2nd quarter surge helps Vikings roll to win over Bobcats

WILLOW WOOD — A strong second quarter from the Symmes Valley Vikings proved to be the spark needed to rout the Green Bobcats 72-50 on Friday night in a non-league game between Southern Ohio Conference teams.

Vikings coach Alvin Carpenter felt great about the win afterwards, but felt the rust still hadn't worn off and saw room for improvement.

"We're starting to play a little and get football out of our system. We're starting to play pretty decent, but we still got a long way to go. We still make some silly mistakes and we have to finish around the basket."

On the night, both teams combined for 28 steals. Coincidentally, the teams combined for 38 turnovers.

"We wanted to put pressure on them and try to make them make mistakes. We put enough pressure on them to get the job done," said Carpenter.

In the first, both teams battled back and forth, trading scores and the lead.

When Gabe Blevins sank a pair of free throws at the 3:01 mark, the Bobcats up 13-11. But that would be the final time Green led the rest of the way as the Vikings took over.

Simpkins tied the game up with two free throws, then Carpenter drained a circus shot around the basket to put the Vikings up for good.

Blevins tied the game up again with two more free throws, but Carpenter answered by burying a trey from long range and Key Roberts came up with a steal for a layup to begin the takeover.

"I think at the end of the first half we were shooting 60-percent from three and 20-percent elsewhere," Carpenter said with a chuckle. "But we managed to still do alright."

In the second, the Vikings began to flex their offensive muscle, outscoring the Bobcats 17-4 in the quarter and take a 37-22 lead into the locker room.

Carpenter led all scorers in the quarter with 11 points, including a 3-pointer from just past mid-court at the buzzer. Roberts drilled a 3-pointer. Zayne Wilson sank 2 foul shots and Jackson Fields added a free throw as well.

On the defensive end, the Vikings forced 8 turnovers.

"We were supposed to get ball pressure and we knew we had to stop Knapp, he's solid and a 1,000-point scorer. And we did pretty good moving the ball around," said Bronx Carpenter. "Even defensively we rotated. We're looking solid for the second game."

In the third, both offenses picked up, but the Vikings still outscored Green 24-20.

Carpenter continued to find the basket, scoring 9 more. Tanner Corn dropped 5 points and Wilson chipped in 4 to be scoring leaders in the frame.

The Vikings coasted along in the final quarter, with Carpenter piling on 5 more points onto the stat sheet. Mason Campbell added 4 points and Tucker Ross had a bucket off the bench.

The Bobcats were led offensively by Blevins, who finished the night with 16 points and 4 rebounds. Jon Knapp finished with a double-double with 10 in points and rebounds. Jacob Sampson and Uriah Satterfield finished with 9 apiece.

Green 18 4 20 8 = 50

Sym. Valley  20 17 24 11 = 68

GREEN (0-1): Gabe Blevins 5 0 6-7 16, Jon Knapp 5 0 0-1 10, Blake Chaney 0 0 0-0 0, Riddick Jenkins 1 0 0-0 2, Brennan Renison 1 0 0-0 2, Noah McMackin 0 0 0-0 0, Carson Johnson 1 0 0-1 2, Kase McIntyre 0 0 0-0 0, Jacob Sampson 0 3 0-0 9, Uriah Satterfield 4 0 1-1 9. Totals: 17 3 7-10 50. Rebounds: (O-6,D-29) 35 (Knapp 10, Blevins 4, Johnson 4, Renison 4). Assists: 5 (Knapp 2). Steals: 11 (Johnson 3, Knapp 3, Satterfield 3). Totals: 16 4 2-8 38. Turnovers: 23. Fouls: 19. Fouled out: Corey Williams None.

SYMMES VALLEY (2-0): Key Roberts 2 1 0-0 7, Andy Strow 0 0 0-0 0, Mason Campbell 2 0 2-2 6, Gradee Holland 0 0 0-0 0, Logan Simpkins 1 2 2-2 10, Bronx Carpenter 5 4 13-14 35, Tanner Corn 1 1 0-2 5, Zayne Wilson 2 0 2-2 6, Jackson Fields 0 0 1-2 1, Tucker Ross 1 0 0-0 2. Totals: 14 8 20-24 72. Rebounds: (O-15, D-27) 42 (Carpenter 8, Campbell 4, Corn 4 Roberts 4). Assists: 5 (Simpkins 4, Carpenter, Roberts). Steals: 17 (Carpenter 6, Campbell 4, Wilson 2). Turnovers: 14. Fouls: 16. Fouled out: None.