LUCAS SCORES 25
By William
LINDSBORG – The Smoky Valley boys closed out their regular season at home and on a high note as they shook off some issues in the first quarter to eventually out dual and pull away from Pratt to earn a 59-40 victory.
A high scoring first quarter found Pratt out in front by five at 19-14 before the Vikings were able to pull into a 28-28 tie heading to the halftime break.
After the intermission, Smoky Valley came out hot and out gunned Pratt 16-6 in the third and 11-6 in the fourth to gain the final 19-point win despite playing without one of their top players in Haven Lysell-Stewart.
The Vikings were hot from the field as they connected on 51% of their shots including netting 9-of-12 from beyond the three-point line while also out rebounding the visitors by 13.
Jake Lucas led Smoky Valley with a sparkling 25 points thanks to connecting on six three-pointers while Kade Blanchat also reached double digits with 13. Blanchat also topped the team in the paint with seven rebounds.
The win means the Vikings close the regular season with a 7-12 record as they now await to see how they are seeded for substate.
Pratt at SMOKY VALLEY VIKINGS
SCORING: Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 FINAL
Pratt 19 9 6 6 40
VIKINGS 14 14 16 11 59
Pratt Team Stats: FG 17-37; 3PT 3-10; FT 3-4; AST 1; RBS 8; TO 8; STL 9; BLK 3; FLS 12.
SMOKY VALLEY VIKING TEAM STATS: FG 19-37; 3PT 9-12; FT 8-12; AST 7; RBS 21; TO 14; STL 8; BLK 0; FLS 11.
SMOKY VALLEY VIKING INDIVIDUAL STAT LEADERS:
Scoring (59): Jake Lucas – 25; Kade Blanchat 13; Ryan Heline – 6; Lukas Apel – 4; Vincent Pickering – 3; Brandt Heble – 2; Evert – 2.
3-Pointers Made (9): Lucas – 6; Blanchat – 2; Pickering – 1.
Assists (7): Lucas, Blanchat, Pickering – 2, Heline – 1.
Rebounds (21): Blanchat – 7; Heline, Team – 3; Lucas, Apel, Pickering, Heble – 2.
Steals (8): Blanchat, Heline, Pickering – 2; Apel, Heble – 1.
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