Basketball Recap: Russell Victorious

Smoky Valley came into Thursday's game looking for another win against Russell, but Jake Mooney wouldn't allow it. The Russell Broncos enjoyed a cozy 61-46 victory over the Smoky Valley Vikings on Thursday thanks in part to Mooney, who went 5 of 7 en route to 21 points. The dominant performance gave him a new career-high in points.

Ayden Wagner was another key player, putting up six points in addition to five assists and four steals. He is on a roll when it comes to steals, as he's now grabbed two or more in the last four games he's played.

Smoky Valley's loss came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Ty Heitschmidt, who went 7 for 15 on his way to 14 points and seven boards. The team also got some help courtesy of Braylon Olson, who went 7 of 11 en route to 14 points.

Russell now has a winning record of 7-6. As for Smoky Valley, they have been struggling recently as they've lost four of their last five matchups, which put a noticeable dent in their 3-10 record this season.

Russell has already played their next contest, a 51-48 win against Ellis on the 3rd. As for Smoky Valley, they also didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next game, a 37-31 defeat against Hoisington on the 4th.