Walker Valley Beats Snow & Soddy Daisy

Blake Campbell Scores 20 As Mustangs Win Fourth Straight With 68-39 Verdict

  • Tuesday, December 10, 2019
  • John Hunt

Neither rain nor snow or any other threat of bad weather could keep the Walker Valley basketball teams from winning a pair of District 5-AAA games at Soddy Daisy Tuesday night.

The Walker Valley boys had a strong second half to pull away for a 68-39 victory over the Trojans while the Walker Valley girls rallied in the second half for a 37-31 victory.

It was a battle for the first eight minutes in the boys game with Walker Valley holding a slim 14-13 lead when the first quarter ended.

The difference was 17-16 early in the second stanza before the Mustangs used an 8-0 run for a 25-16 lead with 2:55 left in the half.

The difference was 32-22 at intermission.

Matters went in opposite direction in the second half as Walker Valley became more efficient while Soddy Daisy’s execution on both ends faltered a bit as the Mustangs slowly pulled away.

A 20-10 advantage in the third quarter gave the visitors a 52-32 lead with one stanza remaining while a 16-7 spread in the final leg allowed the final score to be a 29-point difference.

Walker Valley coach Will Campbell felt much better about his team’s play in the second half than the first.

“I thought we were a little sloppy for a while as we gave up some easy stuff in the first quarter, but we played much better in the second half and were able to pull it out.  We finally got our rhythm going offensively and we did a nice job rebounding. 

“These guys responded to everything I asked as the play in the second half was much better,” Campbell nodded after his team had improved to 7-1 overall and 2-0 in district play with their fourth straight win.

Soddy Daisy coach Bill Eller liked what he saw at the start, but he didn’t have much positive to say about the second half.

“I thought we played 12 good minutes, but our offense wasn’t very efficient and we missed a ton of layups.  I’m always pleased with our effort, but it all falls on me when the results turn out the way they did.

“I thought our starters did a decent job, but we have to develop some depth as our guys off the bench weren’t as good.  I felt like we knew exactly what Walker Valley was going to do on offense and defense, but we had a tough time stopping them.

“We just need to worry more about what we do than what those other guys do, but we just have to get better at execution and defensive stops,” he added.

Blake Campbell, the son of the head coach, scored 17 points in the first half and finished with a game-high 20.

Shimir Davis, a burly 6-6, 250-pound senior playing his first year of organized basketball, came off the bench to score 10 while Hayden Moore and Sam Beleau both followed with nine points apiece.

Tyan Massengale had 14 points to lead Soddy Daisy while Seth Coffelt was also in double figures with 11.  Logan Ricketts added nine points.

Walker Valley unofficially had a substantial 35-19 advantage on the boards.  Davis snagged six while Jake Smith claimed five.  Four others had four apiece.  Coffelt and Ricketts both had four rebounds for Soddy Daisy.

Walker Valley will be at home on Friday for its next game against McMinn County while Soddy Daisy travels to Red Bank for its next game on Thursday.

WALKER VALLEY GIRLS 37, SODDY DAISY 31: The Lady Trojans led for the entire first half, extending an 8-2 difference to 16-9 by intermission, but the second half was a different story.

A 12-4 difference in the third quarter allowed the Lady Mustangs to build a 21-20 lead with one quarter remaining.

A 3 from the wing by Bailey Branam gave Soddy Daisy a 23-21 lead a minute into the final quarter, but a pair of free throws by Emma Bentley with 5:55 to play gave the Lady Mustangs a 24-23 lead and they never trailed again.

Makayla Perez scored on a layup with 1:36 to play to knot the score at 30-30 for Soddy Daisy, but the Lady Mustangs finished the game on a 7-1 run for the six-point victory.

Laney Harris scored 13 points to lead the Walker Valley girls while Michele Benson was next with nine.

Kensy Brown and Branam both had six points for the Lady Trojans.

Walker Valley improves to 3-5 overall and 2-0 in district play while Soddy Daisy is now 3-2 overall and 0-1 in 5-AAA.

GIRLS SUMMARY

WALKER VALLEY  2  7  12  16  --  37

SODDY DAISY 8  8  4  11  --  31

WALKER VALLEY (37) – Jaynes, Caldwell, Benson 9, Roberts 5, Davis 4, Bentley 6, Harris 13.

SODDY DAISY (31) – Crawley, Perez 4, Brown 6, May 1, Branam 6, Trimiar, Hamby 4, Ledford, Yother 2, Morgan 4.

3-POINT GOALS: Walker Valley 3 (Benson, Harris 2); Soddy Daisy 1 (Branam).

BOYS SUMMARY

WALKER VALLEY  14  18  20  16  --  68

SODDY DAISY  13  9  10  7  --  39

WALKER VALLEY (68) – Davis, Tyson, Dupey 2, Moore 9, Smith 2, Berger 6, Harbison 3, Beleau 9, Sausville 6, Campbell 20, Cannon, Jackson 1, Davis 10.

SODDY DAISY (39) – Ackerman, Smith, Ryans, Massengale 14, Gooden, Coffelt 11, Patterson, Ricketts 9, Conley, Reid 2, Voiles, Sims, Swearengen 1, Jackson 2.

3-POINT GOALS: Walker Valley 6 (Moore 3, Beleau, Sausville, Campbell); Soddy Daisy 2 (Massengale 2).

(email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@gmail.com)

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