Hamby Leads Squires Over Tippy ValleyAKRON – Manchester had three players in double figures in a Three Rivers Conference boys basketball victory over Tippecanoe Valley Friday night.
Valley (2-12, 0-5 TRC) led only once in the contest, 2-0 with free throws from sophomore Tanner Trippiedi. The lead was short lived and Manchester (7-7, 3-2 TRC) found itself scoring seven straight points and then ended the quarter on a 8-0 run.
Junior Parkur Dalrymple stopped the dry spell for the Vikings with a basket early in the second stanza. Valley had four different players score in the quarter.
Valley was 6 of 21 from the field in the first half, missing all eight of their three-point attempts in the process.
“(We) have to shoot well in order to win,” Valley coach Chad Patrick said. “We’ve been struggling. The guys are shooting shots quick and need to pass the ball inside and work from inside to out.”
Manchester, on the other hand, was 11 of 26 from the floor, making three triples in the first half. Freshman Weston Hamby contributed five points in the first 16 minutes.
“Weston does a great job,” said Manchester coach Mark Underwood. “It runs in the family. To come in and play point guard as a freshman is tough and he understands that.”
Valley came back to the court after intermission and closed the gap to 11 points. Jalen Shepherd tallied five points in the third quarter and finished the game with 12.
After a scoreless second quarter for Manchester senior Koehl Fluke, he netted four of his 15 in the third quarter.
“I’m so proud of him,” Underwood said. “He’s been a great teammate and is very unselfish.”
The Vikings found themselves down 44-27 to begin the fourth quarter. They scored four quick points, trimming the Manchester lead. Fouls hurt Valley’s scoring streaks, giving up eight points from the free throw line.
The Squires added three shots from behind the arc in the fourth, en route to scoring 20 points alone in the period, more than Valley scored the whole first half.
Manchester won the battle on the glass and out rebounded Valley 31-28.
The Squires host Fort Wayne Concordia and Valley travels to Clinton Christian, both games are tomorrow night at 7:30.
Three-pointers – Manchester 7 (W. Hamby 2, M. Hamby 2, Fluke 2, Creager), Valley 0; Rebounds – Manchester 31 (Casper 12), Valley 28 (Shepherd 8); Turnovers – Manchester 8, Valley 13, Fouls – Manchester 17, Valley 18; Records: Manchester 7-7 (3-2 TRC), Valley 2-12 (0-5 TRC)
