4 scorers hit double figures as Vikings get much needed win over Rebels

WILLOW WOOD — The Symmes Valley Vikings withstood a 3-point shooting barrage from South Gallia and got a big third quarter to score a 64-47 win against the rival Rebels in a key Southern Ohio Conference game on Tuesday night.

After the game, Vikings coach Alvin Carpenter breathed a sigh of relief after getting a needed win after a string of losses to tough competition.

"We needed that."

"Really, we played hard the whole game, we hustled pretty good," said Carpenter. "The real problem we had was we were't getting on the 3-point shooters. That's all we talked about at halftime was getting after (Stowers) and (Snyder)."

Several factors played into the Vikings win, but one key to their success was working down low in the paint.

The Vikings out-rebounded South Gallia 44-24, pulling down 17 offensive boards. Coincidentally, the Vikings limited the Rebels chances at second chance points with just 8 offensive rebounds on the night.

Leading by 4 at the half, the Vikings took control of the game in the third, outscoring the Rebels 18-11 and limiting South Gallia to just a pair of 3-pointers from the field.

A 3-point play from Fields pushed the Symmes Valley (3-6 1-1 SOC) lead out to 43-40 midway through the quarter and the Vikings were able to take a 49-38 lead into the final stanza.

In the fourth, the Rebels fought to get within 49-42 with 6:00 minutes remaining following two driving layups from Frazee.

"I feel like it finally paid off for us after playing all those tough games," said Carpenter. "But hey, (South Gallia) is a good team. They've played a lot of teams tough this year."

However on the ensuing possession, Roberts caught a pass from Maynard for a trey to make it a double-digit lead.

From that point on, the defense came up with multiple turnovers and got into transition to push their lead out to 60-42 with less than 3 minutes remaining.

Both teams came out with plenty of offensive firepower in the first quarter.

The Rebels (4-6, 0-2) knocked down 3 shots from behind the arc with Stowers hitting two and Snyder with the other to grab an early 12-8 lead.

Over the final 68 seconds of the opening quarter and into the second, the Vikings would go on a 15-3 run to control the lead for the rest of the half.

The run would get started on a 3-pointer from Carpenter and a drive by Maynard for a layup to take the lead back at 13-12 to end the first.

In the second, the Vikings continued to make a push with Simpkins scoring on a put back and a 3-pointer from Roberts to help open up a 23-15 lead with 5:02 on the clock.

Simpkins said

"We've been on a dry spell and just trying to shoot too much. But we're a driving team and we focused on that and trying to get to the basket and get to the rim."

Roberts provided valuable bench points for the Vikings, finishing with a team-high 15 points, 3 steals and 2 rebounds and had a simple response for being a key part of the win.

"It felt good for sure," Roberts said with a grin.

Later in the frame, Simpkins would close out the first half scoring for Symmes Valley with a drive down the middle of the defense for a layup.

South Gallia continued to stay hot from the outside with four more triples to keep pace. Snyder hit twice from downtown and Stowers and Kemp had the other two for the Rebels.

The Rebels would get a late triple in the corner from Stowers off an inbound pass to close the gap and trail the Vikings 31-27 at the break.

Despite the tough loss, Rebels head coach Travis Elliott still gave his players credit for fighting until the end.

"We played hard and our kids didn't quit," said South Gallia coach Travis Elliott. "We just couldn't get shots to fall for long stretches in that second half and it killed us. Symmes Valley played a great game and have some players."

The Rebels were led by Snyder with a game-high 21 points, 7 rebounds and a steal. Stowers finished with 12 points, a pair of steals and a pair of rebounds.

The win also snapped a 6-game losing skid for the Vikings, so getting a win against their rivals was something Simpkins was glad to get two things done at once.

"It feels great to end our losing streak against them and hopefully move onto getting some more league wins."

South Gallia 12 15 11 9 = 47

Sym. Valley  13 18 18 15 = 64

SOUTH GALLIA (4-6, 0-2): Layne Wright 0 0 0-0 0, Caleb Frazee 2 0 3-4 7, Hunter Wright 0 0 0-0 0, Hayden Kemp 0 1 2-4 5, Carson Stowers 0 4 0-0 12, JJ Snyder 2 5 2-2 21, Dusty Mooney 0 0 0-0 0, Wyatt Clary 0 0 0-0 0, Blaise Davidson 1 0 0-0 2. Totals: 5 10 7-10 47. Rebounds: (O-8,D-16) 24 (L. Wright 7, Snyder 7, Frazee 3). Assists: 7 (L. Wright 2, Frazee 2, Kemp 2). Steals: 9 (Kemp 3, L. Wright 2, Stowers 2). Turnovers: 17. Fouls: 14. Fouled out: None.

SYMMES VALLEY (3-6, 1-1): Key Roberts 3 3 0-1 15, Andy Strow 0 0 0-0 0, Mason Campbell 2 0 2-2 6, Gradee Holland 0 0 0-0 0, Logan Simpkins 5 0 0-0 10, Bronx Carpenter 2 1 4-4 11, Asher Maynard 4 0 1-1 9, Tanner Corn 5 0 2-2 12, Zayne Wilson 2 0 2-2 6, Jackson Fields 3 0 2-3 6. Totals: 21 4 10-11 64. Rebounds: (O-17, D-27) 44 (Maynard 11, Simpkins 9, Carpenter 5, Corn 5). Assists: 6 (Maynard 3). Steals: 11 (Carpenter 4, Roberts 3, Corn 2). Turnovers: 18. Fouls: 10. Fouled out: None.