Tippecanoe Valley Boys Escape With 50-41 Win Over Rochester

July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.

By Daniel Riordan, TImes-Union Sports Correspondent-

AKRON-Listening to Tippecanoe Valley head coach Bill Patrick talk after Friday night's contest, you get the feeling the game film may get shredded like Enron documents. The Vikings overcame a lackluster performance to garner a conference victory over Rochester 50-41.

"They weren't ready to play mentally," said Patrick of his team's effort. "We were a step or two late and we weren't aggressive inside."

That showed early on as 6-foot-6 sophomore Shane Drudge struggled with double teams by players several inches smaller. His fellow classmate 6-foot-4 David Lash was marginally better but struggled as well.

A spark for Valley was found in junior Shane Denny. Patrick will readily admit that Denny can start if he chooses but Friday night Denny decided to come in off the bench. Much like Vinnie "Microwave" Johnson of the Detroit Pistons' "Bad Boys," he heated things up.

The 6-2 slasher crashed the offensive boards on two straight trips and added a free throw for five straight points as Valley jumped to an 11-4 lead early on.

That lead quickly dwindled as turnovers and mental miscues brought Rochester back into the contest. The Zebras were far from lights out (12 of 45 from the field), but capitalized on seven first-half turnovers and were able to get to the foul line and hit.

David Lash began to slash and burn in the second quarter and showed marked improvement from the prior quarter. He would go into halftime with 10 points. Denny continued to buoy the spirits of the Viking faithful with his inspired play. Nine of his 11 points on the night came from offensive rebounds.

"Denny was the lone bright spot for us tonight. Without him we would have been in trouble," said Patrick. "Without him we don't win tonight."

Rochester's lone hot streak from the field came late in the first half when they hit three straight three-pointers, two by 6-0 senior Ryne Martin to draw within a possession, 24-21 at halftime.

Denny started the second half but was unable to provide the lift he did earlier.

Both teams found tough going and unkind rims in the third quarter. The two squads combined for 16 points. Give credit to Rochester for playing bigger than its program heights. For most of the 32 minute contest, the Zebra outhustled, outfought, and just plain out-played a bigger Valley squad.

The Zebras appeared to wear down however going into the final quarter. Drudge and Lash quickly asserted themselves in the fourth quarter early. They both hit buckets in the lane and were able to fight for and win position inside.

That wasn't enough to make up for the fact they got outhustled on the other end.

"We gave up eight offensive rebounds in the second half," said Patrick. "It doesn't matter how big you are, if you don't block out and get position you won't get the ball."

There were some bright spots for Valley on Friday night though. The Vikings shot 19 of 35 from the field. On the other hand they went just 11 of 19 from the charity stripe.

While Valley controlled the boards 29 to 20, the Vikings were unable to pull rebounds down at crucial times.

After the game Patrick conceded that if his squad had been playing a tougher opponent the outcome probably would have been much different.

"They played good man to man defense but didn't shoot particularly well," said Patrick of Rochester. "We're lucky to come out of here with a win tonight."

This isn't the first time these two teams have faced each other this year. They squared off in the Winning Edge Holiday Tournament at Rochester with the Vikings grabbing the 52-42 win. That's what may be the frustrating part. They knew what to expect and were at home this time.

For Valley the win moves them to an impressive 11-1 and 3-0 in the TRC. The Vikings face Southwood next Saturday in Wabash. For Patrick he'd rather have it that way then have to play tomorrow.

"I think we need four days of practice to get ourselves ready mentally."

TIPPECANOE VALLEY 50, ROCHESTER 41

Valley #11 13 9 17 - 50

Rochester 4 17 7 13 - 41

Valley FG FT A S R Pts.

Parker 0-3 0-4 2 0 1 0

Vanlaningham 5-7 0-0 2 0 3 11

Drudge 2-6 1-2 1 0 5 5

Lash 7-9 0-0 2 1 4 14

Jackson 0-2 2-2 0 0 4 2

Denny 5-7 1-2 1 1 7 11

Murphy 0-0 2-2 0 0 2 2

Gibson 0-1 5-7 0 0 2 5

Totals 19-35 11-19 8 2 29 50

Rochester FG FT A S R Pts.

Martin 2-6 5-6 1 1 6 11

Smith 3-13 1-2 0 4 5 8

Gibson 0-5 4-4 1 1 1 4

Warner 2-7 0-0 0 1 1 4

Thomas 4-8 0-0 0 1 4 8

Frounfelter 1-3 2-2 1 1 2 4

Hoff 0-2 2-2 0 0 0 2

Showley 0-1 0-0 0 0 1 0

Totals 12-45 14-16 3 9 20 41

Three-point goals - Valley 1-6 (Vanlaningham 1-2, Parker 0-3, Gibson 0-1) Rochester 3-11 (Martin 2-3, Smith 1-3) Turnovers: Valley 15, Rochester 10 Team Fouls- Valley 15, Rochester 19. Fouled out - Denny(Valley), Smith(Rochester) [[In-content Ad]]

AKRON-Listening to Tippecanoe Valley head coach Bill Patrick talk after Friday night's contest, you get the feeling the game film may get shredded like Enron documents. The Vikings overcame a lackluster performance to garner a conference victory over Rochester 50-41.

