Vikings Vault Past Wildcats
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
MENTONE - To beat Whitko for the first time in six years, the Tippecanoe Valley basketball team borrowed a page from the Princeton playbook.
The Vikings downed Whitko for the first time since 1990, thanks to the help of a Princeton basketball trademark, backdoor cuts. Pete Carril's Princeton teams made a living off the backdoor play, as did the Vikings in their 66-55 win over Whitko Friday.
Coaches always talk about forcing other teams to play to their tempo. Valley forced Whitko to play to its tempo.
Whitko's philosophy? As coach Dave Henson has said in the past, his team does a lot of freelancing on offense. The Wildcats want to get the opponent in a track meet.
A shootout with Whitko was the last thing the Vikings wanted, so they slowed the game down. A typical Valley possession? Five passes or more with players constantly cutting to the basket.
Valley's plan worked against Whitko, as the Vikings managed to score 11 field goals in the paint in the first half, most of them on their backdoor plays. Five straight layups - layups! - helped push the Viking lead from 22-13 to 33-17. Another layup later in the second quarter jumped the lead to 37-19.
"We were very patient," Valley coach Gregg Sciarra said. "We wanted to make them play defense. Stick them on the backdoor cuts when we could or beat them to the block. That happened. That was when everything went right. That was good."
Henson said the Viking offense broke down the Wildcat defense.
"That's pretty much where they were taking all their shots (inside)," Henson said. "They were patient running the ball, waiting for us to break down. We accommodated them."
But the Vikings faltered at the end of the quarter, as they held the ball for more than 30 seconds, only to miss a shot with nine seconds left. Whitko scored on its end, and Valley's halftime lead was trimmed to 37-23.
The Valley team that patiently executed its game plan in the first half did not show up in the second half. The Wildcats played better defense, and the Vikings forced bad shots. The Wildcats lured the Vikings into their up-tempo game. Add it all up, and what you had was a Whitko run.
Whitko, who came from 28 down to beat Northfield last weekend, came from 18 down to tie Valley 49-49 with five minutes to go in the fourth quarter.
"I thought we played a real good first half," Sciarra said. "The second half, we had kids shooting some shots that they probably shouldn't have. We were out of synch. We survived the quarter, really.
"We were very fortunate. We figured they would be back."
"We tied the score with five minutes to go," Henson said. "The next three possessions, they scored. We either turned it over or missed a shot.
"When you fight hard to get back, you got to get the lead. A tie isn't going to cut the mustard. We might have been able to get them out of that slow, patient type of offense."
Both teams reverted to their first-half ways late in the game. The Vikings made easy layups again, increasing their lead to 56-51 just over two minutes left.
With just over a minute left, the Vikings got two straight crucial offensive rebounds. They missed a field goal but got the offensive rebound. Nick Stutzman went to the free-throw line. He made the first, missed the second, but Valley got the offensive board. Stutzman went to the line again, hit two free throws, and Valley led 59-51.
"We dug ourselves a hole," Henson said. "We shouldn't be in a hole. Then when you come out in the third and fourth quarter and play hard, instead of being even, you should have a 10- or 12-point lead. We can't keep getting ourselves in a hole every game.
"That's the way we play. Get down early and work your tail off to get back in it."
Valley finished with 44 points in the paint against Whitko. Jeff Brown had 19 points and 14 rebounds, and Stutzman had 14 points and nine rebounds.
"I thought we got a lot of mileage out of Stutzman," Sciarra said. "He was in there pounding away. We talked with Nick and (Scott) Cooksey about helping Jeff out on the boards. Stutz really came alive."
Zach Henson made 9 of 23 shots and scored 21 to lead Whitko. Bo Mullins added 18.
Whitko, 2-3 overall and 1-1 in the TRC, hosts Churubusco next Friday.
