Jim Walker
jim.walker@irontontribune.com

WILLOW WOOD — Good defense can make things easy for a team to win.
The Symmes Valley Vikings had to work hard but played good defense and got an easy 54-42 win over the Portsmouth Clay Panthers in a Southern Ohio Conference game on Friday.
“We really played very good defense in the first half holding them to 10 points,” said Vikings’ coach Chad Coffman.
“I thought our focus early was very good. The foul trouble really caught up with us in the second half. You have to give Clay credit. They played very hard and they did not quit.”
The Vikings (10-8, 6-7) were led by Layken Gothard with 20 points — he was 10-of-12 from the foul line — and Jack Leith scored 13.
Portsmouth Clay (2-16, 2-9) got 19 points from Hunter Mathias while Caleb Cline scored 11 and Garrett Beegan 10.
Austin Mannon hit a pair of 3-pointers while Leith and Gothard scored four points each in the first quarter as the Vikings built an early 16-5 lead.
The defense held Clay to just five more points in the second quarter and went up 22-10 at the half.
Gothard hit a 3-pointer and scored four points while Hunter Adams added a basket to account for the Symmes Valley scoring.
The Vikings extended their lead to 40-19 after three quarters as Leith had seven points, Gothard hit a 3-pointer and scored five while Nick Klaiber had all four of his points.
The Panthers finally got their offense going in the fourth quarter and they were 12-of-17 from the foul line.
Mathias made a 3-pointer and scored 11 points while Beegan was 6-of-6 at the foul line.
Gothard countered by converting 7-of-8 at the line to end any comeback hopes by the Panthers.
The Vikings host St. Joseph on Saturday.
Ports. Clay    5    5    9    23    =    42
Sym. Valley    16    6    18    14    =    54
PORTSMOUTH CLAY (2-16, 2-9): Mason Newton 0 0 0-2 0, Chase Hudson 0 0 0-0 0, Caleb Cline 4 0 3-8 11, Hunter Mathias 4 2 5-12 19, Reece Whitley 0 0 0-0 0, Garrett Beegan 2 0 6-6 10, Gage Moore 0 0 2-2 2, Jacob Wellman 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 10 2 16-30 42. Fouls: 15. Fouled out: Beegan.
SYMMES VALLEY (10-8, 6-7): Derik Brace 0 0 2-3 2, Jack Leith 6 0 1-4 13, Michael Holschuh 0 0 0-0 0, Alec Carpenter 0 0 0-0 0, Nick Klaiber 2 0 0-0 4, Layken Gothard 2 2 10-12 20, Austin Mannon 0 2 0-0 6, Hunter Adams 2 0 0-0 4, Brock Carpenter 2 0 1-2 5. Totals: 12 14-21 54. Fouls: 21. Fouled out: None.