Triton Gives Valley A Second-Half Scare
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
BOURBON - Anyone who left the Triton-Tippecanoe Valley boys basketball game at halftime Friday night will be surprised to learn the final score was 79-72.
The Vikings were up 47-23 at the half, but Triton fought back in the second half to make a game of it.
"The second half was pure heart. Effort and heart," said Triton coach Mike McBride. "They fought and competed. It was unbelievable. Our kids just refused to give in, it was a great effort."
While Triton played an impressive second half, Valley played just as well in the first two quarters.
The first quarter saw a lot of run-and-gun action. Triton's Josh Moore scored the first basket of the game, but Valley's Corey Vanlaningham answered quickly with a three-pointer.
Tyson Blackford hit a Trojan basket to make the score 4-3 Triton, but Trey Eaton hit a long shot to put the Vikes up 6-4.
Blackford answered again to tie the game at 6-all. Then Vanlaningham hit a basket to put Valley back up, 8-6.
Kyle Bell hit two free throws to knot the score at eight. Eaton restored the Valley lead, and then Moore tied the score yet again, 10-all.
However, the rest of the half belonged to Tippecanoe Valley.
Shane Drudge hit a basket, followed by a pair of Eaton free throws to put Valey up 14-10 with 2:24 left in the first frame.
Through the remainder of the first quarter, Valley outscored Triton 8-5 to take a 22-15 advantage into the second frame.
In the early minutes of the second stanza, the Vikings continued their offensive assault, outscoring Triton 13-7 to take a 35-22 lead with 4:17 left in the first half.
In the final four minutes of the second frame, the Valley squad caught fire and netted 12 points to Triton's one.
At the half, Valley looked to have the game under control with a 47-23 lead.
Perhaps someone should have informed the Trojans of that fact.
The Triton squad came out of an extended halftime period with renewed energy.
Moore scored the first basket of the third frame, setting the tone for the second half. The Trojans outscored Valley 19-11 in the third frame and cut the Viking lead to 58-42 with a three-pointer by Braxton Barton at the 25.4 mark firing things up for a wild fourth frame.
Eaton hit the first basket of the final quarter of play, but Bell hit a free throw to keep Triton's scoring streak alive.
Drudge, Adam Wanemacher, and Vanlaningham each scored baskets to make the score 64-45 in Valley's favor.
Then Blackford, Moore and Bell each hit a set of free throws to cut the Vikings lead to 64-51 at the 5:24 mark.
After an Eaton basket, Bell netted a three-pointer and Moore hit another basket to cut the Trojan deficit to 10 for the first time since the second quarter.
But the Triton squad was not finished.
Back-to-back three-point conversions by Wanemacher made the score 68-62 at the 1:43 mark, but there was still a lot of game left to play.
Fouls, free throws and three-pointers were par for the course in the final minute and a half of play.
At the 1:24 mark, Eaton hit two free throws that were answered with a three-pointer by Blackford at the other end.
Two more Eaton free throws were answered with a Barton three-pointer, making the score 72-68 with just over a minute left in the game.
In the final 48.4 seconds of play, Shane Denny hit a basket for Valley, Eaton hit five charity baskets for Valley, while Daniel Kuhn and Barton each hit a set of free throws for Triton to make the final score 79-72.
All totaled, nine players finished the night in double figures.
Eaton led all scorers with 31 points, including 16 straight free throws. Vanlaningham scored 11 points and Brandon Cody and Drudge tossed in 10 each for Valley.
"The first half was the best first half we have played all year," said Valley coach Bill Patrick. "But as well as we played in the first half was as bad as we played in the second half. I don't know what happened, we made some turnovers and we made some mistakes that hurt us. Triton played very hard and they are a good team."
Moore led the Triton scoring charge with 16 points, while Bell added 14 and Barton chipped in 13. Wanemacher scored 12 points, and Blackford netted 11 points.
The win moved Valley's record to 18-1 on the season. The Vikings finish the season Friday against Wawasee. Triton falls to 10-9 and finishes the season at Oregon Davis Tuesday night.
TIPPECANOE VALLEY 79, TRITON 72
Valley 22 25 11 21 - 79
Triton 15 8 19 30 - 72
Valley FG FT R S Pts.
Eaton 6-13 17-18 12 3 31
Wise 0-2 0-0 4 1 0
Parker 1-1 2-2 0 1 4
Valaningham 5-8 0-1 0 0 11
Cody 4-6 1-2 5 1 10
Drudge 4-6 2-3 5 0 10
Gibson 0-0 2-6 1 1 2
Denny 4-5 1-2 7 0 9
Lash 0-0 2-2 0 0 2
Murphy 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 24-41 27-36 34 7 79
Triton FG FT R S Pts.
Wanemacher 4-6 4-6 1 3 12
Blackford 4-13 2-5 5 2 11
Bell 2-11 8-10 5 1 14
Barton 4-11 2-2 3 4 13
Moore 6-13 4-4 4 5 16
McClarnon 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Savill 0-1 0-0 0 0 0
Watkins 1-2 0-0 2 0 2
Kuhn 0-1 2-2 2 0 2
Moriarty 1-1 0-0 0 0 2
Totals 22-59 22-29 22 15 72
Three-point goals -ÊValley 4-9 (Eaton 2-5, Vanlaningham 1-3, Cody 1-1), Triton 6-19 (Blackford 1-5, Bell 2-5, Barton 3-6, Moore 0-3). Fouls - Valley 21, Triton 28. Fouled out - Wanamacher, Moore. Turnovers - Valley 21, Triton 15.
