Vikings Dispose Of Mohawks; Turn Focus Towards Friday Night
- Staff
- Feb 6
- 4 min read
MCDERMOTT — Three different Symmes Valley players reached double figures and the Vikings held off a late charge from Northwest to secure a 58-52 win over the Mohawks in a Southern Ohio Conference 2 game on Wednesday night.
Vikings coach Alvin Carpenter was weary of a possible trap game after the teams' win on Tuesday night against Saint Joseph. But Ethan Smith scored 16 points and pulled down 7 rebounds, Bronx Carpenter scored 14 and grabbed a team-high 9 boards, and big man Will Jones chipped in 10 points to thwart any chances a Mohawk upset bid.
The Vikings move their record to 13-5 overall and 6-1 in the division and now sets the stage for Friday night's battle with the Eastern Eagles for the SOC 2 championship. The two teams met in Beaver on Jan. 25 where Eastern came away with a 64-45 win.
The Vikings jumped all over the Mohawks in the first period forcing 7 turnovers on the defensive end.
On the offensive end, Jones scored on back-to-back possessions with a jumper from the foul line and off a pick and roll with Smith. Then Smith buried a 3-pointer from behind the arc to give the Vikings a 14-8 lead after one.
Ethan Crabtree hit a triple at the beginning of the second and cut Northwest's deficit to three.
But a 13-0 run over a two minute span flipped the momentum in the Vikings favor.
Carpenter scored 9 points during the run, including a layup after Gradee Holland came up with a steal in the backcourt and found the freshman under the basket, a 3-pointer, a pair of free throws, and another layup after Smith picked the pocket of a Northwest player.
Crabtree hit 3 more trifectas and Brycen Montovan added one of his own for Northwest, but the Vikings outscored the Mohawks 23-16 in the second frame.
The Vikings capped off the scoring in the first half when Tanner Corn came up with a steal and hit Smith on a runout layup to make the score 37-24 at the break.
Northwest (10-8, 3-4) rallied with a 13-2 run over the first 6 minutes of the second half to come within two. Brendan Vice scored 11 points in the third, including a 3-pointer to cut the score to 39-37. Then Vice followed that up with a rebound on the defensive end and took it coast to coast for a layup to tie the game up with 2:15 remaining in the third.
Carpenter gave the Vikings back the lead with 2 free throws after drawing a foul on a drive to the hoop. Then Smith followed with a drive to the hoop and laid the ball in to give Symmes Valley a 46-42 lead going into the fourth.
Things tightened up in the fourth, as both teams traded baskets for much of the period.
Northwest knotted the score up at 50-all with just 2:51 remaining in the fourth after Vice scored in the low block on an inbound pass under the basket.
Symmes Valley would take the lead for good on their ensuing possession as Carpenter found Jones all alone in the lane for a layup. Then Jones scored again on the following possession after rebounding a missed shot to make the score 54-50.
After a made free throw from Carpenter, Northwest got a quick bucket from Montovan to pull within three.
The Mohawks were gifted a chance to tie the game with 25 seconds remaining when Ealey was fouled on a 3-point attempt. But the sophomore couldn't convert from the charity stripe, missing all three attempts.
Northwest was forced to foul again and Smith sank a free throw and Carpenter swished 2 to close the game out.
Both Vice Crabtree led the Mohawks with 15 points each. Vice finished with 12 rebounds to notch a double-double. Montovan and Armbrister each finished with 10.
Sym. Valley 14 23 9 12 = 58
Northwest 8 16 18 10 = 52
SYMMES VALLEY (13-5, 6-1): Gradee Holland 0 0 0-0 0, Logan Simpkins 1 0 1-2 3, Ethan Smith 5 1 5-11 16, Tanner Corn 3 0 0-0 6, Bronx Carpenter 3 1 7-8 14, Noah Hutchison 0 0 0-2 0, Will Jones 4 0 2-2 10, Asher Maynard 4 1 0-0 9. Totals: 20 3 15-25 58. Rebounds: O-18, D-16 = 34 (Carpenter 9, Smith 7, Simpkins 5). Assists: 13 (Smith 4, Corn 3, Carpenter 3, Holland 2). Steals: 13 (Carpenter 4, Smith 2, Corn 2, Jones 2). Blocks: 4 (Corn 3, Simpkins). Fouls: 19. Fouled out: Jones (4th, 1:09), Maynard (4th, 0:25).
NORTHWEST (10-8, 3-4): Brycen Montovan 4 2 0-0 10, Ethan Crabtree 5 4 1-2 15, Jake Brown 1 0 0-0 2, Brendan Vice 6 1 2-2 15, Aiden Armbrister 3 0 4-6 10, Ivan Ealey 0 0 0-3 0, Jaxon Powell 0 0 0-0 0, Parker Wamsley 0 0 0-0 0, Payton Ball 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 19 7 7-13 52. Rebounds: O-15, D-24 = 39 (Vice 12, Armbrister 7, Brown 6). Assists: 9 (Crabtree 2, Vice 2, Wamsley 2). Steals: 5 (Montovan 2, Vice 2, Brown). Turnovers: 17. Fouls: 21. Fouled out: Crabtree (4th, 0:18).
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