Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
NORTHFIELD AT TIPPECANOE VALLEY
Tip-off: 6:15 p.m. Saturday in Akron
Coaches: Brian Tonsoni (Northfield); Bill Patrick (Valley)
Records: Northfield 2-6, 0-1 TRC; Valley 7-2, 1-0 TRC
Last game: Wabash 50, Northfield 47; Valley 74, Argos 38
Last year: Valley 55, Northfield 39
Matchup: Northfield is coming off a close loss in the Wabash County Tourney. Wabash edged the Norsemen 50-47 in the consolation game of the tourney. Brothers Kyle and Josh Merrick lead Northfield's offense. Kyle leads the scoring and rebounding attacks with 16.9 points and 9.3 rebounds per game, while Josh adds 9.0 points and 4.7 rebounds per game. Valley is coming off a 74-38 win over Argos, but the Northfield game will be much different. While Valley had the height advantage over Argos, Northfield has several taller players. While Argos liked to stay outside and shoot from the perimeter, Northfield likes to pound the ball inside and shoot from the baseline. Cody New and Trey Eaton lead Valley's offense. Against Argos, New had 22 points and 11 rebounds, while Eaton added 16 points and 10 rebounds for Valley. Andy Martin also broke into double figures with 10 points in the Argos game. New averages 24 ppg, and Eaton adds 17 ppg. Patrick won his 500th game last year against Northfield.
Patrick:Ê"Northfield has good-sized players, and their outside shooting is good. They have the two Merrick kids, Kyle and Josh. Kyle is 6-foot-5, and Josh is 6-4, and they are good players. They have those two big kids, so we will really have to work really hard to rebound with them. They play a totally different style of basketball than Argos. They like to go inside at the baseline instead of shooting threes like Argos."
Tonsoni: "I think Tippecanoe Valley is one of the best teams in the area. They are very well-coached, and any time you face a Bill Patrick team, you have to be at your best. They have solid players all around, but we will need to be especially aware of where Cody New and Trey Eaton are. They are tough players, and they will be hard to handle. We have to be ready to change defenses. Right now we are struggling, and we are trying to focus on getting back to the basic fundamentals after playing in the county tourney. We are going to spend less time worrying about our opponents and more time working on those fundamentals. I think if we focus on those fundamentals, we will be in a better position to play Valley. We have a very young team."
ROCHESTER AT WHITKO
Tip-off: 6:15 p.m. Saturday in South Whitley
Coaches: David Burkett (Rochester); Steve Pickett (Whitko)
Records: Rochester 3-4, 1-0 TRC; Whitko 3-4, 0-1 TRC
Last Game: Valley 81, Rochester 54; Whitko 58, Bluffton 51
Last Year: Rochester 82, Whitko 33
Matchup: Whitko and Rochester go into Saturday's game with identical records. Nick Patterson's 19 points per game leads all Zebras, while Bill Newton (13.6) and Landon Barts (10.4) score in double figures for Rochester as well. Barts leads the Zebras in rebounding with nearly 6.0 rebounds per game. Josh Hoffman (14.0 ppg) and Alex Frantz (13.4 ppg) lead Whitko's offense. Hoffman and Frantz also lead the squad in rebounding with 7.4 and 5.4 per game, respectively. Adam Wendel (9.3 ppg) and Ben Garber (9.3 ppg) are close to breaking into double figures in scoring. Wendel leads the Wildcats from behind the arc with 8-of-20 shooting from three-point range.
Burkett: "Whitko is a very good ball-handling team. Six-foot-1 Adam Wendel is an excellent ball handler, and 6-5 Josh Hoffman is an excellent shooter. They hustle well, and they are very enthusiastic. Whitko has been in all its games, and they have not been beat by much in any of their losses. After the Valley game last weekend, we are working on defense and trying to withstand pressure. We have played some good teams, No. 10 Glenn and No. 2 Cass. We played well against Plymouth and Winamac also."
Pickett: "Rochester is very athletic, very talented, very quick and very strong. They are also very aggressive and well-coached. They present a number of problems. We are concentrating on improving in three areas: turnovers, rebounding and getting help-side defense. The keys to the game will be rebounding and turnovers."
WAWASEE AT NORTHWOOD
Tip-off: 6:15 p.m. Saturday in Nappanee
Coaches: Phil Mishler (Wawasee); Dan Gunn (NorthWood)
Records: Wawasee 3-5, 0-1 NLC; NorthWood 4-2, 0-1 NLC
Last Game: Goshen 68, Wawasee 55; Warsaw 50, NorthWood 46, OT
Last Year: NorthWood 70, Wawasee 41
Matchup: Ryan Bradley leads NorthWood with just over 16 ppg. Bradley will get some help from Rory Clouse, who averages in double figures with around 12 ppg. Clouse also leads the NorthWood squad in rebounding with 6.0 per game as well. NorthWood will also look to Willy Will for defense and Sean Clem to do well off the bench. Wawasee looks to stop a three-game losing streak after falling in consecutive games to Warsaw and then to Goshen. After falling to Warsaw by 31 in the regular season, Wawasee came back less than week later and gave the Tigers a run before falling by eight in the opening round of the Northern Lakes Conference Tournament. Wawasee then fell to Goshen in the consolation round of the tournament. Senior post player Andrew Packer spearheads the Warrior offense with 11.8 ppg, while senior Brian Adkins and junior Scott Beasley each add 8.1 ppg. Packer leads the team in rebounds with 8.6, while senior Andy Popenfoose chips in with 5.1 rpg.
