Rochester Tops Valley In Title Tilt
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
ROCHESTER - The Tippecanoe Valley boys basketball team's New Year's resolution may be to put four quarters of basketball together.
The Vikings looked downright dangerous at times in a 62-56 loss to No. 8 (2A) Rochester in the championship of the Winning Edge Holiday Tournament Friday night and quite beatable at others.
Valley, who had never lost a game in the seven-year history of the tournament, couldn't put together enough offensive consistency to top a talented Zebra squad.
The Vikings managed just six points in the third quarter but was able to hold Rochester to just five. Valley then went scoreless in the fourth quarter until senior David Lash hit two free throws with 2:22 left in the game and the Vikings down 52-43.
After managing just three field goals for the first 14 minutes of the second half, Valley nailed four three pointers to put the game in jeopardy for Rochester.
Bryce Kelley, Shane Drudge, Chad Hoffer and Lash hit trifectas to draw the Vikings within five points with just 30 seconds remaining.
After Rochester's Charles Gibbons missed the second of two free throw attempts with 31.1 seconds left in the game and the Zebras up 58-53, Drudge tipped the loose ball to Hoffer who raced down court to find an open Bryce Kelley. Kelley's three-point attempt that would have cut the Rochester lead to one possession was wide.
Kelley helped keep Valley in the contest in the first half as he scored 10 points in the first 16 minutes of play and finished with 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting from the field.
Kelley, along with Lash and Drudge, were named to the all-tournament team along with Rochester's Cory Overmyer and Scott Thomas. The Zebras' Luke Smith was named MVP.
Smith, who was a junior all-star last season, lit the Vikings up for 23 points while pulling down nine rebounds from the guard position.
Smith was aided by a huge performance off the bench by Overmyer. Overmyer scored six points in the second quarter as he finished with 14.
Overmyer missed just one of the seven shots he took from the field.
Valley was effective from the field as the Vikings shot more than 50 percent from the field going 21 of 40 against the Zebras.
The Vikings' problem came in creating a quick-strike offense.
"We struggled in the half court game," said Valley head coach Bill Patrick. "We didn't move the ball well. We do better in a full court game using a press and trap."
Rochester was able to slow the game down enough and with Smith handling much of the ball-handling duties, the Zebras did not play into the Vikings' strengths.
One of Valley's biggest weaknesses Friday was free throw shooting. The Vikings were a dismal 7 of 16 (44 percent) from the charity stripe.
"If we hit a few free throws it would have been a different story," said Patrick.
Patrick said he was happy with his defense that held Rochester to 62 points despite weapons such as Smith, sophomore Kory Barnett and 6-foot-8 Josh Stoops.
Stoops was played tough by 6-6 Drudge. Drudge held Stoops to just 8 points and limited him to three rebounds.
Despite containing Stoops the Vikings were still dominated on the boards to the tune of a 34-20 Zebras advantage on the glass.
Many of Rochester's 34 rebounds were of the offensive variety which left Patrick with a sour taste in his mouth along with a few mental miscues by Valley on inbounds plays.
"(Rochester) got several baskets off of offensive rebounds and then they had two or three easy baskets on inbounds plays. There were also a couple of unforced errors on our part. "
The Vikings cut down on the errors during the final two minutes of the contest as they clawed back into the game.
The key for Patrick and his staff is to get Valley playing that way for an entire 32 minutes.
"We played hard during that late spurt. If we would have played that way the whole game we probably win," said Patrick.
Lash finished with a team-high 18 points while Drudge had 15. Chad Hoffer came off the bench to score five points for Valley.
Valley will get another chance at the Zebras as Rochester travels to Akron to take on the Vikings Jan. 13 in Three Rivers Conference action.
"I think next time we play them it'll be a better game. I think it's going to be another close game but I think we'll play a lot better," said Patrick.
The game is also shaping up as a potential streak breaker for Valley. The Vikings currently have a 17-game TRC winning streak and should they beat Northfield Jan. 13 it will be 18 when they play Rochester.
Valley also has won the past six conference championships. The matchup with Rochester may end up being, for all intents and purposes, the conference championship.
The Vikings, 6-3 on the season, are next in action Thursday when they travel to Argos for an 8 p.m. tipoff.
ROCHESTER 62, T. VALLEY 56
T. Valley 20 14 6 16 - 56
Rochester 21 16 5 20 - 62
T. Valley FG FT R S Pts.
*Parker 2-4 0-0 2 1 4
*Kelley 4-6 1-6 3 0 12
*Lash 7-10 3-5 6 3 18
*Kindig 1-4 0-0 3 1 2
*Drudge 5-13 3-5 5 0 15
Hoffer 2-3 0-0 1 0 6
Nelson 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 21-40 7-16 20 5 56
Rochester FG FT R S Pts.
*Smith 6-13 8-10 9 2 23
*Barnett 2-6 2-2 3 0 7
*Gibbons 0-3 0-2 3 0 0
*Thomas 3-4 3-6 10 0 9
*Stoops 4-6 0-0 3 0 8
Overmyer 6-7 2-2 4 0 14
Walley 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Showley 0-2 1-2 2 0 1
Heyde 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Good 0-1 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 21-42 16-24 34 2 62
Three-point goals - Tippecanoe Valley 7-10 (Kelley 3-4, Drudge 2-4, Lash 1-1, Hoffer 1-1), Rochester 4-10 (Smith 3-4, Barnett 1-5). Turnovers - Tippecanoe Valley 10, Rochester 12. Fouls - Tippecanoe Valley 18, Rochester 19. Fouled out - None. [[In-content Ad]]
ROCHESTER - The Tippecanoe Valley boys basketball team's New Year's resolution may be to put four quarters of basketball together.
