Orton

FOXBURG — An impressive 1-2 punch emerged this season for A-C Valley's boys basketball team.

Entering Wednesday's season finale against Moniteau, the Falcons feature two players averaging a double-double in sophomore guard Levi Orton (20.9 points/10 rebounds per game) and junior guard/forward Eddie Stevanus (14 ppg., 10.4 rpg).

Orton is in his first year as a starter.

“I got in a lot of close games last year and that allowed me to play in pressure situations,” said Orton. “I ended up getting more varsity minutes than I expected, but it helped prepare me for this season.”

Through six games this season, Orton was averaging a solid 14.6 points per game before turning in a great 5-game stretch in which he scored no less than 24 points and averaged 33.8 per contest.

“That stretch showed what Levi can do, but it also changed the way teams defend us,” said A-C Valley coach Tony McGarvey. “They used to start games by playing man-to-man and would switch to a zone. Over the second half of the season, we're seeing a lot of the box-and-one.”

Orton has still done well against the extra attention, scoring at least 15 points in seven of the last 10 games.

“I really didn't have any expectations for myself before the season,” Orton said. “I just wanted to go out and do my best.

“I have an all-around game. A lot of my points have come from getting inside, but I can also shoot from the outside (32 treys).”

Both Orton and Stevanus have handled the duties of point guard at times this year following a preseason injury to junior Russ Carr.

Orton's father, Tim, starred at A-C Valley in the 1980s and finished with 1,265 points.

While Levi admitted that his dad's output “adds a bit of pressure,” he is more focused on team success moving forward.“I want to do what I can to put us back in the playoffs,” he said.The Falcons (6-15) will not participate in the District 9 tournament for the fifth time in six seasons.“We've struggled getting a third guy to step up in scoring,” McGarvey said. “We've had six or seven guys score in double digits in a game this season, but we've had trouble getting another guy to do it consistently.”Despite the losing record, the future is bright for the Falcons. Carr is expected to return next season and Orton and Stevanus will both be back, along with a promising crop of other underclassmen.“We've had some bumps in the road,” said McGarvey, “but it recently hit us that next year, we should be able to go 10-deep. Right now, we're mostly a team of juniors and sophomores.”“Hopefully, we will all be able to put in time in the offseason and we can put everything together next year,” said Stevanus, who figures to be key in any success the Falcons meet with in 2019-20.After seeing spot duty as a starter his freshman season, he averaged 13.9 points and six rebounds last year and was named Third Team All-KSAC. He missed time with a knee injury earlier this season, but has scored in double figures in all 17 games in which he was healthy.Stevanus' versatility adds to his value. He can play both guard positions and has spent much of this season at small forward.“I know what to do in this offense,” said Stevanus. “It's not hard for me to play any position.”“Nothing phases Eddie,” said McGarvey. “No matter who we're playing, he just goes out and plays his game.“He has great footwork and is very good at driving to the hole. One time, he'll use a spin move to get there. The next, he'll get there with a crossover.”

Stevanus