Valley TRC Rival Whitko In 4OT Thriller
December 17, 2016 at 7:58 a.m.
By Mark [email protected]
With each team needing heroics to extend the game, and a couple of buzzer-beaters just missing, the host Vikings outlasted Whitko 96-92 in four overtimes in a Three Rivers Conference game Friday night.
The Wildcats’ Nate Walpole drove down the left side near the baseline to tie the game at 66 with 8.3 seconds left in regulation. Valley standout Alex Craig’s three-pointer from the top of the key as time expired drew back iron, and off to overtime the teams went.
After a Whitko turnover with four seconds left in the first extra period, Craig’s running jumper rimmed out at the buzzer, sending the teams to a second overtime tied at 70.
The Wildcats bolted out to an 83-77 lead with 2:12 left in the third overtime. Valley retied the game with four points from Jarod Duzenbery, sandwiched between a pair of 1-of-2 trips to the free throw line for Keith Wright.
With the game tied and a minute to go, Valley held the ball for a last shot. Cameron Parker’s open three from the right corner, in front of the Viking bench, was too strong, and the ball was tipped out of bounds as the clock struck zero.
The fourth overtime began with Valley running the clock, holding the ball for the first 2:08 of the period before Wright was left open for a layup. Walpole hit a free throw to cut the lead, but Craig answered with a layup of his own with 45 seconds remaining to give Valley a 91-88 lead.
Walpole hit a pair of charities to cut the lead to one with 38.4 seconds to go, but it was as close as Whitko got the rest of the way. Wright hit a pair of freebies with 19 seconds left, and another pair with two seconds left to seal the win.
Both teams played the same guys through most of the contest, and two players fouled out from each side, leaving some younger, less experienced hoopsters on the floor late.
“We intended to have more guys play than we did but the way the game went, we got caught in a situation where we were playing the same five,” Valley head coach Bill Patrick said. “I wasn’t sure we were in good enough condition to go that long, but obviously we were for the most part.”
Even though Walpole finished with 46 points, Patrick wasn’t disappointed in how the Vikings played defense against him.
“We played hard, and we made Walpole work hard to get his points. I thought D.J. (Heckman) did a good job on him until he fouled out. He’s a hard player to stop, really.”
On the other side, Whitko head coach Eli Hensen felt his team was too dependent on Walpole.
“He was the only one that stepped up,” he said. “Some of these other guys need to step up. We were up six with a minute left and didn’t finish it off. It’s turnovers and not wanting the ball.
“It’s getting hard to watch. It’s the same mistakes we’ve made for the last three games (all losses). This is a team that probably should be 7-0, but we don’t deserve to be 7-0 because we don’t close out games.
“We didn’t deserve to win tonight; they were the better team. Granted, we did come back a couple of times, but there were zero positives that came from this game.”
Spencer Sroufe finished with a double-double, scoring 14 points and gathering 11 rebounds for Whitko, while River West finished with 12 points.
Five Vikings finished in double figures, led by Craig’s 28 points. Duzenbery had 24, Wright had 21, and Heckman and Parker had 11 points each.
Whitko fell to 4-3 overall and 1-1 in the TRC. The Wildcats host East Noble Monday night.
Valley improved to 3-4 overall, 1-1 in the conference, and will play Oregon-
Davis in the Caston Tournament on Dec. 29.
Game notes: The Wildcats played their second straight overtime game. They lost to Wawasee 54-47 a week ago. Valley lost 66-62 in double overtime to John Glenn on the same evening, but played Peru in between.
The game was just the second four-overtime contest in Indiana this season. Chesterton beat East Chicago Central 105-103 Tuesday night.
The win gives Patrick 758 career victories, leaving him three shy of Pat Rady’s 761 for second on the state’s all-time list. Jack Butcher is No. 1 with 806 wins at Loogootee. Of Patrick’s wins, 491 came while coaching at schools that make up the Whitko system.
TIPPECANOE VALLEY 96
WHITKO 92 (4 OT)
W 13 18 11 24 4 6 11 5 – 92
TV 12 17 18 19 4 6 11 9 – 96
Whitko – Alex Bechtold 6-9 1-2 13, Colin Craig 1-1 0-0 2, Alex Robbins 0-0 0-0 0, Nate Walpole 14-26 13-17 46, River West 3-12 5-6 12, Brian Collins 2-3 0-0 5, Spencer Sroufe 7-10 0-2 14. Totals 33-61 19-27 92.
Valley – Tanner Trippiedi 0-0 0-0 0, Keith Wright 7-10 6-8 21, DeSean Heckman 2-3 7-8 11, Alec Craig 9-18 8-11 28, Alex Morrison 0-0 0-0 0, Cameron Parker 5-12 0-0 11, Jarod Duzenbery 9-14 6-6 24, Wes Melanson 0-0 1-2 1. Totals 32-57 28-35 96.
Three-pointers – Whitko 7 (Walpole 5, Collins, West), Valley 4 (A. Craig 2, Wright, Parker); Rebounds – Whitko 30 (Sroufe 11), Valley 30 (Duzenbery 8); Turnovers – Whitko 18, Valley 16; Fouls – Whitko 26, Valley 18; Fouled out – C. Craig, West, Heckman, Duzenbery; Records: Whitko 4-3 (1-1 TRC), Valley 3-4 (1-1 TRC)
JV – Whitko 43, Valley 41
Whitko – Shad Ebbinghouse 17, Cody Swick 9, Trae Arnold 8, Cade Bechtold 4, Clayton Ebbinghouse 3, Thad Glidden 2
Valley – Parkur Dalrymple 12, Wes Melanson 10, Jalen Potter 9, Cameron Parker 4, Dakota Parker 3, Jace Potter 2, Jaydin Conley 1
Latest News
E-Editions
With each team needing heroics to extend the game, and a couple of buzzer-beaters just missing, the host Vikings outlasted Whitko 96-92 in four overtimes in a Three Rivers Conference game Friday night.
