HOLMES TOWNSHIP — River Valley guards Dylan Johnson and Ethan Bell are as good as advertised.
The two guards scored 26 and 25, respectively, and had 17 of their points in the final 4:30 of the game, breaking a tie, and leading the Vikings to a 79-72 win over Wynford Saturday night.
Wynford’s Josh Crall had a game-high 36 points and knocked down a 10-footer with 4:30 left in the game to tie it at 59-59.
From there, the River Valley guards took control as Bell knocked down a lay-up and Klayton Kenney added a jumper, giving the Vikings a 63-59 lead.
Crall drained a 3-pointer to cut the lead to one with 3:33 left, before Bell and Johnson hit back-to-back 3s, giving River Valley a 69-62 lead with 2:42 left in the game.
From there, the Vikings hit six straight free throws to seal it.
River Valley coach Rodney Brown said that his guards have been good all season, even though this was the two first back-to-back games the Vikings have played this season.
“We have some kids that can really put it in,” Brown said. “We started to hit some shots and we started to move a little bit. Their zone slowed us down and we were tired from last night. We had a tough one last night. This was our first back-to-back and we’re young and we’re learning.
“Once we got going, and we have a couple of guys who can really play, we did a nice job,” Brown added.
Wynford coach Steve Mohr said that his team didn’t slow down River Valley’s guards.
“The bottom line is, their two best scorers came out and lit us up,” Mohr said. “I’ll take responsibility for that. We didn’t make the adjustment defensively to do anything to stop them and we sat in our zone, so that’s on me.
“They are a good basketball team,” Mohr added. “That’s as good a guard tandem as we have seen all season.”
The Vikings held an 18-17 lead after one period and led 36-34 at the break.
“I thought we played well, I just thought early in the game we had some easy scoring opportunities we didn’t cash in on,” Mohr said. “We didn’t convert at the foul line in the third and fourth quarters. We had a stretch there where we missed four or five in a row.
“I think that had something to do with it.”
Crall scored 15 of his 36 points in the pivotal fourth period, but the Vikings scored 29 points in the final period.
“(Crall) is tough,” Brown said. “I thought we did a decent job on him. We did the best we could. He puts it in, he’s a heck of a player.”
But Brown said that his team doing a better job of moving the basketball was the difference.
“We got good ball movement. We got the ball to the right guys at the right time,” Brown said. “And we made our free throws, which is big for us.”
Gavin Burris backed Crall with 14 points off the bench for the Royals.
“Gavin did a good job off the bench,” Mohr said. “We just let some things get away from us late in the game.
“But this will be a game that will serve us well,” Mohr added. “They are a Division II school, a much bigger school than us. This loss does nothing for what our goals are, being contenders in the league. We just have to make sure we put this game behind us and move on.”
Box score
River Valley 18 18 14 29 — 79
Wynford 17 17 16 22 — 72
Stats
River Valley (6-3): Shots 29-62; 3-pt shots 9 (Ethan Bell 5, Dylan Johnson 3, Braylon Boyd); Free throws 12-14; Rebounds 30; Turnovers 12. Scoring: Dylan Johnson 9 5 26, Karson Lang 2 0 4, Ethan Bell 8 4 25, Klayton Kenney 3 2 8, Ben Mayse 2 0 4, Braylon Boyd 2 0 5, Jakhi Henderson 3 1 7.
Wynford (7-3): Shots 26-60; 3-pt shots 5 (Josh Crall 3, Gavin Burris, Isaac Sterrett); Free throws 15-22; Rebounds 33; Turnovers 14. Scoring: Isaac Sterrett 1 2 5, Josh Crall 12 9 36, James Schiefer 3 0 6, Gavin Burris 6 1 14, Jaron Filliater 2 3 7, Gavin Leffler 2 0 4.
JV: River Valley 37-34.