Defense, Denny, Drudge Lead Valley Boys
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
AKRON - A game in which it leaped out to a 16-point lead in the first quarter, Tippecanoe Valley's varsity boys basketball team also took steps toward a team goal and a coaching milestone Saturday.
Behind the scoring of senior Shane Denny and junior Shane Drudge and some sticky team defense, the host Vikings raced to a 19-3 lead after one quarter and blasted Three Rivers Conference foe Northfield 56-38 Saturday.
Denny and Drudge combined for 35 points on 16-of-21 shooting, but it was the Vikings' first-half defense that seemed to set the tone.
The visiting Norsemen scored just three points in the first quarter, all from the free throw line.
In the second quarter, they managed to score eight points, but hit just two shots from the floor.
"I thought we did a nice job defensively," said Bill Patrick, whose team took another step toward a sixth-straight TRC title with the 18-point win, as well as bringing Patrick within eight wins of his 600th career victory. "I watched three tapes on Northfield, and I thought the kids listened well in practice and did what we wanted them to do."
The win improved the Vikings to 9-1 overall and 2-0 in the TRC.
Patrick is now 592-209 in his 36th year of coaching, which includes a 114-29 mark in his seventh year at Valley.
Valley, which has won 44 of its last 50 games and is 38-6 in the TRC with Patrick as coach, plays just three more teams this year that currently have winning records - North Miami (5-3) Feb. 10, Argos (4-3) Feb. 12 and Wawasee (8-1) Feb. 25.
If the Vikings win their next seven games, which on paper they should do, Patrick could get his 600th win at home Feb. 15 against Bremen.
In typical Patrick fashion, though, the veteran coach talked after the game how tough it would be to win eight more games this season and how his team didn't have the killer instinct he thought it should when it was up by nearly 20 points.
"In the first half, our defense played very well," said Patrick. "In the second half, I thought we came out a little flat in the third quarter, we weren't as sharp. When you get that lead up to 18 or 20, you have to keep playing like it's 0-0, and we didn't do that. There were times in the third quarter where we played like we were 20 points ahead and weren't quite as focused."
The Vikings led 31-11 at halftime, and after not turning the ball over in the first half, commited six turnovers in final two quarters.
It didn't matter. The Vikings still had too much for coach Moe Smedley's Norsemen, who fell to 2-7 overall and 1-1 in the TRC.
Saturday's game featured 62 years of varsity coaching experience and 909 wins; it just didn't look that way on the court or the scoreboard.
"They went through a coaching change, and it seems like they have trouble playing with confidence," said Patrick. "Moe is an outstanding coach, he'll get them turned around. They'll be tough by the end of this year."
Local basketball fans may remember Smedley for his talented Manchester teams of the early and mid-1990s. He then went to Marion, where he led current Portland Trail Blazer Zach Randolph and teammates to the 2000 Class 4A state championship.
Valley led 43-19 at the end of the third quarter, and the Norsemen trailed by as much as 28 in the fourth quarter. Northfield finished the game with a 14-4 run when Patrick took his starters out of the game for good.
Denny led the Vikings with a game-high 20 points, finishing 10 of 13 from the field, while Drudge was 6 of 8 from the field and 2 of 2 from the free throw line for 15 points.
"Shane Denny showed up ready to play and played a great game," said Patrick. "Denny and Drudge did a lot of nice things, not only scoring but on the boards."
Junior David Lash, who entered the contest shooting 61 percent from the field and averaging 15-plus points per game, took just three shots Saturday and scored three points. While Denny and Drudge provided the scoring punch, Lash came through with seven rebounds and a strong defensive effort.
John Gibson scored seven points for Valley, while Michael Domenico and Bryce Kelley scored three each.
Senior Nathan Stouffer led Northfield with 16 points, while classmate Jason Dawes added eight and sophomore Andrew Boring, six.
Valley is in action again Friday at Rochester.
T. VALLEY 56, NORTHFIELD 38
Northfield 3 8 8 19 - 38
T. Valley 19 12 12 13 - 56
Northfield FG FT R S Pts.
* Schenkel 0-3 0-1 1 0 0
* Stouffer 5-11 6-10 7 1 16
* Brown 0-0 0-0 1 0 0
* Dawes 3-7 2-2 5 0 8
* Harrell 0-1 1-2 1 0 1
Swope 0-1 0-0 0 0 0
Leland 0-3 3-4 7 0 3
Unger 2-4 0-0 1 0 4
Hammel 0-0 0-0 1 0 0
Culver 0-2 0-0 2 1 0
Boring 3-3 0-0 2 1 6
Totals 13-35 12-19 28 3 38
T. Valley FG FT R S Pts.
* Denny 10-13 0-2 4 4 20
* Gibson 2-7 2-2 5 0 7
* Lash 1-3 0-0 7 1 2
* Kindig 1-4 0-2 4 0 2
* Drudge 6-8 2-2 3 0 15
Hoffer 0-1 0-0 1 0 0
Thompson 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Domenico 1-2 0-0 2 0 3
Parker 0-1 0-0 0 0 0
Reed 1-3 0-0 1 0 2
Nelson 1-1 0-0 0 0 2
Kelley 1-3 1-2 2 0 3
Totals 18-38 19-25 29 3 56
Three-point goals - Northfield 0-5 (Leland 0-3, Schenkel 0-1, Swope 0-1), T. Valley 3-13 (Gibson 1-4, Drudge 1-3, Domenico 1-2, Kindig 0-3, Kelley 0-1). Turnovers - Northfield 10, T. Valley 6. Fouls - Northfield 10, T. Valley 16. Fouled out - none.
