There's no place like home for the Hesston Swathers, who bounced back after a tough loss on the road last Tuesday. They took down Smoky Valley 53-35 on Friday. Given Hesston's advantage in MaxPreps' Kansas basketball rankings (they are ranked 29th, while Smoky Valley is ranked 235th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
It was another big night for Jackson Fry, who scored 17 points along with seven steals and five rebounds. As a matter of fact, that's the most points he has scored all season. Reed Friesen was another key contributor, almost dropping a double-double on 12 points and nine rebounds.
Smoky Valley's defeat came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Kristian Ryan, who scored ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Ki Blanchat, who scored ten points along with eight rebounds.
Hesston's victory was their sixth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 16-3. Those good results were due in large part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 59.8 points per game. As for Smoky Valley, they have not been sharp recently as the team has lost nine of their last 11 contests, which put a noticeable dent in their 4-15 record this season.
Both squads are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Hesston will take on Nickerson at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Hesston is facing Nickerson at the right time seeing as Nickerson is stuck on a five-game losing streak. As for Smoky Valley, they will be playing at home against Halstead at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Hopefully Smoky Valley focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 26 on Friday.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
