Vikings' Brown hits free throw in OT for win
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
COLUMBIA CITY - At the time, it just seemed like a normal comment from a normal Tippecanoe Valley fan. Who would have known that this guy could see the future? As warm-ups were taking place, this fortune teller yelled out to Valley star Jeff Brown, "Free throws win ball games!"
Who knew that Brown would step to the line with :00.8 left in overtime in the Columbia City sectional championship to win the game?
Who knew that Brown would miss the front end of a one-and-one with 39 seconds left in regulation that could have sealed the game?
Who knew Justin Waterson of Columbia City would miss a free throw with :08 seconds left in regulation that would have given the Golden Eagles a one-point lead?
Finally, who knew Columbia City would get to the free throw line just six times after shooting 43 free throws the previous night, 24 in the fourth quarter, in a victory over Manchester?
This man was nothing more than a prophet disguised as a Valley Viking.
Brown missed the first free throw with :00.8 seconds to play, but he knocked down the second, and Valley won its first sectional title since 1988, 33-32, Friday in the Columbia City Sectional.
"I'm ecstatic," Valley point guard Darren Parker said. "I haven't quit smiling since the game ended. Everyone knew it was going to be close. I'm glad it was Jeff shooting that last free throw and not me."
Valley led 3-0, but that was the only time it would lead in the first three quarters. Leading 26-23 heading into the fourth quarter, Columbia City began to slow down the tempo a bit and tried to get Valley out of the 2-3 zone that it stuck to almost all night.
The Vikings would not break, but Chris Joy hit a layup to give the Golden Eagles a five-point lead.
Bryan Lenfestey knocked down a three-pointer one minute later to cut the lead to two points.
At that point, Columbia City began to lose control of its offensive rhythm. The Golden Eagles had seven turnovers in the fourth quarter, one more than they had in the first three quarters combined.
Neither team put any points on the board for four minutes until Eric Love nailed a three-pointer with 1:22 to play to give Valley its first lead since early in the game.
Brown hit a free throw, but missed the back end of the one-and-one, and Columbia City hit two free throws in the final 45 seconds to send the game to overtime.
In overtime, the only points came on shots from the charity stripe, and Columbia City found itself with the ball in a tie game with one minute to play. It held for the final shot, but Waterson missed with :03 to play on a leaning baseline jumper. Trying to get the offensive rebound, Waterson picked up the foul that sent Brown to the line to close out the game.
When Brown and Nick Stutzman were suspended for four games late in the regular season, Valley struggled. But winning makes things better, and all is forgiven among the Viking players.
"It's a lot better having them in there," Love said. "I don't think we could do much without them. With them in there it made it a whole lot better."
Bryan Lenfestey played a key role in both games in the sectional. He averaged 10 points per game and took a lot of the scoring load off of Brown, Love, and Stutzman.
"I knew they would be keying on Brown and Love," Lenfestey said. "I just try to do whatever I can to help the team on to victory."
After falling behind 3-0 in the opening quarter, Columbia City scored eight straight points on a pair of Gabe Argerbright three-pointers, and led 10-7 after one quarter of play.
In the second quarter, the Golden Eagles extended the lead to five points, 14-9, but Brown scored five of the last seven points to get to within two at the half.
Columbia City knocked down a pair of three-pointers in the third quarter to take the 26-23 lead into the final eight minutes.
Brown scored 13 points and grabbed five rebounds in the win. He played all 36 minutes in the game. Argerbright had 18 points to lead all scorers for Columbia City.
"I think the team pulled together when Stutzman and I were out," Brown said. "I think we played a lot better when we returned and played as a team. Right now, we're happy, but this week in practice, I think we'll want to get more. We think we can go to regional and win at least one game, because Valley's never won a regional game."
