Plymouth Boys Rough Up Vikings
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
AKRON - The words came screaming through the overhead speakers like they do before every home game for the Tippecanoe Valley varsity boys basketball team.
The ones that say nobody comes into the Vikings' house and pushes them around.
Only, Tuesday evening, somebody did come into the Vikings house and push them around.
Using a stingy defense and a physical style of play, Plymouth pulled away from Valley and cruised to a 53-36 win.
The teams were knotted at 21 at the half, but the Pilgrims outscored the Vikings 32-15 in the second half, including a 13-1 spurt over the final four minutes of the game.
"Plymouth played to win, and we just played," said Valley coach Bill Patrick, whose team fell to 2-2 on the season. "They were more aggressive than us. They played hard and played with more desire."
Patrick said his team playing with a lack of desire goes back to his players' practice habits, and the 37-year coaching veteran noted his players need to be more competitive in practice.
"Hopefully this will wake them up," said Patrick. "They need to go harder in practice. They're not competing hard in practice, and that's how they played tonight."
Despite a lack of height compared to some of Valley's players, the Pilgrims found ways to score points in the paint and get offensive rebounds.
Both Valley and Plymouth finished the game with 22 rebounds.
Plymouth had 11 offensive rebounds, while Valley had eight.
Known over the years for its three-point shooters, Plymouth made just one three-point shot in Tuesday's 17-point win over the Vikings.
Instead of launching long-range jumpers, Plymouth scored points in the paint against a taller Valley lineup.
"We just went flat," said Patrick. "They probably scored 30 points inside. We got outrebounded in the second half. We just didn't get much out of our seniors."
While 5-foot-10 sophomore Randy Davis led the Pilgrims with 17 points and six rebounds, 6-6 Valley senior Shane Drudge, normally a force inside, was never a factor in the game.
Drudge finished the game 2 of 9 from the floor and 3 of 3 from the charity stripe for seven points. He pulled down just one rebound.
Senior David Lash led Valley with 16 points and nine rebounds.
The Vikings finished the game 12 of 29 (41.4 percent) from the field and 12 of 19 from the charity stripe.
Plymouth shot 17 of 37 (45.9 percent) from the field and 18 of 27 from the free throw line.
Where the teams were drastically different was their play in the second half.
The Pilgrims were 9 of 16 from the field and 14 of 20 in the second half alone, while the Vikings were 4 of 11 from the field and 7 of 12 from the charity stripe through the third and fourth quarters.
Plymouth turned the ball over 14 times in the game, while the host Vikings finished with 21 turnovers, which the Pilgrims turned into 24 points.
After the two teams were knotted at 21 at the end of the second quarter, Plymouth outscored Valley 15-6 in the third quarter and 17-9 in final frame.
"Plymouth played good defense," said Patrick. "Give them credit, that's the best defense we'll see all year. That's a good Plymouth team. I don't want to take anything away from them, they can take you out of your offense."
Much like they did to Valley, a team that came in averaging 58 points per game.
To go with Lash's 16 points, Kevin Kindig scored eight points, while Steve Tillman scored five.
Chad Clinton scored eight points for Plymouth, while Jason Renz and Kory Bucher each scored seven.
Both of Valley's losses this season have been double-digit setbacks at home to Northern Lakes Conference schools. The Vikings opened the season with an 10-point loss to Warsaw.
Plymouth, which graduated all five starters from last year's Class 3A state runner-up team, opened the season with a five-point loss to Marshall county rival Bremen but has won three straight since.
Prior to the start of Tuesday's game, both Patrick and Edison were introduced at midcourt. The two have 70 years of varsity coaching experience and 1,108 wins between them.
Valley is in action again Saturday when it hosts Glenn, while Plymouth hosts Peru Friday.
PLYMOUTH 53, T. VALLEY 36
Plymouth 12 9 15 17 - 53
Valley 9 12 6 9 - 68
Plymouth FG FT R S Pts.
* Renz 3-5 1-2 3 2 7
* Clinton 2-3 4-4 2 1 8
* Ra. Daivs 6-15 4-8 6 5 17
* Ri. Davis 2-3 3-4 1 1 7
* Bucher 1-4 5-6 4 2 7
Hardesty 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Wendel 1-3 1-3 3 1 3
Adams 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Palmer 1-2 0-0 0 1 2
Robertson 0-0 0-0 1 0 0
Faulstich 1-2 0-0 0 0 2
Team 0-0 0-0 2 0 0
Totals 17-37 18-27 22 13 53
Valley FG FT R S Pts.
* Lash 5-9 6-10 9 1 16
* Parker 0-1 0-2 1 0 0
* Kindig 3-3 2-2 1 2 8
* Kelley 0-3 0-0 5 0 0
* Drudge 2-9 3-3 1 0 7
Neeley 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Hoffer 0-1 0-0 2 0 0
Salyer 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Tillman 2-3 1-2 0 0 5
Nelson 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Team 0-0 0-0 3 0 0
Totals 12-29 12-19 22 3 36
Three-point goals - Plymouth 1-7 (Ra. Davis 1-3, Wendel 0-2, Renz 0-1, Clinton 0-1), Valley 0-4 (Tillman 0-1, Lash 0-1, Parker 0-1, Kelley 0-1). Turnovers - Plymouth 14, Valley 21. Fouls - Plymouth 19, Valley 18. Fouled out - Renz. [[In-content Ad]]
AKRON - The words came screaming through the overhead speakers like they do before every home game for the Tippecanoe Valley varsity boys basketball team.