Valley, 3-2 overall and 1-1 in the TRC, hosts Wawasee next Friday. [[In-content Ad]]
MENTONE - To beat Whitko for the first time in six years, the Tippecanoe Valley basketball team borrowed a page from the Princeton playbook.
The Vikings downed Whitko for the first time since 1990, thanks to the help of a Princeton basketball trademark, backdoor cuts. Pete Carril's Princeton teams made a living off the backdoor play, as did the Vikings in their 66-55 win over Whitko Friday.
Coaches always talk about forcing other teams to play to their tempo. Valley forced Whitko to play to its tempo.
Whitko's philosophy? As coach Dave Henson has said in the past, his team does a lot of freelancing on offense. The Wildcats want to get the opponent in a track meet.
A shootout with Whitko was the last thing the Vikings wanted, so they slowed the game down. A typical Valley possession? Five passes or more with players constantly cutting to the basket.
Valley's plan worked against Whitko, as the Vikings managed to score 11 field goals in the paint in the first half, most of them on their backdoor plays. Five straight layups - layups! - helped push the Viking lead from 22-13 to 33-17. Another layup later in the second quarter jumped the lead to 37-19.
"We were very patient," Valley coach Gregg Sciarra said. "We wanted to make them play defense. Stick them on the backdoor cuts when we could or beat them to the block. That happened. That was when everything went right. That was good."
Henson said the Viking offense broke down the Wildcat defense.
"That's pretty much where they were taking all their shots (inside)," Henson said. "They were patient running the ball, waiting for us to break down. We accommodated them."
But the Vikings faltered at the end of the quarter, as they held the ball for more than 30 seconds, only to miss a shot with nine seconds left. Whitko scored on its end, and Valley's halftime lead was trimmed to 37-23.
The Valley team that patiently executed its game plan in the first half did not show up in the second half. The Wildcats played better defense, and the Vikings forced bad shots. The Wildcats lured the Vikings into their up-tempo game. Add it all up, and what you had was a Whitko run.
Whitko, who came from 28 down to beat Northfield last weekend, came from 18 down to tie Valley 49-49 with five minutes to go in the fourth quarter.
"I thought we played a real good first half," Sciarra said. "The second half, we had kids shooting some shots that they probably shouldn't have. We were out of synch. We survived the quarter, really.
"We were very fortunate. We figured they would be back."
"We tied the score with five minutes to go," Henson said. "The next three possessions, they scored. We either turned it over or missed a shot.
"When you fight hard to get back, you got to get the lead. A tie isn't going to cut the mustard. We might have been able to get them out of that slow, patient type of offense."
Both teams reverted to their first-half ways late in the game. The Vikings made easy layups again, increasing their lead to 56-51 just over two minutes left.
With just over a minute left, the Vikings got two straight crucial offensive rebounds. They missed a field goal but got the offensive rebound. Nick Stutzman went to the free-throw line. He made the first, missed the second, but Valley got the offensive board. Stutzman went to the line again, hit two free throws, and Valley led 59-51.
"We dug ourselves a hole," Henson said. "We shouldn't be in a hole. Then when you come out in the third and fourth quarter and play hard, instead of being even, you should have a 10- or 12-point lead. We can't keep getting ourselves in a hole every game.
"That's the way we play. Get down early and work your tail off to get back in it."
Valley finished with 44 points in the paint against Whitko. Jeff Brown had 19 points and 14 rebounds, and Stutzman had 14 points and nine rebounds.
"I thought we got a lot of mileage out of Stutzman," Sciarra said. "He was in there pounding away. We talked with Nick and (Scott) Cooksey about helping Jeff out on the boards. Stutz really came alive."
Zach Henson made 9 of 23 shots and scored 21 to lead Whitko. Bo Mullins added 18.
Whitko, 2-3 overall and 1-1 in the TRC, hosts Churubusco next Friday.
Valley, 3-2 overall and 1-1 in the TRC, hosts Wawasee next Friday. [[In-content Ad]]