JV - TIPPECANOE VALLEY 35, TRITON 29 [[In-content Ad]]
BOURBON - Anyone who left the Triton-Tippecanoe Valley boys basketball game at halftime Friday night will be surprised to learn the final score was 79-72.
The Vikings were up 47-23 at the half, but Triton fought back in the second half to make a game of it.
"The second half was pure heart. Effort and heart," said Triton coach Mike McBride. "They fought and competed. It was unbelievable. Our kids just refused to give in, it was a great effort."
While Triton played an impressive second half, Valley played just as well in the first two quarters.
The first quarter saw a lot of run-and-gun action. Triton's Josh Moore scored the first basket of the game, but Valley's Corey Vanlaningham answered quickly with a three-pointer.
Tyson Blackford hit a Trojan basket to make the score 4-3 Triton, but Trey Eaton hit a long shot to put the Vikes up 6-4.
Blackford answered again to tie the game at 6-all. Then Vanlaningham hit a basket to put Valley back up, 8-6.
Kyle Bell hit two free throws to knot the score at eight. Eaton restored the Valley lead, and then Moore tied the score yet again, 10-all.
However, the rest of the half belonged to Tippecanoe Valley.
Shane Drudge hit a basket, followed by a pair of Eaton free throws to put Valey up 14-10 with 2:24 left in the first frame.
Through the remainder of the first quarter, Valley outscored Triton 8-5 to take a 22-15 advantage into the second frame.
In the early minutes of the second stanza, the Vikings continued their offensive assault, outscoring Triton 13-7 to take a 35-22 lead with 4:17 left in the first half.
In the final four minutes of the second frame, the Valley squad caught fire and netted 12 points to Triton's one.
At the half, Valley looked to have the game under control with a 47-23 lead.
Perhaps someone should have informed the Trojans of that fact.
The Triton squad came out of an extended halftime period with renewed energy.
Moore scored the first basket of the third frame, setting the tone for the second half. The Trojans outscored Valley 19-11 in the third frame and cut the Viking lead to 58-42 with a three-pointer by Braxton Barton at the 25.4 mark firing things up for a wild fourth frame.
Eaton hit the first basket of the final quarter of play, but Bell hit a free throw to keep Triton's scoring streak alive.
Drudge, Adam Wanemacher, and Vanlaningham each scored baskets to make the score 64-45 in Valley's favor.
Then Blackford, Moore and Bell each hit a set of free throws to cut the Vikings lead to 64-51 at the 5:24 mark.
After an Eaton basket, Bell netted a three-pointer and Moore hit another basket to cut the Trojan deficit to 10 for the first time since the second quarter.
But the Triton squad was not finished.
Back-to-back three-point conversions by Wanemacher made the score 68-62 at the 1:43 mark, but there was still a lot of game left to play.
Fouls, free throws and three-pointers were par for the course in the final minute and a half of play.
At the 1:24 mark, Eaton hit two free throws that were answered with a three-pointer by Blackford at the other end.
Two more Eaton free throws were answered with a Barton three-pointer, making the score 72-68 with just over a minute left in the game.
In the final 48.4 seconds of play, Shane Denny hit a basket for Valley, Eaton hit five charity baskets for Valley, while Daniel Kuhn and Barton each hit a set of free throws for Triton to make the final score 79-72.
All totaled, nine players finished the night in double figures.
Eaton led all scorers with 31 points, including 16 straight free throws. Vanlaningham scored 11 points and Brandon Cody and Drudge tossed in 10 each for Valley.
"The first half was the best first half we have played all year," said Valley coach Bill Patrick. "But as well as we played in the first half was as bad as we played in the second half. I don't know what happened, we made some turnovers and we made some mistakes that hurt us. Triton played very hard and they are a good team."
Moore led the Triton scoring charge with 16 points, while Bell added 14 and Barton chipped in 13. Wanemacher scored 12 points, and Blackford netted 11 points.
The win moved Valley's record to 18-1 on the season. The Vikings finish the season Friday against Wawasee. Triton falls to 10-9 and finishes the season at Oregon Davis Tuesday night.
TIPPECANOE VALLEY 79, TRITON 72
Valley 22 25 11 21 - 79
Triton 15 8 19 30 - 72
Valley FG FT R S Pts.
Eaton 6-13 17-18 12 3 31
Wise 0-2 0-0 4 1 0
Parker 1-1 2-2 0 1 4
Valaningham 5-8 0-1 0 0 11
Cody 4-6 1-2 5 1 10
Drudge 4-6 2-3 5 0 10
Gibson 0-0 2-6 1 1 2
Denny 4-5 1-2 7 0 9
Lash 0-0 2-2 0 0 2
Murphy 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 24-41 27-36 34 7 79
Triton FG FT R S Pts.
Wanemacher 4-6 4-6 1 3 12
Blackford 4-13 2-5 5 2 11
Bell 2-11 8-10 5 1 14
Barton 4-11 2-2 3 4 13
Moore 6-13 4-4 4 5 16
McClarnon 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Savill 0-1 0-0 0 0 0
Watkins 1-2 0-0 2 0 2
Kuhn 0-1 2-2 2 0 2
Moriarty 1-1 0-0 0 0 2
Totals 22-59 22-29 22 15 72
Three-point goals -ÊValley 4-9 (Eaton 2-5, Vanlaningham 1-3, Cody 1-1), Triton 6-19 (Blackford 1-5, Bell 2-5, Barton 3-6, Moore 0-3). Fouls - Valley 21, Triton 28. Fouled out - Wanamacher, Moore. Turnovers - Valley 21, Triton 15.
JV - TIPPECANOE VALLEY 35, TRITON 29 [[In-content Ad]]