The Wildcats’ Nate Walpole drove down the left side near the baseline to tie the game at 66 with 8.3 seconds left in regulation. Valley standout Alex Craig’s three-pointer from the top of the key as time expired drew back iron, and off to overtime the teams went.
After a Whitko turnover with four seconds left in the first extra period, Craig’s running jumper rimmed out at the buzzer, sending the teams to a second overtime tied at 70.
The Wildcats bolted out to an 83-77 lead with 2:12 left in the third overtime. Valley retied the game with four points from Jarod Duzenbery, sandwiched between a pair of 1-of-2 trips to the free throw line for Keith Wright.
With the game tied and a minute to go, Valley held the ball for a last shot. Cameron Parker’s open three from the right corner, in front of the Viking bench, was too strong, and the ball was tipped out of bounds as the clock struck zero.
The fourth overtime began with Valley running the clock, holding the ball for the first 2:08 of the period before Wright was left open for a layup. Walpole hit a free throw to cut the lead, but Craig answered with a layup of his own with 45 seconds remaining to give Valley a 91-88 lead.
Walpole hit a pair of charities to cut the lead to one with 38.4 seconds to go, but it was as close as Whitko got the rest of the way. Wright hit a pair of freebies with 19 seconds left, and another pair with two seconds left to seal the win.
Both teams played the same guys through most of the contest, and two players fouled out from each side, leaving some younger, less experienced hoopsters on the floor late.
“We intended to have more guys play than we did but the way the game went, we got caught in a situation where we were playing the same five,” Valley head coach Bill Patrick said. “I wasn’t sure we were in good enough condition to go that long, but obviously we were for the most part.”
Even though Walpole finished with 46 points, Patrick wasn’t disappointed in how the Vikings played defense against him.
“We played hard, and we made Walpole work hard to get his points. I thought D.J. (Heckman) did a good job on him until he fouled out. He’s a hard player to stop, really.”
On the other side, Whitko head coach Eli Hensen felt his team was too dependent on Walpole.
“He was the only one that stepped up,” he said. “Some of these other guys need to step up. We were up six with a minute left and didn’t finish it off. It’s turnovers and not wanting the ball.
“It’s getting hard to watch. It’s the same mistakes we’ve made for the last three games (all losses). This is a team that probably should be 7-0, but we don’t deserve to be 7-0 because we don’t close out games.
“We didn’t deserve to win tonight; they were the better team. Granted, we did come back a couple of times, but there were zero positives that came from this game.”
Spencer Sroufe finished with a double-double, scoring 14 points and gathering 11 rebounds for Whitko, while River West finished with 12 points.
Five Vikings finished in double figures, led by Craig’s 28 points. Duzenbery had 24, Wright had 21, and Heckman and Parker had 11 points each.
Whitko fell to 4-3 overall and 1-1 in the TRC. The Wildcats host East Noble Monday night.
Valley improved to 3-4 overall, 1-1 in the conference, and will play Oregon-
Davis in the Caston Tournament on Dec. 29.
Game notes: The Wildcats played their second straight overtime game. They lost to Wawasee 54-47 a week ago. Valley lost 66-62 in double overtime to John Glenn on the same evening, but played Peru in between.
The game was just the second four-overtime contest in Indiana this season. Chesterton beat East Chicago Central 105-103 Tuesday night.
The win gives Patrick 758 career victories, leaving him three shy of Pat Rady’s 761 for second on the state’s all-time list. Jack Butcher is No. 1 with 806 wins at Loogootee. Of Patrick’s wins, 491 came while coaching at schools that make up the Whitko system.
TIPPECANOE VALLEY 96
WHITKO 92 (4 OT)
W 13 18 11 24 4 6 11 5 – 92
TV 12 17 18 19 4 6 11 9 – 96
Whitko – Alex Bechtold 6-9 1-2 13, Colin Craig 1-1 0-0 2, Alex Robbins 0-0 0-0 0, Nate Walpole 14-26 13-17 46, River West 3-12 5-6 12, Brian Collins 2-3 0-0 5, Spencer Sroufe 7-10 0-2 14. Totals 33-61 19-27 92.
Valley – Tanner Trippiedi 0-0 0-0 0, Keith Wright 7-10 6-8 21, DeSean Heckman 2-3 7-8 11, Alec Craig 9-18 8-11 28, Alex Morrison 0-0 0-0 0, Cameron Parker 5-12 0-0 11, Jarod Duzenbery 9-14 6-6 24, Wes Melanson 0-0 1-2 1. Totals 32-57 28-35 96.
Three-pointers – Whitko 7 (Walpole 5, Collins, West), Valley 4 (A. Craig 2, Wright, Parker); Rebounds – Whitko 30 (Sroufe 11), Valley 30 (Duzenbery 8); Turnovers – Whitko 18, Valley 16; Fouls – Whitko 26, Valley 18; Fouled out – C. Craig, West, Heckman, Duzenbery; Records: Whitko 4-3 (1-1 TRC), Valley 3-4 (1-1 TRC)
JV – Whitko 43, Valley 41
Whitko – Shad Ebbinghouse 17, Cody Swick 9, Trae Arnold 8, Cade Bechtold 4, Clayton Ebbinghouse 3, Thad Glidden 2
Valley – Parkur Dalrymple 12, Wes Melanson 10, Jalen Potter 9, Cameron Parker 4, Dakota Parker 3, Jace Potter 2, Jaydin Conley 1
Have a news tip? Email [email protected] or Call/Text 360-922-3092