Eaton Makes History In Viking Win
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
AKRON - A night he was honored for breaking an individual record, Tippecanoe Valley senior Trey Eaton once again made sure his team was the real winner.
Scoring 12 of his game-high 32 points in the fourth quarter Saturday night, the talented 6-foot-4 hoopster led Valley's varsity boys basketball team to a 65-55 home win over Three Rivers Conference foe Northfield.
With his first points of the second half, a nothing-but-net 10-foot jumper, Eaton became Valley's all-time leading scorer, breaking 1992 graduate Scott Johnson's mark of 1,352.
More important to Eaton than being the school's all-time scoring leader was that the Class 3A No. 4 Vikings improved to 11-0 overall and 2-0 in the TRC.
"It means a lot," Eaton said of the win, giving one the impression he'd rather answer questions about the team rather than his record-breaking performance. "Nobody really thought we'd be 11-0, neither did I, but this team has worked real hard and gelled as a team. We're improving every game, every day."
Eaton's 15 first-half points tied Johnson's career scoring mark. He then put his name atop the scoring charts with a field goal at the 6:50 mark of the third quarter, a shot that gave the Vikings a 33-24 lead.
After his 32-point performance Saturday, Eaton now has 1,369 points. Eaton's brother, Brandon, scored 1,072 points in his four-year varsity career from 1997-2000.
"Trey doesn't care if he takes one shot or 20," Valley coach Bill Patrick said. "He'll do whatever it takes for the team to win. He plays so hard, and he does so many other things besides score. He plays good defense and handles the ball well. He also plays all 32 minutes every game."
Though coming in with a 3-5 overall record and a 0-1 mark in the TRC, Northfield stuck around and made things interesting for the unbeaten Vikings.
After senior Casey Wise's field goal gave Valley a 35-26 lead with 4:52 remaining in the third quarter, the Norsemen went on 7-0 run behind five straight points from sophomore Jason Dawes and a field goal from junior Nathan Culver.
After Wise sank a pair of free throws to close out the third quarter, Eaton opened the fourth with a trio of charity tosses, giving Valley a 43-35 lead with 7:16 remaining.
A 6-0 run by the never-say-die Norsemen, capped off by a steal and bucket from Dawes, pulled Northfield within two, 43-41.
A trey by Eaton gave Valley a 46-41 lead, but Northfield came back 15 seconds later with a three-pointer from senior Josh Merrick.
Leading by six, 56-50, Valley iced the game with a 9-of-10 performance at the free throw line in the final minute, including a 7-of-8 effort from sophomore Shane Denny.
For the game, Valley was 21 of 24 (87.5 percent) at the charity stripe.
"We shot well at the free throw line," Patrick said. "We shoot them well in practice. There's less pressure in the game, in practice the kids have to run when they miss."
Though Valley improved to 11-0, a win total that gurantees the legendary coach yet another winning season, Patrick didn't think his team was as sharp as it could've been.
"I didn't think we were as sharp as we were Thursday against Argos," Patrick said. "It's tough to come back after you've played so hard. We played well in spurts. This was an aggressive, physical game."
To go with Eaton's 32 points and 10 rebounds, Valley got eight points from Wise, seven from Denny, six from freshman Shane Drudge, five each from Cory Vanlaningham and Brandon Cody, and two from Jeff Parker.
The Vikings played without would-be starter Stuart Jackson, who injured his knee in Thursday's 16-point win over then-unbeaten Argos.
"It's a loss," Patrick said of Jackson watching from the bench in street clothes. "Stuart played so hard, and he's a really smart kid on the court. He's only 5-11, but he plays taller than that. We had a rotation there where Shane (Drudge) came off the bench, tonight he started."
Merrick led Northfield with 19, while Dawes added 16 and Culver 10.
Valley is in action again Friday at backyard rival Rochester.
NO. 4 (3A) TIPPECANOE VALLEY 65,
NORTHFIELD 55
Northfield 9 15 11 20 - 55
Valley 13 18 9 25 - 65
Northfield FG FT R S Pts.
* Stouffer 3-6 0-1 1 1 6
* Culver 4-13 2-2 9 1 10
* Merrick 8-21 1-1 6 2 19
* Dawes 6-9 2-3 7 2 16
* McCann 1-5 0-0 3 0 2
McKillip 0-1 0-0 1 0 0
Schenkel 0-1 0-0 0 0 0
Schuler 1-1 0-0 1 0 2
Totals 23-57 5-7 28 6 55
Valley FG FT R S Pts.
* Parker 1-3 0-0 1 0 2
* Vanlaningham 2-3 0-0 3 0 5
* Wise 2-5 4-4 5 0 8
* Eaton 10-19 10-11 10 2 32
* Drudge 3-9 0-1 3 1 6
Denny 0-0 7-8 2 0 7
Gibson 0-2 0-0 1 0 0
Cody 2-3 0-0 2 0 5
Murphy 0-0 0-0 1 0 0
Totals 20-44 21-24 27 3 65
Three-point goals - Northfield 4-11 (Merrick 2-5, Dawes 2-2, Culver 0-3, Schenkel 0-1), Valley 4-8 (Eaton 2-3, Cody 1-2, Vanlaningham 1-1, Parker 0-1, Gibson 0-1). Fouls - Northfield 20, Valley 16. Fouled out - Dawes.