The ones that say nobody comes into the Vikings' house and pushes them around.
Only, Tuesday evening, somebody did come into the Vikings house and push them around.
Using a stingy defense and a physical style of play, Plymouth pulled away from Valley and cruised to a 53-36 win.
The teams were knotted at 21 at the half, but the Pilgrims outscored the Vikings 32-15 in the second half, including a 13-1 spurt over the final four minutes of the game.
"Plymouth played to win, and we just played," said Valley coach Bill Patrick, whose team fell to 2-2 on the season. "They were more aggressive than us. They played hard and played with more desire."
Patrick said his team playing with a lack of desire goes back to his players' practice habits, and the 37-year coaching veteran noted his players need to be more competitive in practice.
"Hopefully this will wake them up," said Patrick. "They need to go harder in practice. They're not competing hard in practice, and that's how they played tonight."
Despite a lack of height compared to some of Valley's players, the Pilgrims found ways to score points in the paint and get offensive rebounds.
Both Valley and Plymouth finished the game with 22 rebounds.
Plymouth had 11 offensive rebounds, while Valley had eight.
Known over the years for its three-point shooters, Plymouth made just one three-point shot in Tuesday's 17-point win over the Vikings.
Instead of launching long-range jumpers, Plymouth scored points in the paint against a taller Valley lineup.
"We just went flat," said Patrick. "They probably scored 30 points inside. We got outrebounded in the second half. We just didn't get much out of our seniors."
While 5-foot-10 sophomore Randy Davis led the Pilgrims with 17 points and six rebounds, 6-6 Valley senior Shane Drudge, normally a force inside, was never a factor in the game.
Drudge finished the game 2 of 9 from the floor and 3 of 3 from the charity stripe for seven points. He pulled down just one rebound.
Senior David Lash led Valley with 16 points and nine rebounds.
The Vikings finished the game 12 of 29 (41.4 percent) from the field and 12 of 19 from the charity stripe.
Plymouth shot 17 of 37 (45.9 percent) from the field and 18 of 27 from the free throw line.
Where the teams were drastically different was their play in the second half.
The Pilgrims were 9 of 16 from the field and 14 of 20 in the second half alone, while the Vikings were 4 of 11 from the field and 7 of 12 from the charity stripe through the third and fourth quarters.
Plymouth turned the ball over 14 times in the game, while the host Vikings finished with 21 turnovers, which the Pilgrims turned into 24 points.
After the two teams were knotted at 21 at the end of the second quarter, Plymouth outscored Valley 15-6 in the third quarter and 17-9 in final frame.
"Plymouth played good defense," said Patrick. "Give them credit, that's the best defense we'll see all year. That's a good Plymouth team. I don't want to take anything away from them, they can take you out of your offense."
Much like they did to Valley, a team that came in averaging 58 points per game.
To go with Lash's 16 points, Kevin Kindig scored eight points, while Steve Tillman scored five.
Chad Clinton scored eight points for Plymouth, while Jason Renz and Kory Bucher each scored seven.
Both of Valley's losses this season have been double-digit setbacks at home to Northern Lakes Conference schools. The Vikings opened the season with an 10-point loss to Warsaw.
Plymouth, which graduated all five starters from last year's Class 3A state runner-up team, opened the season with a five-point loss to Marshall county rival Bremen but has won three straight since.
Prior to the start of Tuesday's game, both Patrick and Edison were introduced at midcourt. The two have 70 years of varsity coaching experience and 1,108 wins between them.
Valley is in action again Saturday when it hosts Glenn, while Plymouth hosts Peru Friday.
PLYMOUTH 53, T. VALLEY 36
Plymouth 12 9 15 17 - 53
Valley 9 12 6 9 - 68
Plymouth FG FT R S Pts.
* Renz 3-5 1-2 3 2 7
* Clinton 2-3 4-4 2 1 8
* Ra. Daivs 6-15 4-8 6 5 17
* Ri. Davis 2-3 3-4 1 1 7
* Bucher 1-4 5-6 4 2 7
Hardesty 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Wendel 1-3 1-3 3 1 3
Adams 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Palmer 1-2 0-0 0 1 2
Robertson 0-0 0-0 1 0 0
Faulstich 1-2 0-0 0 0 2
Team 0-0 0-0 2 0 0
Totals 17-37 18-27 22 13 53
Valley FG FT R S Pts.
* Lash 5-9 6-10 9 1 16
* Parker 0-1 0-2 1 0 0
* Kindig 3-3 2-2 1 2 8
* Kelley 0-3 0-0 5 0 0
* Drudge 2-9 3-3 1 0 7
Neeley 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Hoffer 0-1 0-0 2 0 0
Salyer 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Tillman 2-3 1-2 0 0 5
Nelson 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Team 0-0 0-0 3 0 0
Totals 12-29 12-19 22 3 36
Three-point goals - Plymouth 1-7 (Ra. Davis 1-3, Wendel 0-2, Renz 0-1, Clinton 0-1), Valley 0-4 (Tillman 0-1, Lash 0-1, Parker 0-1, Kelley 0-1). Turnovers - Plymouth 14, Valley 21. Fouls - Plymouth 19, Valley 18. Fouled out - Renz. [[In-content Ad]]