Vikings Win OT Thriller
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Anthony [email protected]
In Friday's 62-53 overtime loss to the Tippecanoe Valley Vikings, the Wawasee Warriors were assessed a technical foul with 50.9 seconds remaining in overtime, down 55-53.[[In-content Ad]]The technical was whistled after blood was found on the jersey of junior Grant Ruch. Instead of walking off the court to change his uniform, coach Phil Mishler tossed him a new one. Once he shed the No. 30 jersey with blood on it, officials gathered together, eventually calling the tech.
"The rule is, you can not take your shirt off on the court," Valley coach Bill Patrick said. "There is absoltuley no way you can take your shirt off on the court. You take your shirt off, it's a technical. I don't care for what reason; that's the rule. It's in the rulebook."
Mishler said he knew the rule, but after an official had told him it was legal for him to do it, he did. In hindsight, he shouldn't have.
"It was my fault," Mishler said. "I knew the rule and I knew we shouldn't have done it. When the official says, 'Let's do it,' I say, 'OK,'." But I knew I should have looked down and said, 'There's no way we're going to get away with it. They're gonna change their minds.' That's what they did. I'll take fault of it."
Following the confusion, Valley's Ryan Scherzer connected on the two free throws, as Valley scored the last seven points of the game.
Making the technical an even tougher pill to swallow was the fact that Wawasee had just cut a 55-48 deficit to 55-53 in 12 seconds, behind a three-pointer from Wes Kaiser and a bucket by Brandon Geiger.
"Our guys held their composure and kept fighting," Mishler said of the three-pointer followed by a score off a steal on the ensuing in-bounds pass. "It paid off for them, it's just unfortunate that it didn't go all the way for them."
Before the overtime comeback, the Warriors had to claw their way back into the contest during regulation as well. Down 47-45 with just three seconds remaining under the Wawasee basket, Warrior senior Chas Amadeo lobbed a pass to Geiger, which he caught and scored on, sending the game into overtime.
"They're a good team," Patrick said about Wawasee. "They're gonna come back on ya, I don't care how far you have them down because they have kids who can shoot the three and Geiger's a load inside."
The three-point shot wasn't really there for Wawasee, connecting on just 4 of 18, but Geiger most definitely was, scoring 34 points on 9-of-13 shooting to go with his nine boards.
"You gotta give it to Brandon on senior night," Mishler said. "He really stepped up. He wanted to get the win, did whatever he could. I thought he did a nice job."
Controlling the paint all night, Geiger constantly drew double teams. On top of drawing three three-point plays, Geiger also went 16-for-19 from the free-throw line, making him virtually impossible to stop.
"If you're gonna put him at the free-throw line, you might as well give him two points," Patrick said. "He scores a lot of points at that free-throw line."
While Valley couldn't find an answer for Geiger, the Warriors were also trying to find a gameplan to stop Valley senior Chad Hoffer. On top of consistently breaking the Warriors press single-handedly, Hoffer netted 31 points on 11-of-24 shooting.
"He can play," an understated Patrick said of Hoffer. "He has good quickness and is smart. He's super smart.
"Tonight, he just kind of took over," he added.
Mishler knew that Hoffer would get his points, he had just hoped it wouldn't be so many, including seven in overtime.
"I thougt we did a good job of understanding what his plan was tonight," Mishler said. "He's just a very solid player. He hit some shots, which is what a big time player will do. I think that's another sectional lesson we'll have to learn. That when it comes tournament time, big time players and seniors make plays."
Hoffer had to step up, as teammate Shane Salyer and his 16 points per game only played six minutes with foul trouble, scoring zero points and grabbing two rebounds. The reason for the foul trouble was easy to identify, as the 6-foot-7 senior missed four out of five days of school this week with the flu.
"Jordan Boggs, our sixth man, was out home with the flu and Salyer, he's been sick all week," Patrick said. "Wednesday, (Salyer) couldn't stand up and walk. So he wasn't in school all week, just came today. He was weak."
Filling in for Salyer was sophomore Taylor Burkhart, who's averaged just over eight minutes a game this season. Against Wawasee, Burkhart scored seven points and posted six steals while trying to defend Geiger.
"Burkhart, a sophomore JV player, hasn't played much at all, and came in and really played well," Patrick said.