JV - T. Valley 36, Northfield 28
Valley scoring leaders - Steven Tillman 12, Shane Salyer 8 [[In-content Ad]]
AKRON - A game in which it leaped out to a 16-point lead in the first quarter, Tippecanoe Valley's varsity boys basketball team also took steps toward a team goal and a coaching milestone Saturday.
Behind the scoring of senior Shane Denny and junior Shane Drudge and some sticky team defense, the host Vikings raced to a 19-3 lead after one quarter and blasted Three Rivers Conference foe Northfield 56-38 Saturday.
Denny and Drudge combined for 35 points on 16-of-21 shooting, but it was the Vikings' first-half defense that seemed to set the tone.
The visiting Norsemen scored just three points in the first quarter, all from the free throw line.
In the second quarter, they managed to score eight points, but hit just two shots from the floor.
"I thought we did a nice job defensively," said Bill Patrick, whose team took another step toward a sixth-straight TRC title with the 18-point win, as well as bringing Patrick within eight wins of his 600th career victory. "I watched three tapes on Northfield, and I thought the kids listened well in practice and did what we wanted them to do."
The win improved the Vikings to 9-1 overall and 2-0 in the TRC.
Patrick is now 592-209 in his 36th year of coaching, which includes a 114-29 mark in his seventh year at Valley.
Valley, which has won 44 of its last 50 games and is 38-6 in the TRC with Patrick as coach, plays just three more teams this year that currently have winning records - North Miami (5-3) Feb. 10, Argos (4-3) Feb. 12 and Wawasee (8-1) Feb. 25.
If the Vikings win their next seven games, which on paper they should do, Patrick could get his 600th win at home Feb. 15 against Bremen.
In typical Patrick fashion, though, the veteran coach talked after the game how tough it would be to win eight more games this season and how his team didn't have the killer instinct he thought it should when it was up by nearly 20 points.
"In the first half, our defense played very well," said Patrick. "In the second half, I thought we came out a little flat in the third quarter, we weren't as sharp. When you get that lead up to 18 or 20, you have to keep playing like it's 0-0, and we didn't do that. There were times in the third quarter where we played like we were 20 points ahead and weren't quite as focused."
The Vikings led 31-11 at halftime, and after not turning the ball over in the first half, commited six turnovers in final two quarters.
It didn't matter. The Vikings still had too much for coach Moe Smedley's Norsemen, who fell to 2-7 overall and 1-1 in the TRC.
Saturday's game featured 62 years of varsity coaching experience and 909 wins; it just didn't look that way on the court or the scoreboard.
"They went through a coaching change, and it seems like they have trouble playing with confidence," said Patrick. "Moe is an outstanding coach, he'll get them turned around. They'll be tough by the end of this year."
Local basketball fans may remember Smedley for his talented Manchester teams of the early and mid-1990s. He then went to Marion, where he led current Portland Trail Blazer Zach Randolph and teammates to the 2000 Class 4A state championship.
Valley led 43-19 at the end of the third quarter, and the Norsemen trailed by as much as 28 in the fourth quarter. Northfield finished the game with a 14-4 run when Patrick took his starters out of the game for good.
Denny led the Vikings with a game-high 20 points, finishing 10 of 13 from the field, while Drudge was 6 of 8 from the field and 2 of 2 from the free throw line for 15 points.
"Shane Denny showed up ready to play and played a great game," said Patrick. "Denny and Drudge did a lot of nice things, not only scoring but on the boards."
Junior David Lash, who entered the contest shooting 61 percent from the field and averaging 15-plus points per game, took just three shots Saturday and scored three points. While Denny and Drudge provided the scoring punch, Lash came through with seven rebounds and a strong defensive effort.
John Gibson scored seven points for Valley, while Michael Domenico and Bryce Kelley scored three each.
Senior Nathan Stouffer led Northfield with 16 points, while classmate Jason Dawes added eight and sophomore Andrew Boring, six.
Valley is in action again Friday at Rochester.
T. VALLEY 56, NORTHFIELD 38
Northfield 3 8 8 19 - 38
T. Valley 19 12 12 13 - 56
Northfield FG FT R S Pts.
* Schenkel 0-3 0-1 1 0 0
* Stouffer 5-11 6-10 7 1 16
* Brown 0-0 0-0 1 0 0
* Dawes 3-7 2-2 5 0 8
* Harrell 0-1 1-2 1 0 1
Swope 0-1 0-0 0 0 0
Leland 0-3 3-4 7 0 3
Unger 2-4 0-0 1 0 4
Hammel 0-0 0-0 1 0 0
Culver 0-2 0-0 2 1 0
Boring 3-3 0-0 2 1 6
Totals 13-35 12-19 28 3 38
T. Valley FG FT R S Pts.
* Denny 10-13 0-2 4 4 20
* Gibson 2-7 2-2 5 0 7
* Lash 1-3 0-0 7 1 2
* Kindig 1-4 0-2 4 0 2
* Drudge 6-8 2-2 3 0 15
Hoffer 0-1 0-0 1 0 0
Thompson 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Domenico 1-2 0-0 2 0 3
Parker 0-1 0-0 0 0 0
Reed 1-3 0-0 1 0 2
Nelson 1-1 0-0 0 0 2
Kelley 1-3 1-2 2 0 3
Totals 18-38 19-25 29 3 56
Three-point goals - Northfield 0-5 (Leland 0-3, Schenkel 0-1, Swope 0-1), T. Valley 3-13 (Gibson 1-4, Drudge 1-3, Domenico 1-2, Kindig 0-3, Kelley 0-1). Turnovers - Northfield 10, T. Valley 6. Fouls - Northfield 10, T. Valley 16. Fouled out - none.
JV - T. Valley 36, Northfield 28
Valley scoring leaders - Steven Tillman 12, Shane Salyer 8 [[In-content Ad]]