Russell Swept at Smoky Valley

Girls: Smoky Valley 41, Russell 26
Boys: Smoky Valley 56, Russell 51

LINDSBORG-The Russell High School Basketball teams stepped outside of league play on Friday night and lost both ends of their doubleheader at Smoky Valley, with the Lady Vikings winning 41-26, and the Smoky Valley Boys taking the nightcap, 56-51.

In the Girls game, Smoky Valley set the tone early, scoring on a layup not even 10 seconds into the contest and bolting out to an 11-0 lead before settling for a 16-4 advantage after the opening eight minutes.  The Lady Vikings extended their lead at halftime to 27-9 and led 38-15 after three quarters on their way to the 15-point win after Russell outscored them 11-3 in the final period.

Hayden Creamer led Russell (2-13, 1-5 Mid-Continent League) with eight points.  Kenzley Haxton was the leading scorer for Smoky Valley (6-7, 1-2 Central Kansas League) with 12 points.

The Boys game was a back and forth affair as the Vikings held a 13-5 lead in the first quarter, but Sam Thielen personally led the Broncos' first rally by scoring three straight baskets as Russell pulled into a 13-13 tie.  The Broncos led by as many as five points in the second quarter, but a buzzer beater by Smoky Valley's Titus Griffith trimmed the margin to 25-22 at intermission.  Russell continued to build small leads during the third quarter but the Vikings stayed close and trailed just 38-36 heading into the final eight minutes.

Turnovers and fouls doomed the Broncos down the stretch as Smoky Valley outscored them 21-13 to rally for the five-point victory.

Thielen, who has been the team's  leading scorer for much of the season, led Russell (8-8, 3-3 MCL) with 22 points while Ian Strobel added 10 points before exiting the game late in the third quarter with an apparent ankle injury.  Kristian Ryan scored 10 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter to lead Smoky Valley (9-7, 2-1 CKL) to the comeback win.

The Russell teams will be back out on the road on Monday, February 2 when they travel to Haven for another non-league tilt.  The Girls game will tip off at around 6 p.m. with the Boys game to follow at 7:45 p.m.  Both games will be broadcast live on KRSL 95.9 FM, online at KRSL.com and streamed on Alexa devices.