Jim Walker

jim.walker@irontontribune.com

 

WILLOW WOOD — Sometimes you just have to give the other guy the credit.

Symmes Valley did all it could, but it wasn’t enough as the red-hot Eastern Eagles outscored the Vikings 84-74 Friday in a Southern Ohio Conference game.

“They just the eyes out of it. We didn’t play that bad, they just shot the ball,” said Vikings’ coach Donnie Saunders.

Eastern hit 11 3-pointers and had five players in double digits led by Ethan Leist with 20 points and Garrett Fitch with 19. Josh Thacker scored 14, Trace Creech 12 and Ben Hesson 11.

Tyler Rowe had a game-high 25 points for the Vikings (9-5, 6-3). Kurt Adams scored 17 and Jonathan Kouns added 10.

Thacker had seven points in the first quarter to offset eight points by Rowe as the Eagles took a 21-13 lead.

Fitch scored 10 points in the second quarter and Fultz added six as Eastern erupted for 27 points and took a 48-28 halftime lead.

The Vikings battled back in the third quarter and outscored the Eagles 19-12 to make it 60-47. Adams and Jacob Klaiber scored seven points each for the Vikings. Leist had 10 of Eastern’s 12 points.

Rowe pumped in 14 points in the fourth quarter as the Vikings scored 27 points, but the Eagles were 10-of-16 from the foul line and Fitch was 4-of-6.

“We just got too far behind. We played a real good second half, but then that energy thing caught up with us,” said Saunders.

Eastern 21 27 12 22 = 84

Sym. Valley 13 15 19 27 = 74

BEAVER EASTERN (8-6, 6-2): Ethan Leist 4 4 0-0 20, Justin Fultz 1 2 0-0 8, Garrett Fitch 1 4 5-8 19, Brennan Bobst 0 0 0-0 0, Ben Hesson 5 0 1-3 11, Trace Creech 5 0 2-2 12, Josh Thacker 4 1 3-8 14. Totals: 18 11 11-21 84. Fouls: 21. Fouled out: None.

SYMMES VALLEY (9-5, 6-3): Blake Sells 1 0 0-0 2, Seth Jarrell 3 1 0-0 9, Kurt Adams 4 3 0-1 17, Jonathan Kouns 2 1 3-7 10, Ben Ferguson 1 0 0-0 2, Jacob Klaiber 4 0 1-2 9, Tyler Rowe 9 0 7-12 25. Totals: 24 5 11-22 74. Fouls: 19. Fouled out: Kouns, Klaiber, Rowe.