Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
TIPPECANOE VALLEY AT SOUTH BEND WASHINGTON
Tip-off: 6:15 p.m. Saturday in South Bend
Coaches: Bill Patrick (Valley), Milt Cooper (Washington)
Records: Valley 15-3; Washington 11-6
Last Game: Valley 86, Oak Hill 74; Washington 75, Elkhart Memorial 68
Last Year: Valley 86, Washington 76
Matchup: Valley is coming off a big win over Oak Hill that clinched the Vikings their first Three Rivers Conference title since 1990. Brandon Eaton and Cody New combine for the majority of the Viking scoring attack. Eaton averages 22.0 points per game, while New adds 16.2. Since New started six games ago, he has pulled down 46 rebounds, an average of 7.7 per game. New has also dished out 14 assists, 2.3 per game. Eaton pulls down 5.7 rebounds and hands out 4.1 assists per game for Valley. South Bend Washington relies on a balanced scoring attack, with six players averaging above seven points per game. Derek Graham and Micah William lead the scoring attack with 16 points per game. Graham also pulls down 7.0 rebounds per game.
Patrick: "Washington is one of the best teams in South Bend. They are quicker than we are. Their kids are very athletic and bigger than we are. They play a hard press and run the ball well in transition. We need to control tempo of the game and not make a lot of turnovers against their pressure. Last year we outscored them, but this year we will wait and see. We'll need to be a bit more patient and slow down the tempo."
Cooper: "I have seen (Valley) play. Tonight we play Northridge, and both Valley and Northridge are very similar. They run some goofy stuff. Right now we are preparing ourselves to be the best team we can be. At this point in the season, good solid 'D' is what wins basketball games."
NORTHFIELD AT MANCHESTER
Tip-off: 6:15 p.m. Saturday in North Manchester
Coaches: Brian Tonsoni (Northfield), Gary Goshert (Manchester)
Records: Northfield 8-9, 2-2 TRC; Manchester 7-11, 4-2 TRC
Last Game: FW Harding 73, Northfield 64; FW Harding 64, Manchester 54
Last Year: Manchester 43, Northfield 38
Matchup: Manchester is looking to get back on track with a win over Three Rivers Conference opponent Northfield. The Squires will rely on Lee Shafer and his 13.3 points per game to lead the offense. Shafer also pulls down 5.5 rebounds per game for the Squires. Klay Bechtold is a threat from three-point range; he is 31-of-84 shooting from behind the arc. Northfield will look to Cory Brainard to lead the Norsemen's scoring drive with 15.8 points per game. Kyle Merrick adds 11.4 points and 6.1 rebounds. Brainard pulls down 6.0 rebounds per contest as well. Jason Cordes dishes out 4.4 assists and grabs 2.9 steals per game for Northfield.
Tonsoni: "Manchester has had some some struggles in the past few games. Earlier in the year we played them and won by one point. I expect them to be extremely prepared. (Lee) Shafer has really stepped up his play , and we will need to be able to handle him to be successful. The key to the game will be defense and rebounding. We need to stop their offense and limit them to only one shot on each play."
Goshert: "At this point, Northfield is probably the hottest team in the county right now. They have probably one of the best players in the area as well in Cory Brainard. They are very similar to us, but I think overall they can be considered the hottest team in our area right now. They are very athletic inside and they have solid perimeter game. They are also solid on the defensive end of the floor. The key for us in this game will be controlling their whole baseline."
