ATHENS – On paper, this is an equal match.

Tuesday, March 06, 2001

ATHENS – On paper, this is an equal match. Now it’s time to put it on the court.

The Southeast District Division IV tournament semifinal game between the Symmes Valley Vikings and Whiteoak Wildcats is an even matchup when looking at the statistics.

How well those statistics play out will be determined when the two teams tip-off at 6:15 p.m. Tuesday at the Ohio University Convocation Center.

The Vikings are 16-5 – a school record for wins in a season – and were 8-4 in the Southern Ohio Conference Division I race, good for second place.

Whiteoak comes into the game 17-3 and champions of the Southern Hills small school division.

Leading the Vikings in scoring is 6-foot-4 senior center Justin Myers with a 20.6 average including tournament games. He also averages 11.9 rebounds and 1.6 blocked shots.

Two other Vikings in double figures are senior guard Adam Corn at 13.6 and sophomore Drew Hunt at 10.7.

Whiteoak has three players averaging in doubles figures led by Ryan Barnett with 19.5 points and 5.0 rebounds a game. Justin Michael had a 13.6 average plus 6.0 assists and 5.8 steals a contest, and Doug Hawke averages 12.6 points and 4.0 assists.

The other starters and bench players may be the difference.

Symmes Valley’s starting lineup will probably include senior Chris Lafon with a 3.5 scoring average and senior Brad Carpenter with a 3.4 scoring mark, 4.4 rebounds, and 2.8 assists.

Travis Wilson, a 6-5 senior, could also get the starting call.

Whiteoak’s other two starters will be Jeremy Johnson and Chad Young. Johnson has 8.0 scoring and 6.0 rebounding averages while Young gets an average of 5.0 points and 4.0 rebounds per outing.