Jim Walker
jim.walker@irontontribune.com

WILLOW WOOD — Waste not, want not.
The Western Indians didn’t waste their possessions as they pulled away from the Symmes Valley Vikings 69-55 in a Southern Ohio Conference game on Wednesday.
“They’re a very efficient team. They value every possession and don’t make many mistakes and they shoot high-percentage shots,” said Vikings’ coach Donnie Saunders.
“We gave it a good effort. We handled the back-to-back games pretty good. We just played two good teams in two nights.”
The Vikings (5-9, 2-7) nearly upset first-place Beaver Eastern on Tuesday and then came right back to play league challengers Western.
Sam Angelo scored 16 points, Jarod Sheppard had 15 points and Jordan Lucas added 12 points for the Vikings.
Western had four players in double figures led by Tanner Purdue with 28 points that included 12-of-14 from the foul line.
Bryce Brewster scored 17 points, Lane Brewster 11 and Broc Jordan 10 for the Indians.
Purdue scored seven points and hit a 3-pointer along with Jordan as Western took a 15-13 lead. Angelo and Sheppard combined for 10 points and Lucas hit a triple.
Three players scored four points in the second quarter as Western took a 29-26 halftime lead. Angelo and Sheppard scored five points each and Chayden Renfroe had a key three-point play for the Vikings.
Purdue scored seven points including 4-of-4 from the foul line, Bryce Brewster had six points and Jordan five as the Indians went up 52-46.
Angelo and Lucas scored five points each with Laykin Gothard and Sheppard had four each to account for most of the Vikings’ total.
Lucas was 4-of-4 from the foul line and Gothard hit a trifecta in the fourth quarter, but Purdue scored 10points and Bryce Brewster had four.
Western was 9-of-14 from the foul line in the fourth quarter as Purdue went 6-of-8 and Jordan 2-of-2.
“We were down six or eight points and had to foul and they made their free throws. The Purdue kid is a player. He was just hard to handle,” said Saunders.
The Vikings host New Boston on Friday and visit Western on Tuesday.
Western    15    14    23    17    =    69
Sym. Valley    13    13    20    9    =    55
WESTERN (NA): Ethan Dunn 1 0 1-2 3, Alex Humphrey 0 0 0-0 0, Ryan Woods 0 0 0-0 0, Tanner Purdue 5 2 12-14 28, Lane Brewster 4 1 0-0 11, Broc Jordan 1 2 2-2 10, Bryce Brewster 8 0 1-3 17. Totals: 19 5 16-21 69. Fouls: 9. Fouled out: None.
SYMMES VALLEY (5-9, 2-7): Levi Cade 0 0 0-0 0, Chayden Renfroe 2 0 1-1 5, Sam Angelo 5 2 0-0 16, Payton Hayes 0 0 0-0 0, Jordan Lucas 2 1 6-7 12, Laykin Gothard 2 1 0-0 7, Hunter Adams 0 0 0-2 0, Jarod Sheppard 6 1 0-1 15, Brock Carpenter 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 17 5 7-11 55. Fouls: 17. Fouled out: None.