TIPPECANOE VALLEY AT COLUMBIA CITY

Tipoff: 6:30 p.m. Friday in Columbia City

Coaches: Bill Patrick (Valley), Chris Benedict

Records: Valley 0-1, Columbia City 1-1

Last Game: Warsaw 71, Valley 68 2OT; Warsaw 38, Columbia City 37

Last Year: Valley 41, Columbia City 39

Matchup: Both teams suffered their first loss of the season to Warsaw. In Valley's season opener, senior forward Brandon Eaton scored a career-high 40 as the Vikes fell 71-68 in double-overtime. Columbia City took Warsaw to the wire as well, losing 38-37 on a free throw with no time remaining on the clock. In Valley's season opener, seniors Noah Silveus and Justin Ross scored 12 and 11 points respectively. Mike Schumaker led the Eagles with 14 points in their loss to Warsaw. Columbia City topped Whitko 63-52 in the season opener.

Patrick: "Columbia City has played two games against Warsaw and Whitko and they played a different style of basketball each game. Against Whitko, they moved the ball up and down the court and had some fast breaks. Against Warsaw, they kept the ball and did not score as many points. It was a different style of play. They are quicker then we are, but they do not have a lot of size. They are a good basketball team and they could give us a lot of problems."

Benedict: "We just hope (Eaton) doesn't have the shooting night he had against Warsaw. We want to try to limit the number of times he touches the ball. I think if you limit the times he touches it, then you don't have to double-team him. I think you go into every game with the mindset of making somebody not used to shooting the ball shoot the ball. That's the approach you have to take, making someone else besides the primary scorer beat you. You want to take away the No. 1 option. Valley's guards (Anthony Domenico, Noah Silveus) are very quick and active. They bring the element of penetration, something Warsaw did not have against us. Valley's guards penetrating the gaps is a concern."

SOUTHWOOD AT MANCHESTER

Tipoff: 6:15 p.m. Friday in North Manchester

Coaches: Steve McClure (Southwood), Gary Goshert (Manchester)

Records: Southwood 1-0, 0-0 TRC; Manchester 1-0, 0-0 TRC

Last Game: Southwood 71, Northfield 61 OT; Manchester 91, Wabash 33

Last Year: Manchester 84, Southwood 66

Matchup: This is the first Three Rivers Conference game for both teams. Manchester has gone 7-0 in the TRC the past two years and has lost just one TRC game in three years. SouthWood did beat Manchester last year, 59-53, but that was in the Wabash County Tournament and didn't count toward the TRC championship. Manchester opened this season with a 91-33 win over Wabash. Junior Anthony Frieden paced the Squires in that game with 24 points. Southwood's leading returner from a year ago is 6'4' senior post player Nick Dawson, who averaged 6.5 points and 6.2 rebounds per game. The Knights also return seven players who averaged at least four points per game a year ago.

McClure: "(Manchester) has had to reload. That's what they do up there is reload. When you play them at home, you get their A game. They have a first-class program. The challenge will be monumental. Balance will be very important to us this year."

Goshert: "This is a big week for us. Every conference game every year is something special. It's a special game when you play a TRC game. This game is special because it's against one of the best, if not the best, teams in the conference. It's pretty huge being this early in the season. Southwood has the total package as far as good size and excellent strength inside. I also know they have the ability to score from the perimeter. We have to contain their dribble penetration. They're gonna be more than a handful. What's important to us is that we can defend the post, block out and not give them second and third shots."

NORTHWOOD AT TRITON

Tipoff: 6:30 p.m. Friday in Bourbon

Coaches: Dan Gunn (NorthWood), Joe Bennett (Triton)

Records: NorthWood 0-0, Triton 0-1

Last Game: Bremen 64, Triton 60

Last Year: NorthWood 75, Triton 45

Matchup: For NorthWood, once again, football success has delayed the start of the basketball season, and this is their season opener. The Trojans played their season opener Saturday and lost 64-60 at Bremen, a team that beat them by 17 a year ago. Brandon Zeider led Triton in the opener with 19 points. Austin Unterbrink added 12. Senior Charlie Roeder averaged 10.6 points per contest last year for the Panthers and is the leading returner. Ian Reed brings back a 6.9 points per game average from a year ago.

Gunn: "I think this is the best Triton team I've watched play in some time. They have good athleticism inside with (Jim) Read and (Brian) Klingerman. They played a good game against Bremen and they should've won. (Austin) Unterbrink handles the ball well. I was impressed with their athleticism and how well they played together as a team in their opener. That's always an advantage when a team has played a couple games. This is our first game."

Bennett: "They're always a tough team defensively. Coach Gunn is an excellent coach, and he'll have his team prepared to play defense. They are aggressive and physical, and that's something we've had problems with before. (Charlie) Roeder, (Brock) Doty and (Ian) Reed will be the key to their season, and they've had success on the football field. I think they can contend in the NLC with Warsaw and Northridge."

WHITKO AT NORTHFIELD

Tipoff: 6:15 p.m. Friday in Wabash

Coaches: Steve Pickett (Whitko), Brian Tonsoni (Northfield)

Records: Whitko 0-2, 0-0 TRC; Northfield 0-1, 0-0 TRC

Last Game: Homestead 68, Whitko 59; Southwood 71, Northfield 61 OT

Last Year: Whitko 59, Northfield 47

Matchup: Both teams are looking for their first wins. Whitko has lost to Columbia City and Homestead to account for its 0-2 season record. Shane Henderson led the Wildcats with 18 points and six assists in the loss to Homestead. Brandon Waller added 14 points and four assists. Northfield, which fell to TRC foe Southwood in overtime in its season opener, is led by 6'3' junior forward Kyle Merrick, who averaged 8.3 points and 5.5 rebounds per game last year. The Norse have just two other lettermen returning from last year in 6'0' senior guard Jason Cordes (4.9 ppg, 4.0 rpg) and 6'3' senior forward Cory Brainard (5.0 ppg, 2.8 rpg).

Pickett: "I've looked at the tape of Northfield, and they have a secondary that can really push the ball up the court. They played a 2-3 zone against Southwood, and we will try to work off that. We want to slow the tempo of the game down. We don't want to get into a running game with them. We need to be patient. We need each individual to play good team defense in this game."

Tonsoni: "Whitko has improved a lot since last year. They have a new coach who has done a good job already. We need to be ready to stop their three-point shooting because they have some good outside shooters. We'll try to block out and get some rebounds. Those will be keys to the game." [[In-content Ad]]