Gunn:Ê"Wawasee is very aggressive on defense, and they have a lot of experience back from last year. (Travis) Speicher and (Travis) Klenke can shoot outside as well. I think Wawasee has definitely improved from last year. This first game back from a long vacation is kind of like the first game of the season. We have tried to cover all the bases in practice, press, man-to-man, half-court and full-court trap, the whole nine yards. After Christmas, a lot of teams work more into their gameplans, so we will need to be ready for just about anything."
Mishler: "NorthWood is a good defensive club, and they play fundamentally sound offense. They don't make a lot of mistakes, and then they capitalize on your mistakes. We got some good rest, I think we got our legs back under us. They play well as a team, but we're concerned with them one on one. We have to keep pressure on them and deny the inside. We need to maintain our intensity defensively, and we have to finish on the boards and block out. That, along with taking care of the ball, will be big keys for us."
NO. 10 (2A) GLENN AT TRITON (NSC)
Tip-off: 6:30 p.m. Saturday in Bourbon
Coaches: Gordon Mosson (Glenn), Joe Bennett (Triton)
Records: Glenn 4-2, 1-0 NSC; Triton 4-2, 1-0 NSC
Last Game: Glenn 66, Winamac 60; Triton 90, LaVille 75
Last Year: Glenn 67, Triton 43
Matchup: Triton enters after scoring 90 in a 15-point win over LaVille in the consolation round of the Caston Holiday Tournament. Seniors Joey Potter and Jim Read led the Trojan scoring attack in that game with 15 and 13 points, respectively, while Tyson Blackford added 12. For the season, Potter leads Triton with 13 points and 8.0 rebounds per game, while Potter and Blackford chip in with 12 and eight, respectively. Potter and Blackford each pull down 6.0 rebounds per game. The Falcons are led by senior guard Chris Adkins and senior center Matt Jerrell.
Mosson: Mosson could not be reached to comment.
Bennett: "Chris Adkins is a great all-around player, and Matt Jerrell is a good post player with good footwork. They play great defense, move the ball well offensively, and play well as a team. The real key for us will be to take care of the ball and not give up easy points, and finish on the boards."
MANCHESTER AT NORTH MIAMI (TRC)
Tip-off: 6:15 p.m. Saturday in Denver
Coaches: Gary Goshert (Manchester), John Burrus (North Miami)
Records: Manchester 4-4, 0-1 TRC; North Miami 3-4, 0-1 TRC
Last Game: Manchester 56, Southwood 50; Northwestern 77, North Miami 61
Last Year: North Miami 53, Manchester 46
Matchup: One of these teams will pick up its first Three Rivers Conference win of the season, while the loser will pick up its fifth overall defeat. Manchester comes in after completely dominating 5-1 Southwood in the first half of the
Wabash County Tournament championship game. Squire senior Anthony Frieden came into the county tournament averaging just above 13 points - he totaled 14 against Southwood, scoring 12 in the first quarter. Klay Bechtold and Klint Rupley scored 12 points each in the tournament win over Southwood, while Nate Kerr added seven. Junior Dusty Linn and senior Matt Deeds, both guards, lead the Warriors in the scoring column with 12 points per game each. Senior Adam Garvin and junior Zac Hostetler chip in with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Deeds leads the team in rebounds with seven per game, while Matt Maurick adds five.
Goshert: "First of all, they beat us at their place last year, and it was kind of the beginning to an extensive losing streak for us. We were sick during the week and not very healthy going into the game, and they played very well. We'd kind of like to redeem ourselves from that showing. Again, it's at their place, which is unusual, but that's the way the schedule is. I think they're an improved basketball team, and they're playing well right now. They can shoot from the perimeter, are patient on offense, and have size inside when they want to go with size inside. They present a stiff test for us, going on the road in the TRC. We're counting on taking care of the basketball, defending better than last year, and hopefully putting the ball in the hole. That was our trouble last year, we couldn't put the ball in the hole."
Burrus: "Manchester is on a good roll right now. They're a different team than last year, they're quicker and their guys are more mature. I think the Sorg boys (Anthony, Michael) are playing very well. I like Klay Bechtold, he's one of the best shooters around. The big difference for them this season is their inside game. (Nate) Kerr and (Klint) Rupley give them a lot of quickness in the post. They play well as a group, they're very deep, anybody can hurt you. They're a load for us, we're very concerned with Manchester."