The game was the last of the regular season for each squad, with both now preparing for the Class 3A, Sectional 21, which will also be played at Wawasee. The Warriors will open the tournament in the 7 p.m. game Tuesday, taking on NorthWood. If they win that, Valley will be waiting for them in the 6 p.m. semifinal on Friday, having drawn the first-round bye.
"It's unfortunate that we didn't pull it off, but at the same time, I think we learned a lot from the game," Mishler said. "Hopefully that will help us in the sectional."
TIPPECANOE VALLEY 62, WAWASEE 53 (OT)
V 7 16 13 11 15 - 62
W 11 8 16 12 6 - 53
Valley - Hoffer 11-24 5-6 31, Scherzer 2-7 8-8 13, Salyer 0-3 0-0 0, Tillman 2-5 2-4 7, Ritchey 1-4 0-2 2, Burkhart 3-5 1-1 7, Vogel 0-3 2-2 2. Totals 19-51 18-23 62.
Wawasee - Stichter 2-6 0-0 6, Kaiser 2-7 0-0 5, Granger 1-6 2-2 4, Amadeo 0-5 1-2 1, Geiger 9-13 16-19 34, Beer 0-0 0-0 0, Ruch 1-6 0-0 3, Ringler 0-0 0-0 0, Jenkins 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 15-45 19-23 53.
3-point goals - Valley 6-14 (Hoffer 4, Tillman, Scherzer), Wawasee 4-18 (Stichter 2, Ruch, Kaiser). Team Fouls (fouled out) - Valley 19 (Salyer, Tillman), Wawasee 20 (Stichter, Geiger). Turnovers - Valley 14, Wawasee 24. Rebounds - Valley 21 (Hoffer 4, Tillman 4), Wawasee 33 (Granger 9, Geiger 9). Steals - Valley 14 (Burkhart 6), Wawasee 9 (Kaiser 4, Granger 4). Blocks - Valley 2, Wawasee 3 (Geiger 3). Assists - Valley 10 (Scherzer 4, Tillman 4), Wawasee 3. Records - Valley 16-4, Wawasee 12-8
In Friday's 62-53 overtime loss to the Tippecanoe Valley Vikings, the Wawasee Warriors were assessed a technical foul with 50.9 seconds remaining in overtime, down 55-53.[[In-content Ad]]The technical was whistled after blood was found on the jersey of junior Grant Ruch. Instead of walking off the court to change his uniform, coach Phil Mishler tossed him a new one. Once he shed the No. 30 jersey with blood on it, officials gathered together, eventually calling the tech.
"The rule is, you can not take your shirt off on the court," Valley coach Bill Patrick said. "There is absoltuley no way you can take your shirt off on the court. You take your shirt off, it's a technical. I don't care for what reason; that's the rule. It's in the rulebook."
Mishler said he knew the rule, but after an official had told him it was legal for him to do it, he did. In hindsight, he shouldn't have.
"It was my fault," Mishler said. "I knew the rule and I knew we shouldn't have done it. When the official says, 'Let's do it,' I say, 'OK,'." But I knew I should have looked down and said, 'There's no way we're going to get away with it. They're gonna change their minds.' That's what they did. I'll take fault of it."
Following the confusion, Valley's Ryan Scherzer connected on the two free throws, as Valley scored the last seven points of the game.
Making the technical an even tougher pill to swallow was the fact that Wawasee had just cut a 55-48 deficit to 55-53 in 12 seconds, behind a three-pointer from Wes Kaiser and a bucket by Brandon Geiger.
"Our guys held their composure and kept fighting," Mishler said of the three-pointer followed by a score off a steal on the ensuing in-bounds pass. "It paid off for them, it's just unfortunate that it didn't go all the way for them."
Before the overtime comeback, the Warriors had to claw their way back into the contest during regulation as well. Down 47-45 with just three seconds remaining under the Wawasee basket, Warrior senior Chas Amadeo lobbed a pass to Geiger, which he caught and scored on, sending the game into overtime.
"They're a good team," Patrick said about Wawasee. "They're gonna come back on ya, I don't care how far you have them down because they have kids who can shoot the three and Geiger's a load inside."
