HARTFORD CITY — The Tippecanoe Valley boys basketball team's impressive season, and tournament run, came to a close Saturday afternoon at Blackford High School, falling to the Norwell Knights 77-65 in the regional semifinals. Junior forward Tanner Andrews had a team-high 22 points, nine rebounds and five steals for Valley, with senior guard Nick Kindig adding 16. Sophomore forward Chainey Zolman added 11 and senior guard Jacob Ritchey added nine in the losing effort. “I was really happy with everybody’s effort, but we just couldn’t make some of our shots,” said Tippecanoe Valley head coach Bill Patrick. Andrews had the hot hand early, scoring Valley's first eight points, leading the Vikings to a 15-12 lead after one quarter. The defending regional champion Norwell battled back with a 14-7 run just before the half, taking a two-point lead going into the locker room, 31-29. In the second half, both teams had impressive runs that produced several lead changes, but a late Norwell run in the third quarter proved to be the difference. With two minutes remaining in the third, the Knights stormed with a 15-2 run that made it a 55-44 lead, including a four-point play by Norwell’s David Vogel. The run was finished with eight unanswered points from senior guard Josh VanMeter. “Norwell was just making their shots,” said Patrick. “VanMeter made it tough for us to defend with him getting his shots to fall.” VanMeter led Norwell with a game-high 26 points, including 4-of-9 shooting from beyond the three-point arc. Accomplanying VanMeter's effort were 16 points from Vogel, as well as 15 from Drew Shively and 12 points and 10 rebounds out of Cam Denney. Saturday’s loss marked the last time Ritchey and Kindig would suit up in the green and gold for Valley. With the disappointing end to their season, Patrick said there is much to take away from their graduating seniors going into the off-season. “They have excellent leadership skills, and we’re going to miss that,” said Patrick. “The underclassmen looked up to these guys so much. We still had a great season, winning the conference and having a 20-4 record.” Patrick also said they’re looking forward to getting focused for next season. Norwell advanced to the regional championship game against No. 7 Fort Wayne Concordia, where it fell 67-58.
NORWELL 77, TIPPECANOE VALLEY 65 (Blackford Regional, Semifinal) TV 15 14 15 21 – 65 N 12 19 24 22 – 77 Norwell – Josh VanMeter 7-16 8-10 26, David Vogel 6-9 1-1 16, Dam Denney 4-5 3-6 12, Cale Schuman 1-2 0-0 2, Drew Shively 5-6 5-5 15, Brent Bales 0-0 0-0 0, Austin Hayden 0-0 0-0 0, Piercen Harnish 0-0 0-0 0, Brian Bolinger 3-5 0-0 6, Graham Denney 0-0 0-0 0, Bray Wilson 0-0 0-0 0, Brandon Burch 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-43 17-22 77. Valley – Alex Thacker 2-11 0-0 4, Tanner Andrews 11-15 0-3 22, Jacob Ritchey 3-6 2-2 9, Nick Kindig 5-12 5-7 16, Ben Shriver 0-0 0-0 0, Jarred Littlejohn 1-1 0-0 3, Chainey Zolman 5-8 0-0 11, Aaron Hoffman 0-0 0-0 0, Derrick Cunningham 0-1 0-0 0, Chandler O'Connor 0-0 0-0 0, Bryce Zimpleman 0-0 0-0 0, Gavin Bussard 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-54 7-12 65. Three-point goals – Norwell 8-14 (VanMeter 4, Vogel 3, C. Denney), Valley 4-17 (Littlejohn, Ritchey, Zolman, Kindig); Team Fouls (fouled out) – Norwell 17, Valley 17 (Kindig); Turnovers – Norwell 16, Valley 10; Rebounds – Norwell 29 (C. Denney 10), Valley 20 (Andrews 9); Assists – Norwell 10 (VanMeter 6), Valley 18 (Thacker 6); Steals – Norwell 6 (Vogel 3), Valley 8 (Andrews 5); Blocks – Norwell 0, Valley 2
