valley was the 42-34 winner over Larned when they last played one another back in February of 2024, but their luck changed this time around. The Smoky Valley Vikings took a 41-34 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Larned Indians on Tuesday. The Vikings have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.

Braylon Olson

Rebounds (Career)

02/25/25 @ Larned	8
12/20/24 @ Halstead	7
02/11/25 vs Hillsboro	6
12/15/23 @ Halstead	6
01/13/25 vs Hoisington	5

When it comes to explaining why Smoky Valley lost, don't look at Braylon Olson. Despite the final result, he went 7-for-14 en route to 19 points and eight boards. Those eight rebounds gave Olson a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Ty Heitschmidt, who dropped a double-double with 12 points and 11 boards.

Smoky Valley's record now sits at 4-16. As for Larned, with the victory, they broke their three-game losing streak and moved their record to 7-13.

Coming up, Smoky Valley will square off against Nemaha Central at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Nemaha Central will roll in looking for their fifth straight win, something Smoky Valley surely won't give up without a fight. Larned does not have any more games scheduled as of now.