Valley (12-10) will get a rematch with Northfield in the second game on Saturday. Northfield defeated the Vikings in the regular season 60-58 on a buzzer beater DeWayne Krom. Tip-off time is set for 12:30 p.m. at Huntington North. [[In-content Ad]]
COLUMBIA CITY - At the time, it just seemed like a normal comment from a normal Tippecanoe Valley fan. Who would have known that this guy could see the future? As warm-ups were taking place, this fortune teller yelled out to Valley star Jeff Brown, "Free throws win ball games!"
Who knew that Brown would step to the line with :00.8 left in overtime in the Columbia City sectional championship to win the game?
Who knew that Brown would miss the front end of a one-and-one with 39 seconds left in regulation that could have sealed the game?
Who knew Justin Waterson of Columbia City would miss a free throw with :08 seconds left in regulation that would have given the Golden Eagles a one-point lead?
Finally, who knew Columbia City would get to the free throw line just six times after shooting 43 free throws the previous night, 24 in the fourth quarter, in a victory over Manchester?
This man was nothing more than a prophet disguised as a Valley Viking.
Brown missed the first free throw with :00.8 seconds to play, but he knocked down the second, and Valley won its first sectional title since 1988, 33-32, Friday in the Columbia City Sectional.
"I'm ecstatic," Valley point guard Darren Parker said. "I haven't quit smiling since the game ended. Everyone knew it was going to be close. I'm glad it was Jeff shooting that last free throw and not me."
Valley led 3-0, but that was the only time it would lead in the first three quarters. Leading 26-23 heading into the fourth quarter, Columbia City began to slow down the tempo a bit and tried to get Valley out of the 2-3 zone that it stuck to almost all night.
The Vikings would not break, but Chris Joy hit a layup to give the Golden Eagles a five-point lead.
Bryan Lenfestey knocked down a three-pointer one minute later to cut the lead to two points.
At that point, Columbia City began to lose control of its offensive rhythm. The Golden Eagles had seven turnovers in the fourth quarter, one more than they had in the first three quarters combined.
Neither team put any points on the board for four minutes until Eric Love nailed a three-pointer with 1:22 to play to give Valley its first lead since early in the game.
Brown hit a free throw, but missed the back end of the one-and-one, and Columbia City hit two free throws in the final 45 seconds to send the game to overtime.
In overtime, the only points came on shots from the charity stripe, and Columbia City found itself with the ball in a tie game with one minute to play. It held for the final shot, but Waterson missed with :03 to play on a leaning baseline jumper. Trying to get the offensive rebound, Waterson picked up the foul that sent Brown to the line to close out the game.
When Brown and Nick Stutzman were suspended for four games late in the regular season, Valley struggled. But winning makes things better, and all is forgiven among the Viking players.
"It's a lot better having them in there," Love said. "I don't think we could do much without them. With them in there it made it a whole lot better."
Bryan Lenfestey played a key role in both games in the sectional. He averaged 10 points per game and took a lot of the scoring load off of Brown, Love, and Stutzman.
"I knew they would be keying on Brown and Love," Lenfestey said. "I just try to do whatever I can to help the team on to victory."
After falling behind 3-0 in the opening quarter, Columbia City scored eight straight points on a pair of Gabe Argerbright three-pointers, and led 10-7 after one quarter of play.
In the second quarter, the Golden Eagles extended the lead to five points, 14-9, but Brown scored five of the last seven points to get to within two at the half.
Columbia City knocked down a pair of three-pointers in the third quarter to take the 26-23 lead into the final eight minutes.
Brown scored 13 points and grabbed five rebounds in the win. He played all 36 minutes in the game. Argerbright had 18 points to lead all scorers for Columbia City.
"I think the team pulled together when Stutzman and I were out," Brown said. "I think we played a lot better when we returned and played as a team. Right now, we're happy, but this week in practice, I think we'll want to get more. We think we can go to regional and win at least one game, because Valley's never won a regional game."
Valley (12-10) will get a rematch with Northfield in the second game on Saturday. Northfield defeated the Vikings in the regular season 60-58 on a buzzer beater DeWayne Krom. Tip-off time is set for 12:30 p.m. at Huntington North. [[In-content Ad]]