Valley's Depth Slays Dragons
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Dale [email protected]
With a 64-47 win at Argos Tuesday evening, Patrick's Tippecanoe Valley boys basketball team improved to 1-1 on the season, avoiding an 0-2 start for the second straight season.[[In-content Ad]]"This was a big game for us," said Patrick, whose team is trying to rebound from last year's 4-17 record, the first losing season in Patrick's Hall of Fame career. "This game last year, we were up eight at halftime and lost. This was a big game for us. There's a world of difference between 1-1 and 0-2."#
The Vikings, who lost their first six games last season as they were saddled with injuries, didn't make their fans wait as long for a victory this time around.
Valley is healthy, and as a result, has a deeper bench.
The Vikings' depth was just too much Tuesday for the Dragons, who used a six-man rotation until late in the fourth quarter.
"I think Valley's depth got us," said Argos coach Joel Grindle, whose team fell to 0-2. "They were running 10, 11 guys in there, and until late in the fourth quarter we were playing just six. Their depth really hurt us."
Valley led the host Dragons 13-8 after the first quarter and 28-25 at halftime.
A 13-2 run in the third quarter helped the Vikings put the game out of reach, and Argos just ran out of steam.
"Early in the third quarter, Valley made a couple plays and we went from being down three to being down 10 really quick," said Grindle. "We just couldn't score enough."
The spurt Grindle is talking about took Valley's advantage from 28-25 to 37-27.
The Vikings didn't stop there though, they tacked on a free throw, and then a three-pointer by senior Zach Owens gave them a 41-27 lead with 3:51 remaining.
Argos cut the lead to nine, 44-35, early in the fourth quarter, but a 15-4 run slayed the Dragons.
Senior Anthony Tolson led Valley with 18 points, while classmates Taylor Burkhart and Owens added 16 and 15 points, respectively.
Patrick said he thought his team shot the ball well, but that defense was the biggest key to putting the game away in the second half.
"I think it was our defense," said Patrick. "We got a couple steals and made some easy baskets in our transition offense. I think our defense is what got it started."
Senior Scott Sanders scored all eight of Argos' points in the first quarter and 10 of his team's first 11 points. He finished the first half with 15 points, but was held to six points in the second half.
"Sanders is a really nice player," said Patrick. "I thought (Jared) Gordon did a nice job on him. We put him on Sanders in the third quarter, and I thought he guarded him pretty well."
No other Argos player scored in double figures.
To go with Sanders' game-high 21 points, the Dragons got nine points from senior Jeremy Weirick, six points from junior Matt Hollar and five points from junior Sam Edmonds.
"Scott is a great player," said Grindle. "He the best player the state's never heard of. We had other guys step up, we just couldn't score enough. Valley's depth really hurt us."
Valley is in action again Friday at Knox, while Argos plays at Winamac Saturday.
TIPPECANOE VALLEY 64, ARGOS 47
TV 13 15 15 21 - 64
A 8 17 8 14 - 47
Valley - Anthony Tolson 7 0-0 18, Bret Cooper 0 0-0 0, Caleb Rovenstine 0 0-0 0, Nick Kindig 1 0-0 3, Taylor Burkhart 6 4-5 16, Jordan Littlejohn 1 1-2 3, Zach Owens 5 4-4 15, Jared Gordon 0 2-4 2, Dan Kitch 1 2-2 4, Gus Lukens 1 1-2 3, Shelton Carpenter 0 0-0 0, Taylor Breeden 0 0-0 0.
Argos - Derek Rex 0 2-2 2, Patric Shei 0 0-0 00, Scott Sanders 9 2-2 21, Matt Hollar 2 2-2 6, Justin Dunfee 1 0-0 2, Scott Tuttle 1 0-2 2, Sam Edmonds 2 1-2 5, Jeremy Weirick 2 5-6 9, Zachery Smith 0 0-0 0. Totals 17 12-16 47.
Three-point goals - Valley 6 (Tolson 4, Kindig, Owens), Argos 1 (Sanders). Fouls - Valley 17, Argos 14; Records: Valley 1-1, Argos 0-2.
