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ALBANY — If there’s one thing Vinton County knows how to do best, it’s winning in the TVC-Ohio.
That was all the more evident on Tuesday as the Vikings traveled to Alexander, looking for win number two in league play this season.
Sparked by an 8-0 run to end the first half, Vinton County (3-1, 2-0 TVC-Ohio) never looked back and pulled away from the Spartans by a 63-47 final – making it 19 straight wins against conference opponents, dating back to January of 2023.
CREDIT: Brock Netter/SOSA
“Any time you can go on the road and get a win against a league opponent, it’s big. [Alexander] is a good team. They’re young and they’re going to get better as the season goes on, but I’m excited to come in here and get a win,” VIkings head coach NJ Kight said. “I thought we were a little flat early, but our guys responded well. Once we got into the second quarter, we flipped a switch and played really well.”
Both teams played fast out of the gate in a track-meet-style pace. But a pair of 3’s from Alexander’s Mason Morris and another from Noah Ray gave the Spartans (1-3, 0-2 TVC-Ohio) a 15-14 lead after the first eight minutes.
The stalemate continued into the second as neither team was able to separate themselves on the scoreboard. With 3:03 remaining, Vinton County found itself ahead by a 24-23 count when Alexander called a timeout. From there, the Vikings flipped a switch.
Vinton County came out of the timeout and got a stop on the defensive end. The Vikings then followed it up with an 8-0 run, led by Cobra Sharp and Hayden Reynolds, pushing the lead to 32-23 as both teams went into the locker rooms.
After gaining ground to end the half, Vinton County kept its foot on the gas in the early stages of the third quarter.
Though the Vikings started the half slow offensively, going 1-for-7 from the field, their defense picked up the slack. Forcing four turnovers in the first three and a half minutes of the frame, Vinton County controlled the possession battle and later capitalized on the other end.
“Before the game, I wrote three keys up on the board, and two of them were to value the basketball and play fast,” Kight said. “We do feel like we can come out and play fast because we’ve got some really dynamic guards that can get out in transition and score. I thought we did a really good job of that tonight.”
Sharp and Reynolds each knocked down shots from outside while Luke Dimel scored six points in the paint as the Vikings pushed their lead into double digits, taking a 48-32 lead into the final quarter.
And although Alexander did its best to chip away at the deficit, it would all be to no avail as the Vikings left town with a 63-47 win, improving to 2-0 against league competition.
“We know any time you come to Alexander, it’s going to be a crazy environment. Any league game on the road is a rough environment. So we just needed to come in here and take care of business,” Cobra Sharp said after the game. “We have Meigs at home on Friday and it’s the biggest game of the year so far. So we wanted to win this to get ready for that. We took care of business.”
The Vikings were led in scoring by Sharp, who put up 17 points and brought down seven boards. Reynolds followed with 13 points while Dimel finished with 10 points and five boards. Nash Yates also contributed eight points and a pair of 3-pointers on the night.
For Alexander, freshman Jace Cooper paced the Spartans with a 15-point, 10-rebound showing off the bench. Mason Morris followed with 10 points of his own while Isaac Waller put up eight points and grabbed six rebounds.
Both teams are back in action with important TVC-Ohio matchups on Friday. Alexander will travel to Nelsonville-York while Vinton County welcomes Meigs for a highly-anticipated meeting.
“I didn’t want to get too much into the next game before this one was over, so I’ll start watching some film tonight and tomorrow. Obviously, they’re skilled, they’re big, and they’re well-coached,” Kight said. “[Meigs] Coach [Ryan] Davis does a great job and has for years. It’s going to be a challenge, but I know our guys are looking forward to the challenge. We know how good they are, and we’re going to really see how good we are on Friday night.”
BOX SCORE
Vinton County: 14-18-16-15 — 63
Alexander: 15-8-9-15 — 47
Vinton County: Sharp 17, Reynolds 13, Dimel 10, Yates 8, Montgomery 7, Moore 5, White 3
Alexander: Cooper 15, Morris 10, Waller 8, Ray 8, Felts 4, Bateman 2
SPONSORED BY VINTON COUNTY NATIONAL BANK
