Jay County Topples Tippecanoe Valley
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
HARTFORD CITY - Jay County began its run at a semistate appearance with a 63-57 win over Tippecanoe Valley in the opening game of the Blackford Regional.
The Vikings looked lethargic at times and rattled by the scrappy play of a Patriot squad that was delibrate on offense and swarming on defense.
"We didn't shoot the ball well," said Viking coach Bill Patrick. "We committed a couple of turnovers at the wrong time. We just didn't hit the big shots and didn't get to the free throw line enough."
Patrick was right as his team shot 11 of 15 from the charity stripe while Jay County was 28 of 32.
Many of those Patriot free throws came in the fourth quarter as Valley was forced to foul playing from behind.
Senior Bryce Kelley played one of his best games of the year as he scored 16 points, including three three-pointers, and pulled down five rebounds to help keep his team in the contest.
Valley jumped out to a 16-13 lead after the first quarter but the Patriots came out blazing in the second quarter as the Vikings went ice cold.
The Vikings hit just two field goals in the second quarter as Jay County outscored Valley 14-5 to take a 27-21 halftime lead.
Valley drew to within two points at 41-39 after Kelley hit two free throws at the 7:40 mark of the fourth quarter.
The Vikings would never get any closer than that as Jay County hit enough free throws to keep Valley from creeping back into the game.
Adam Nelson and Steven Tillman provided unexpected sparks off the bench for Valley as Neslon hit a three and Tillman scored twice to keep the Vikings afloat.
Senior David Lash closed out his high school career with 20 points and seven rebounds while fellow upperclassmen Shane Drudge had just seven points and zero rebounds on 2-of-8 shooting.
Fellow senior Aaron Reed played extended minutes but did not attempt a shot from the field.
Tillman finished with four points for the Vikings while Nelson ended with three. Starters Jerrod Parker and Kevin Kindig each had two points while sophomore Chad Hoffer had three points and two steals.
Hoffer fouled out of the contest and was issued a technical foul after being whistled for a foul on Jay County's Scott Bruggeman. After the call, a dejected Hoffer walked away while pulling his jersey out of his shorts. Not typically something enforced by the officials during the season, Hoffer was whistled for a technical, which gave him his fifth personal foul.
Zac Green led a balanced scoring attack for Jay County with 13 points. Tyler Rigby finished the morning session with 12 points while Bruggeman added 11. Corey Comer chipped in eight points while Clint Muhlkenkamp came off the bench for seven points. Senior Randy Evans scored three points in limited action.
As for the Vikings, they finish the season 19-5 on the year. Along with another undefeated Three Rivers Conference year, Valley also picked up its second straight sectional crown.
Valley will lose five seniors from this year's team in Drudge, Kelley, Lash, Reed and Tad Neeley.
"I feel dissappointed for our players," said Patrick. "They're a good group of kids. They are an academically strong team and they played well together. We were beat by an excellent Jay County team. They were fundamentally sound."
Patrick knows that looking to next season starts right away.
"With the way the game is today," said Patrick. "You have to start looking to next season as soon you lose your last game."
Before the game, the Tippecanoe Valley student section drew a round of boos from the Jay County cheering section as a group of Blackford students finished the the Star-Spangled Banner.
The Vikings students shouted "Vikings" over "brave" during the line "And the home of the brave".
JAY COUNTY 63,VALLEY 57
T. Valley 16 5 16 20 - 57
J. County 13 14 14 22 - 63
T. Valley FG FT R S Pts.
*Lash 9-13 2-2 7 1 20
*Parker 1-2 0-1 2 0 2
*Kindig 1-3 0-0 3 0 2
*Kelley 4-12 5-5 5 3 16
*Drudge 2-8 3-3 0 0 7
Hoffer 1-4 1-2 0 2 3
Tillman 2-2 0-2 1 0 4
Nelson 1-1 0-0 0 0 3
Totals 21-45 11-15 18 6 57
Jay County FG FT R S Pts.
*Rigby 2-5 6-6 1 0 12
*Retter 2-3 5-6 6 0 9
*Green 3-5 7-7 5 1 13
*Bruggeman 1-3 9-11 2 1 11
*Comer 4-9 0-0 1 1 8
Muhlekamp 3-5 1-2 5 0 7
Evans 1-2 0-0 0 0 3
Totals 16-32 28-32 19 3 63
Three-point goals - T. Valley 4-16 (Kelley 3-8, Nelson 1-1), Jay County 3-7 (Rigby 2-4, Evans 1-2). Turnovers - T. Valley 11, Jay County 8 . Fouls - T. Valley 22, Jay County 16. Fouled out - Hoffer, Kindig. [[In-content Ad]]
HARTFORD CITY - Jay County began its run at a semistate appearance with a 63-57 win over Tippecanoe Valley in the opening game of the Blackford Regional.
