Jim Walker
jim.walker@irontontribune.com

WILLOW WOOD — The fourth quarter has not been kind to the Symmes Valley Vikings this season, and it wasn’t very nice again on Tuesday.
The Vikings trailed by just one point heading into the fourth quarter only to have the Portsmouth Notre Dame Titans outscore them 25-19 to take a 72-65 Southern Ohio Conference win.
Jermaine Powell scored 26 points, Jonathan Strickland got 18 and Dylan Seison 10 to lead the Titans.
Luke Leith had another big game for the Vikings with 24 points, 14 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 blocks. Drew Scherer added 10 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists.
Symmes Valley (1-3, 1-2) took a 16-15 first quarter lead as Grayson Walsh hit a 3-pointer and scored 5 points and Leith added 4 more. Strickland scored 14 of the 15 points for the Titans.
Notre Dame rallied to take a 32-29 halftime lead s Powell hit a trey and scored 7 points. Leith kept the Vikings in the game with 7 points and Scherer added a trifecta.
Symmes Valley cut the deficit to 47-46 at the end of the third quarter as Leith scored 9 points and Eli Patterson drained a triple and scored 5 points.
Powell had a pair of 3-pointers and Dominic Sparks scored 4 points to keep the Titans ahead.
Seison scored 6 points while Power knocked down two more 3-pointers and went 7-of-8 at the line as the Titans outscored the Vikings 25-19 in the fourth quarter.
Scherer scored 5 points with Leith and Josh Ferguson adding 4 each for the Vikings.
Notre Dame 15 17 15 25 = 72
Sym. Valley 16 13 17 19 = 65
NOTRE DAME: Carter Campbell 0 0 1-2 1, Jermaine Powell 1 5 9-11 26, Caleb Nichols 0 0 1-2 1, Dominic Sparks 2 0 3-4 7, Jackson Clark 2 0 2-3 6, Dylan Seison 5 0 0-2 10, Jonathan Strickland 6 2 0-0 18, Ethan Krammer 1 0 1-2 3. Totals: 17 7 17-26 72. Fouls: 19. Fouled out: None.
SYMMES VALLEY (1-3, 1-2):S Caden Brammer 1 1 0-0 5, Luke Leith 10 0 4-12 24, Josh Ferguson 3 0 0-2 6, Levi Best 1 0 0-2 2, Drew Scherer 1 1 5-9 10, Eli Patterson 2 1 2-4 9, Logan Justice 0 0 0-0 0, Grayson Walsh 3 1 0-0 9. Totals: 25-65 11-27 65. 3-pt goals: 4-17 (Brammer 1-3, Ferguson 0-1, Walsh 1-3, Best 0-2, Scherer 1-7, Patterson 1-1). Rebounds: 5-O, 22-D -27 (Leith 14, Scherer 6). Assists: 15 (Scherer 4, Walsh 4). Steals: 8 (Brammer 3, Leith 3). Blocks: 3 (Leith 2, Brammer 1). Turnovers: 19. Fouls: 19. Fouled out: Ferguson.