Smoky Valley fell on hard times earlier this season, but after back-to-back wins it seems like their luck might finally be changing. They walked away with a 58-51 victory over the Nickerson Panthers on Friday. That's more bragging rights for the Vikings, who also won the pair's last head-to-head.
Leading Smoky Valley to victory were Braylon Olson and Ty Heitschmidt. Olson went 7 for 17 en route to 20 points, while Heitschmidt almost dropped a double-double on 13 points and nine boards. Olson is trending in the right direction considering he's improved his point production for three straight games. Another player making a difference was Atticus Pavlovich, who posted 11 points.
Vikings
| 01/17/25 vs Nickerson | 12 |
| 01/13/25 vs Hoisington | 8 |
| 01/14/25 @ Chapman | 7 |
| 12/20/24 @ Halstead | 7 |
| 01/09/25 @ Southeast of Saline | 6 |
Smoky Valley smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 12 offensive rebounds. That's the most offensive boards they've managed all season.
When it comes to explaining why Nickerson lost, don't look at Riley Brawner. Despite the final result, he dropped a double-double on 13 points and 11 rebounds. Riley Linn was another key player, putting up nine points and five boards.
Smoky Valley's win ended a six-game drought at home dating back to last season and bumped them up to 2-6. As for Nickerson, their defeat was their eighth straight on the road dating back to last season, which dropped their record down to 1-7.
Smoky Valley has already played their next contest (against Sterling), but no score has been uploaded at the time of writing. Nickerson wasted no time getting back out on the court and has already played their next matchup, a 51-35 loss against Central Plains on the 20th.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