JV - Valley 47, Northfield 31 [[In-content Ad]]
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AKRON - A night he was honored for breaking an individual record, Tippecanoe Valley senior Trey Eaton once again made sure his team was the real winner.
Scoring 12 of his game-high 32 points in the fourth quarter Saturday night, the talented 6-foot-4 hoopster led Valley's varsity boys basketball team to a 65-55 home win over Three Rivers Conference foe Northfield.
With his first points of the second half, a nothing-but-net 10-foot jumper, Eaton became Valley's all-time leading scorer, breaking 1992 graduate Scott Johnson's mark of 1,352.
More important to Eaton than being the school's all-time scoring leader was that the Class 3A No. 4 Vikings improved to 11-0 overall and 2-0 in the TRC.
"It means a lot," Eaton said of the win, giving one the impression he'd rather answer questions about the team rather than his record-breaking performance. "Nobody really thought we'd be 11-0, neither did I, but this team has worked real hard and gelled as a team. We're improving every game, every day."
Eaton's 15 first-half points tied Johnson's career scoring mark. He then put his name atop the scoring charts with a field goal at the 6:50 mark of the third quarter, a shot that gave the Vikings a 33-24 lead.
After his 32-point performance Saturday, Eaton now has 1,369 points. Eaton's brother, Brandon, scored 1,072 points in his four-year varsity career from 1997-2000.
"Trey doesn't care if he takes one shot or 20," Valley coach Bill Patrick said. "He'll do whatever it takes for the team to win. He plays so hard, and he does so many other things besides score. He plays good defense and handles the ball well. He also plays all 32 minutes every game."
Though coming in with a 3-5 overall record and a 0-1 mark in the TRC, Northfield stuck around and made things interesting for the unbeaten Vikings.
After senior Casey Wise's field goal gave Valley a 35-26 lead with 4:52 remaining in the third quarter, the Norsemen went on 7-0 run behind five straight points from sophomore Jason Dawes and a field goal from junior Nathan Culver.
After Wise sank a pair of free throws to close out the third quarter, Eaton opened the fourth with a trio of charity tosses, giving Valley a 43-35 lead with 7:16 remaining.
A 6-0 run by the never-say-die Norsemen, capped off by a steal and bucket from Dawes, pulled Northfield within two, 43-41.
A trey by Eaton gave Valley a 46-41 lead, but Northfield came back 15 seconds later with a three-pointer from senior Josh Merrick.
Leading by six, 56-50, Valley iced the game with a 9-of-10 performance at the free throw line in the final minute, including a 7-of-8 effort from sophomore Shane Denny.
For the game, Valley was 21 of 24 (87.5 percent) at the charity stripe.
"We shot well at the free throw line," Patrick said. "We shoot them well in practice. There's less pressure in the game, in practice the kids have to run when they miss."
Though Valley improved to 11-0, a win total that gurantees the legendary coach yet another winning season, Patrick didn't think his team was as sharp as it could've been.
"I didn't think we were as sharp as we were Thursday against Argos," Patrick said. "It's tough to come back after you've played so hard. We played well in spurts. This was an aggressive, physical game."
To go with Eaton's 32 points and 10 rebounds, Valley got eight points from Wise, seven from Denny, six from freshman Shane Drudge, five each from Cory Vanlaningham and Brandon Cody, and two from Jeff Parker.
The Vikings played without would-be starter Stuart Jackson, who injured his knee in Thursday's 16-point win over then-unbeaten Argos.
"It's a loss," Patrick said of Jackson watching from the bench in street clothes. "Stuart played so hard, and he's a really smart kid on the court. He's only 5-11, but he plays taller than that. We had a rotation there where Shane (Drudge) came off the bench, tonight he started."
Merrick led Northfield with 19, while Dawes added 16 and Culver 10.
Valley is in action again Friday at backyard rival Rochester.
NO. 4 (3A) TIPPECANOE VALLEY 65,
NORTHFIELD 55
Northfield 9 15 11 20 - 55
Valley 13 18 9 25 - 65
Northfield FG FT R S Pts.
* Stouffer 3-6 0-1 1 1 6
* Culver 4-13 2-2 9 1 10
* Merrick 8-21 1-1 6 2 19
* Dawes 6-9 2-3 7 2 16
* McCann 1-5 0-0 3 0 2
McKillip 0-1 0-0 1 0 0
Schenkel 0-1 0-0 0 0 0
Schuler 1-1 0-0 1 0 2
Totals 23-57 5-7 28 6 55
Valley FG FT R S Pts.
* Parker 1-3 0-0 1 0 2
* Vanlaningham 2-3 0-0 3 0 5
* Wise 2-5 4-4 5 0 8
* Eaton 10-19 10-11 10 2 32
* Drudge 3-9 0-1 3 1 6
Denny 0-0 7-8 2 0 7
Gibson 0-2 0-0 1 0 0
Cody 2-3 0-0 2 0 5
Murphy 0-0 0-0 1 0 0
Totals 20-44 21-24 27 3 65
Three-point goals - Northfield 4-11 (Merrick 2-5, Dawes 2-2, Culver 0-3, Schenkel 0-1), Valley 4-8 (Eaton 2-3, Cody 1-2, Vanlaningham 1-1, Parker 0-1, Gibson 0-1). Fouls - Northfield 20, Valley 16. Fouled out - Dawes.
JV - Valley 47, Northfield 31 [[In-content Ad]]