JV - Valley 34, Argos 19
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With a 64-47 win at Argos Tuesday evening, Patrick's Tippecanoe Valley boys basketball team improved to 1-1 on the season, avoiding an 0-2 start for the second straight season.[[In-content Ad]]"This was a big game for us," said Patrick, whose team is trying to rebound from last year's 4-17 record, the first losing season in Patrick's Hall of Fame career. "This game last year, we were up eight at halftime and lost. This was a big game for us. There's a world of difference between 1-1 and 0-2."#
The Vikings, who lost their first six games last season as they were saddled with injuries, didn't make their fans wait as long for a victory this time around.
Valley is healthy, and as a result, has a deeper bench.
The Vikings' depth was just too much Tuesday for the Dragons, who used a six-man rotation until late in the fourth quarter.
"I think Valley's depth got us," said Argos coach Joel Grindle, whose team fell to 0-2. "They were running 10, 11 guys in there, and until late in the fourth quarter we were playing just six. Their depth really hurt us."
Valley led the host Dragons 13-8 after the first quarter and 28-25 at halftime.
A 13-2 run in the third quarter helped the Vikings put the game out of reach, and Argos just ran out of steam.
"Early in the third quarter, Valley made a couple plays and we went from being down three to being down 10 really quick," said Grindle. "We just couldn't score enough."
The spurt Grindle is talking about took Valley's advantage from 28-25 to 37-27.
The Vikings didn't stop there though, they tacked on a free throw, and then a three-pointer by senior Zach Owens gave them a 41-27 lead with 3:51 remaining.
Argos cut the lead to nine, 44-35, early in the fourth quarter, but a 15-4 run slayed the Dragons.
Senior Anthony Tolson led Valley with 18 points, while classmates Taylor Burkhart and Owens added 16 and 15 points, respectively.
Patrick said he thought his team shot the ball well, but that defense was the biggest key to putting the game away in the second half.
"I think it was our defense," said Patrick. "We got a couple steals and made some easy baskets in our transition offense. I think our defense is what got it started."
Senior Scott Sanders scored all eight of Argos' points in the first quarter and 10 of his team's first 11 points. He finished the first half with 15 points, but was held to six points in the second half.
"Sanders is a really nice player," said Patrick. "I thought (Jared) Gordon did a nice job on him. We put him on Sanders in the third quarter, and I thought he guarded him pretty well."
No other Argos player scored in double figures.
To go with Sanders' game-high 21 points, the Dragons got nine points from senior Jeremy Weirick, six points from junior Matt Hollar and five points from junior Sam Edmonds.
"Scott is a great player," said Grindle. "He the best player the state's never heard of. We had other guys step up, we just couldn't score enough. Valley's depth really hurt us."
Valley is in action again Friday at Knox, while Argos plays at Winamac Saturday.
TIPPECANOE VALLEY 64, ARGOS 47
TV 13 15 15 21 - 64
A 8 17 8 14 - 47
Valley - Anthony Tolson 7 0-0 18, Bret Cooper 0 0-0 0, Caleb Rovenstine 0 0-0 0, Nick Kindig 1 0-0 3, Taylor Burkhart 6 4-5 16, Jordan Littlejohn 1 1-2 3, Zach Owens 5 4-4 15, Jared Gordon 0 2-4 2, Dan Kitch 1 2-2 4, Gus Lukens 1 1-2 3, Shelton Carpenter 0 0-0 0, Taylor Breeden 0 0-0 0.
Argos - Derek Rex 0 2-2 2, Patric Shei 0 0-0 00, Scott Sanders 9 2-2 21, Matt Hollar 2 2-2 6, Justin Dunfee 1 0-0 2, Scott Tuttle 1 0-2 2, Sam Edmonds 2 1-2 5, Jeremy Weirick 2 5-6 9, Zachery Smith 0 0-0 0. Totals 17 12-16 47.
Three-point goals - Valley 6 (Tolson 4, Kindig, Owens), Argos 1 (Sanders). Fouls - Valley 17, Argos 14; Records: Valley 1-1, Argos 0-2.
JV - Valley 34, Argos 19
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