Basketball Recap: Leyton Connell Leads a Balanced Attack to Beat Maxwell

Sandhills Valley won the last time they faced Maxwell and things went their way on Friday too. The Sandhills Valley Mavericks walked away with a 42-29 win over the Maxwell Wildcats. Given the Mavericks' advantage in MaxPreps' Nebraska basketball rankings (they are ranked 89th, while the Wildcats are ranked 235th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Sandhills Valley's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Leyton Connell led the charge by putting up 18 points and eight steals. Connell is on a roll when it comes to steals, as he's now grabbed two or more in the last seven games he's played dating back to last season. Kyle Kramer was another key player, almost dropping a double-double on 16 boards and nine blocks.

Maxwell lost despite a true team effort on offense, the best among them being Cole Huffman, who posted ten points along with five rebounds and three steals. The team also got some help courtesy of Kole Jones, who had five points and five steals.

Sandhills Valley's victory was their fourth straight on the road dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 5-1. As for Maxwell, they are on a seven-game losing streak (dating back to last season) that has dropped them down to 0-6.

Sandhills Valley didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next match, a 48-29 loss against South Loup on the 28th. As for Maxwell, they also wasted no time getting back out on the court and have already played their next contest, a 61-41 win against Brady on the 28th.