The Vikings looked lethargic at times and rattled by the scrappy play of a Patriot squad that was delibrate on offense and swarming on defense.
"We didn't shoot the ball well," said Viking coach Bill Patrick. "We committed a couple of turnovers at the wrong time. We just didn't hit the big shots and didn't get to the free throw line enough."
Patrick was right as his team shot 11 of 15 from the charity stripe while Jay County was 28 of 32.
Many of those Patriot free throws came in the fourth quarter as Valley was forced to foul playing from behind.
Senior Bryce Kelley played one of his best games of the year as he scored 16 points, including three three-pointers, and pulled down five rebounds to help keep his team in the contest.
Valley jumped out to a 16-13 lead after the first quarter but the Patriots came out blazing in the second quarter as the Vikings went ice cold.
The Vikings hit just two field goals in the second quarter as Jay County outscored Valley 14-5 to take a 27-21 halftime lead.
Valley drew to within two points at 41-39 after Kelley hit two free throws at the 7:40 mark of the fourth quarter.
The Vikings would never get any closer than that as Jay County hit enough free throws to keep Valley from creeping back into the game.
Adam Nelson and Steven Tillman provided unexpected sparks off the bench for Valley as Neslon hit a three and Tillman scored twice to keep the Vikings afloat.
Senior David Lash closed out his high school career with 20 points and seven rebounds while fellow upperclassmen Shane Drudge had just seven points and zero rebounds on 2-of-8 shooting.
Fellow senior Aaron Reed played extended minutes but did not attempt a shot from the field.
Tillman finished with four points for the Vikings while Nelson ended with three. Starters Jerrod Parker and Kevin Kindig each had two points while sophomore Chad Hoffer had three points and two steals.
Hoffer fouled out of the contest and was issued a technical foul after being whistled for a foul on Jay County's Scott Bruggeman. After the call, a dejected Hoffer walked away while pulling his jersey out of his shorts. Not typically something enforced by the officials during the season, Hoffer was whistled for a technical, which gave him his fifth personal foul.
Zac Green led a balanced scoring attack for Jay County with 13 points. Tyler Rigby finished the morning session with 12 points while Bruggeman added 11. Corey Comer chipped in eight points while Clint Muhlkenkamp came off the bench for seven points. Senior Randy Evans scored three points in limited action.
As for the Vikings, they finish the season 19-5 on the year. Along with another undefeated Three Rivers Conference year, Valley also picked up its second straight sectional crown.
Valley will lose five seniors from this year's team in Drudge, Kelley, Lash, Reed and Tad Neeley.
"I feel dissappointed for our players," said Patrick. "They're a good group of kids. They are an academically strong team and they played well together. We were beat by an excellent Jay County team. They were fundamentally sound."
Patrick knows that looking to next season starts right away.
"With the way the game is today," said Patrick. "You have to start looking to next season as soon you lose your last game."
Before the game, the Tippecanoe Valley student section drew a round of boos from the Jay County cheering section as a group of Blackford students finished the the Star-Spangled Banner.
The Vikings students shouted "Vikings" over "brave" during the line "And the home of the brave".
JAY COUNTY 63,VALLEY 57
T. Valley 16 5 16 20 - 57
J. County 13 14 14 22 - 63
T. Valley FG FT R S Pts.
*Lash 9-13 2-2 7 1 20
*Parker 1-2 0-1 2 0 2
*Kindig 1-3 0-0 3 0 2
*Kelley 4-12 5-5 5 3 16
*Drudge 2-8 3-3 0 0 7
Hoffer 1-4 1-2 0 2 3
Tillman 2-2 0-2 1 0 4
Nelson 1-1 0-0 0 0 3
Totals 21-45 11-15 18 6 57
Jay County FG FT R S Pts.
*Rigby 2-5 6-6 1 0 12
*Retter 2-3 5-6 6 0 9
*Green 3-5 7-7 5 1 13
*Bruggeman 1-3 9-11 2 1 11
*Comer 4-9 0-0 1 1 8
Muhlekamp 3-5 1-2 5 0 7
Evans 1-2 0-0 0 0 3
Totals 16-32 28-32 19 3 63
Three-point goals - T. Valley 4-16 (Kelley 3-8, Nelson 1-1), Jay County 3-7 (Rigby 2-4, Evans 1-2). Turnovers - T. Valley 11, Jay County 8 . Fouls - T. Valley 22, Jay County 16. Fouled out - Hoffer, Kindig. [[In-content Ad]]