The three-point shot wasn't really there for Wawasee, connecting on just 4 of 18, but Geiger most definitely was, scoring 34 points on 9-of-13 shooting to go with his nine boards.
"You gotta give it to Brandon on senior night," Mishler said. "He really stepped up. He wanted to get the win, did whatever he could. I thought he did a nice job."
Controlling the paint all night, Geiger constantly drew double teams. On top of drawing three three-point plays, Geiger also went 16-for-19 from the free-throw line, making him virtually impossible to stop.
"If you're gonna put him at the free-throw line, you might as well give him two points," Patrick said. "He scores a lot of points at that free-throw line."
While Valley couldn't find an answer for Geiger, the Warriors were also trying to find a gameplan to stop Valley senior Chad Hoffer. On top of consistently breaking the Warriors press single-handedly, Hoffer netted 31 points on 11-of-24 shooting.
"He can play," an understated Patrick said of Hoffer. "He has good quickness and is smart. He's super smart.
"Tonight, he just kind of took over," he added.
Mishler knew that Hoffer would get his points, he had just hoped it wouldn't be so many, including seven in overtime.
"I thougt we did a good job of understanding what his plan was tonight," Mishler said. "He's just a very solid player. He hit some shots, which is what a big time player will do. I think that's another sectional lesson we'll have to learn. That when it comes tournament time, big time players and seniors make plays."
Hoffer had to step up, as teammate Shane Salyer and his 16 points per game only played six minutes with foul trouble, scoring zero points and grabbing two rebounds. The reason for the foul trouble was easy to identify, as the 6-foot-7 senior missed four out of five days of school this week with the flu.
"Jordan Boggs, our sixth man, was out home with the flu and Salyer, he's been sick all week," Patrick said. "Wednesday, (Salyer) couldn't stand up and walk. So he wasn't in school all week, just came today. He was weak."
Filling in for Salyer was sophomore Taylor Burkhart, who's averaged just over eight minutes a game this season. Against Wawasee, Burkhart scored seven points and posted six steals while trying to defend Geiger.
"Burkhart, a sophomore JV player, hasn't played much at all, and came in and really played well," Patrick said.
The game was the last of the regular season for each squad, with both now preparing for the Class 3A, Sectional 21, which will also be played at Wawasee. The Warriors will open the tournament in the 7 p.m. game Tuesday, taking on NorthWood. If they win that, Valley will be waiting for them in the 6 p.m. semifinal on Friday, having drawn the first-round bye.
"It's unfortunate that we didn't pull it off, but at the same time, I think we learned a lot from the game," Mishler said. "Hopefully that will help us in the sectional."
TIPPECANOE VALLEY 62, WAWASEE 53 (OT)
V 7 16 13 11 15 - 62
W 11 8 16 12 6 - 53
Valley - Hoffer 11-24 5-6 31, Scherzer 2-7 8-8 13, Salyer 0-3 0-0 0, Tillman 2-5 2-4 7, Ritchey 1-4 0-2 2, Burkhart 3-5 1-1 7, Vogel 0-3 2-2 2. Totals 19-51 18-23 62.
Wawasee - Stichter 2-6 0-0 6, Kaiser 2-7 0-0 5, Granger 1-6 2-2 4, Amadeo 0-5 1-2 1, Geiger 9-13 16-19 34, Beer 0-0 0-0 0, Ruch 1-6 0-0 3, Ringler 0-0 0-0 0, Jenkins 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 15-45 19-23 53.
3-point goals - Valley 6-14 (Hoffer 4, Tillman, Scherzer), Wawasee 4-18 (Stichter 2, Ruch, Kaiser). Team Fouls (fouled out) - Valley 19 (Salyer, Tillman), Wawasee 20 (Stichter, Geiger). Turnovers - Valley 14, Wawasee 24. Rebounds - Valley 21 (Hoffer 4, Tillman 4), Wawasee 33 (Granger 9, Geiger 9). Steals - Valley 14 (Burkhart 6), Wawasee 9 (Kaiser 4, Granger 4). Blocks - Valley 2, Wawasee 3 (Geiger 3). Assists - Valley 10 (Scherzer 4, Tillman 4), Wawasee 3. Records - Valley 16-4, Wawasee 12-8
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