Arbor View rallies past Shadow Ridge

For the first three quarters Monday night, Arbor View's boys basketball team struggled to make easy shots, missing layup after layup.

But sophomore forward Sevonyae Smith didn't have any trouble in the fourth quarter. The 6-foot-5-inch Smith was 5-for-6 from the field and scored 10 of his 17 points in the final period as the Aggies rallied for a 71-68 home victory over Shadow Ridge.

"We just stuck with it," Arbor View coach Mike Brascia said. "We knew he could go through the square. He's a dynamite player."

Smith twice pulled the Aggies within two points with a post bucket, then tied the game at 65 when he recovered a loose ball under the basket and scored with 1:34 to play.

After a Shadow Ridge turnover, Arbor View's Jesse Vogel drove down the lane and scored on a lefty scoop shot with 1:02 left to give the Aggies a 67-65 lead, and they wouldn't trail again.

"We lean on him hard," Brascia said of Vogel, the team's lone senior starter. "He's our go-to guy. He's put a lot of work and effort tin the weight room in the offseason to put himself in that position. A lot of the shots he's making right now, he struggled with last year. And he makes them with ease, now."

The Aggies were able to seal the game at the free-throw line, making four foul shots in the final 22 seconds. Arbor View was 10-for-11 from the line in the fourth quarter and 19-for-24 for the game.

Smith added seven rebounds, and Vogel had 14 points for Arbor View, which had lost four of its previous five games. Those losses were decided by a total of 15 points.

"The only thing that the kids have got to realize is that they can string these together," Brascia said. "And that's just being a young team. We don't know that yet."

Elijah Westall added 12 points, and Comiillion Smith scored 11 for the Aggies, who had a freshman and three sophomores on the court at times.

The game looked like it was going to be a blowout early, with Shadow Ridge taking a 16-4 lead with 1:43 to go in the opening quarter. But Arbor View came all the way back to take the lead at one point in the second quarter, and trailed 34-30 at the half after a 30-foot 3-pointer by Shadow Ridge's James Fuller.

Fuller had 24 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Mustangs, who had won seven of their previous eight games. Nick Blake added 17 points, and Jerell Spring had 15 points and six rebounds for Shadow Ridge.

Contact prep sports editor Damon Seiters at 702-380-4587 or dseiters@reviewjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter: @DamonSeiters