WILLOW WOOD — Symmes Valley’s Ethan Smith dropped 30 and Bronx Carpenter added 17, and the Vikings put the clamps on the Northwest Mohawks in the odd quarters en route to a convincing 65-45 win in a Southern Ohio Conference 2 game on Friday night.

The win keeps the Vikings in step with the Eastern Eagles, who currently hold first place in the division by a half-game. The Vikings will host Eastern next Friday night in what could decide the league title.

Both squads played evenly during the opening 4 minutes of the opening quarter, trading baskets and defensive stops.

The Vikings began to flex their muscle offensively as Smith hit a long jumper from just inside the 3-point arc, and later dished the ball off to Asher Maynard in the lane for two more on the ensuing possession.

Smith finished the game with 6 assists, 6 rebounds and 6 steals to go along with his game-high point total. Carpenter finished the game with a game-high 8 steals.

By the time Smith hit a fade away along the baseline, the Vikings had opened up a 21-11 lead after one quarter of play.

Smith finished the frame with 14 points to lead the Vikings. Carpenter chipped in 5 points during the quarter.

In the second, Parker Wamsley came off the bench for the Mohawks (9-7, 3-3 SOC II) and scored twice underneath and went 5-of-5 from the foul line to lead Northwest in scoring during the quarter.

However, the Vikings (11-5, 5-1) maintained their double-digit lead as Smith scored 10 more during the quarter, and Carpenter and Maynard each added a bucket to help give Symmes Valley a 36-25 lead at the break.

The Viking defense clamped down on the Mohawks in the third, coming up with 6 consecutive stops over a 3 minute and 30 second period. During that time, they came up with 5 steals and converted them into 9 points to balloon the lead out to 50-29.

Carpenter buried 2 from behind the arc during the third as he was the high-point man in the quarter with 10 points.

The two teams played even in the fourth, with both teams scoring 11 points a piece.

Aiden Armbrister finished as the high-point man for the Mohawks with 13. Both Wamsley and Brendan Vice finished with 9 points.

The Vikings will be on the road Tuesday at Saint Joseph in a SOC crossover matchup.

Northwest 11 14 9 11 = 45

Sym. Valley 21 15 18 11 = 65

NORTHWEST (9-7, 3-3): Brycen Montavon 3 2 0-0 8, Ian Ealey 0 0 1-2 1, Ethan Crabtree 1 0 0-0 2, Payton Bell 1 1 0-0 3, Brendan Vice 4 1 0-0 9, Parker Wamsley 2 0 5-5 9, Aiden Armbrister 5 0 3-5 13. Totals: 16 4 9-12 45. Fouls: 12. Fouled out: None.

SYMMES VALLEY (11-5, 5-1): Gradee Holland 1 0 0-0 2, Ethan Smith 10 6 4-4 30, Tanner Corn 0 1 1-2 4, Bronx Carpenter 4 3 0-0 17, Noah Hutchison 0 0 0-0 0, Will Jones 2 0 2-4 6, Logan Simpkins 0 0 0-0 0, Levi Owens 0 0 0-0 0, Asher Maynard 3 0 0-0 6. Totals: 20 6 7-10 65. Rebounds: O-5, D-20 = 25 (Smith 6, Carpenter 5, Corn 4, Jones 4). Assists: 9 (Smith 6, Carpenter 2, Maynard 2). Steals: 19 (Carpenter 8, Smith 6). Fouls: 18. Fouled out: None.