The Vikings looked downright dangerous at times in a 62-56 loss to No. 8 (2A) Rochester in the championship of the Winning Edge Holiday Tournament Friday night and quite beatable at others.
Valley, who had never lost a game in the seven-year history of the tournament, couldn't put together enough offensive consistency to top a talented Zebra squad.
The Vikings managed just six points in the third quarter but was able to hold Rochester to just five. Valley then went scoreless in the fourth quarter until senior David Lash hit two free throws with 2:22 left in the game and the Vikings down 52-43.
After managing just three field goals for the first 14 minutes of the second half, Valley nailed four three pointers to put the game in jeopardy for Rochester.
Bryce Kelley, Shane Drudge, Chad Hoffer and Lash hit trifectas to draw the Vikings within five points with just 30 seconds remaining.
After Rochester's Charles Gibbons missed the second of two free throw attempts with 31.1 seconds left in the game and the Zebras up 58-53, Drudge tipped the loose ball to Hoffer who raced down court to find an open Bryce Kelley. Kelley's three-point attempt that would have cut the Rochester lead to one possession was wide.
Kelley helped keep Valley in the contest in the first half as he scored 10 points in the first 16 minutes of play and finished with 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting from the field.
Kelley, along with Lash and Drudge, were named to the all-tournament team along with Rochester's Cory Overmyer and Scott Thomas. The Zebras' Luke Smith was named MVP.
Smith, who was a junior all-star last season, lit the Vikings up for 23 points while pulling down nine rebounds from the guard position.
Smith was aided by a huge performance off the bench by Overmyer. Overmyer scored six points in the second quarter as he finished with 14.
Overmyer missed just one of the seven shots he took from the field.
Valley was effective from the field as the Vikings shot more than 50 percent from the field going 21 of 40 against the Zebras.
The Vikings' problem came in creating a quick-strike offense.
"We struggled in the half court game," said Valley head coach Bill Patrick. "We didn't move the ball well. We do better in a full court game using a press and trap."
Rochester was able to slow the game down enough and with Smith handling much of the ball-handling duties, the Zebras did not play into the Vikings' strengths.
One of Valley's biggest weaknesses Friday was free throw shooting. The Vikings were a dismal 7 of 16 (44 percent) from the charity stripe.
"If we hit a few free throws it would have been a different story," said Patrick.
Patrick said he was happy with his defense that held Rochester to 62 points despite weapons such as Smith, sophomore Kory Barnett and 6-foot-8 Josh Stoops.
Stoops was played tough by 6-6 Drudge. Drudge held Stoops to just 8 points and limited him to three rebounds.
Despite containing Stoops the Vikings were still dominated on the boards to the tune of a 34-20 Zebras advantage on the glass.
Many of Rochester's 34 rebounds were of the offensive variety which left Patrick with a sour taste in his mouth along with a few mental miscues by Valley on inbounds plays.
"(Rochester) got several baskets off of offensive rebounds and then they had two or three easy baskets on inbounds plays. There were also a couple of unforced errors on our part. "
The Vikings cut down on the errors during the final two minutes of the contest as they clawed back into the game.
The key for Patrick and his staff is to get Valley playing that way for an entire 32 minutes.
"We played hard during that late spurt. If we would have played that way the whole game we probably win," said Patrick.
Lash finished with a team-high 18 points while Drudge had 15. Chad Hoffer came off the bench to score five points for Valley.
Valley will get another chance at the Zebras as Rochester travels to Akron to take on the Vikings Jan. 13 in Three Rivers Conference action.
"I think next time we play them it'll be a better game. I think it's going to be another close game but I think we'll play a lot better," said Patrick.
The game is also shaping up as a potential streak breaker for Valley. The Vikings currently have a 17-game TRC winning streak and should they beat Northfield Jan. 13 it will be 18 when they play Rochester.
Valley also has won the past six conference championships. The matchup with Rochester may end up being, for all intents and purposes, the conference championship.
The Vikings, 6-3 on the season, are next in action Thursday when they travel to Argos for an 8 p.m. tipoff.
ROCHESTER 62, T. VALLEY 56
T. Valley 20 14 6 16 - 56
Rochester 21 16 5 20 - 62
T. Valley FG FT R S Pts.
*Parker 2-4 0-0 2 1 4
*Kelley 4-6 1-6 3 0 12
*Lash 7-10 3-5 6 3 18
*Kindig 1-4 0-0 3 1 2
*Drudge 5-13 3-5 5 0 15
Hoffer 2-3 0-0 1 0 6
Nelson 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 21-40 7-16 20 5 56
Rochester FG FT R S Pts.
*Smith 6-13 8-10 9 2 23
*Barnett 2-6 2-2 3 0 7
*Gibbons 0-3 0-2 3 0 0
*Thomas 3-4 3-6 10 0 9
*Stoops 4-6 0-0 3 0 8
Overmyer 6-7 2-2 4 0 14
Walley 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Showley 0-2 1-2 2 0 1
Heyde 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Good 0-1 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 21-42 16-24 34 2 62
Three-point goals - Tippecanoe Valley 7-10 (Kelley 3-4, Drudge 2-4, Lash 1-1, Hoffer 1-1), Rochester 4-10 (Smith 3-4, Barnett 1-5). Turnovers - Tippecanoe Valley 10, Rochester 12. Fouls - Tippecanoe Valley 18, Rochester 19. Fouled out - None. [[In-content Ad]]