"They weren't ready to play mentally," said Patrick of his team's effort. "We were a step or two late and we weren't aggressive inside."

That showed early on as 6-foot-6 sophomore Shane Drudge struggled with double teams by players several inches smaller. His fellow classmate 6-foot-4 David Lash was marginally better but struggled as well.

A spark for Valley was found in junior Shane Denny. Patrick will readily admit that Denny can start if he chooses but Friday night Denny decided to come in off the bench. Much like Vinnie "Microwave" Johnson of the Detroit Pistons' "Bad Boys," he heated things up.

The 6-2 slasher crashed the offensive boards on two straight trips and added a free throw for five straight points as Valley jumped to an 11-4 lead early on.

That lead quickly dwindled as turnovers and mental miscues brought Rochester back into the contest. The Zebras were far from lights out (12 of 45 from the field), but capitalized on seven first-half turnovers and were able to get to the foul line and hit.

David Lash began to slash and burn in the second quarter and showed marked improvement from the prior quarter. He would go into halftime with 10 points. Denny continued to buoy the spirits of the Viking faithful with his inspired play. Nine of his 11 points on the night came from offensive rebounds.

"Denny was the lone bright spot for us tonight. Without him we would have been in trouble," said Patrick. "Without him we don't win tonight."

Rochester's lone hot streak from the field came late in the first half when they hit three straight three-pointers, two by 6-0 senior Ryne Martin to draw within a possession, 24-21 at halftime.

Denny started the second half but was unable to provide the lift he did earlier.

Both teams found tough going and unkind rims in the third quarter. The two squads combined for 16 points. Give credit to Rochester for playing bigger than its program heights. For most of the 32 minute contest, the Zebra outhustled, outfought, and just plain out-played a bigger Valley squad.

The Zebras appeared to wear down however going into the final quarter. Drudge and Lash quickly asserted themselves in the fourth quarter early. They both hit buckets in the lane and were able to fight for and win position inside.

That wasn't enough to make up for the fact they got outhustled on the other end.

"We gave up eight offensive rebounds in the second half," said Patrick. "It doesn't matter how big you are, if you don't block out and get position you won't get the ball."

There were some bright spots for Valley on Friday night though. The Vikings shot 19 of 35 from the field. On the other hand they went just 11 of 19 from the charity stripe.

While Valley controlled the boards 29 to 20, the Vikings were unable to pull rebounds down at crucial times.

After the game Patrick conceded that if his squad had been playing a tougher opponent the outcome probably would have been much different.

"They played good man to man defense but didn't shoot particularly well," said Patrick of Rochester. "We're lucky to come out of here with a win tonight."

This isn't the first time these two teams have faced each other this year. They squared off in the Winning Edge Holiday Tournament at Rochester with the Vikings grabbing the 52-42 win. That's what may be the frustrating part. They knew what to expect and were at home this time.

For Valley the win moves them to an impressive 11-1 and 3-0 in the TRC. The Vikings face Southwood next Saturday in Wabash. For Patrick he'd rather have it that way then have to play tomorrow.

"I think we need four days of practice to get ourselves ready mentally."

TIPPECANOE VALLEY 50, ROCHESTER 41

Valley #11 13 9 17 - 50

Rochester 4 17 7 13 - 41

Valley FG FT A S R Pts.

Parker 0-3 0-4 2 0 1 0

Vanlaningham 5-7 0-0 2 0 3 11

Drudge 2-6 1-2 1 0 5 5

Lash 7-9 0-0 2 1 4 14

Jackson 0-2 2-2 0 0 4 2

Denny 5-7 1-2 1 1 7 11

Murphy 0-0 2-2 0 0 2 2

Gibson 0-1 5-7 0 0 2 5

Totals 19-35 11-19 8 2 29 50

Rochester FG FT A S R Pts.

Martin 2-6 5-6 1 1 6 11

Smith 3-13 1-2 0 4 5 8

Gibson 0-5 4-4 1 1 1 4

Warner 2-7 0-0 0 1 1 4

Thomas 4-8 0-0 0 1 4 8

Frounfelter 1-3 2-2 1 1 2 4

Hoff 0-2 2-2 0 0 0 2

Showley 0-1 0-0 0 0 1 0

Totals 12-45 14-16 3 9 20 41

Three-point goals - Valley 1-6 (Vanlaningham 1-2, Parker 0-3, Gibson 0-1) Rochester 3-11 (Martin 2-3, Smith 1-3) Turnovers: Valley 15, Rochester 10 Team Fouls- Valley 15, Rochester 19. Fouled out - Denny(Valley), Smith(Rochester) [[In-content Ad]]

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