Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
No. 16 Plymouth At Valley
TIPOFF: 7:30 p.m. at Mentone
Coaches: Jack Edison (Plymouth); Gregg Sciarra (Valley)
Records: Plymouth 16-2; Tippecanoe Valley 9-9
LAST GAME: Plymouth 58, Argos 37; Triton 67, Valley 41
Matchup: The return of Jeff Brown and NIck Stutzman from a four-game suspension will bolster the Vikings against the talented Pilgrims. And Valley will need it. Plymouth is led by the one-two scoring punch of Nick Wise and Brian Wray. Brown and Stutzman will bring back almost 30 points and 13 rebounds a game combined.
Game Talk:
Sciarra... "They are real strong inside and outside, on the boards and defensively; really they are strong in every phase of the game. They do a nice job in their matchup zone and their man to man. They do a nice job of switching things, sometimes they are in the passing lanes and sometimes they aren't. ... This is a big game for us just to have all our kids back. That is what we are looking at. It has been three long weeks. They haven't played together in a while in a game setting. Earlier, I wasn't too happy about having two games on the last week of the regular season, but it works out having this one on Tuesday really helps us out."
Triton at Bethany Christian
TIPOFF: 8 p.m. at Goshen
Coaches: Kevin O'Rourke (Triton); Jim Buller (B.Christian)
Records: Triton 14-4; Bethany Christian13-5
LAST GAME: Triton 67, Valley 41; B.Christian 61, CMA 48
Matchup: Eliot Friesen, the school's career leading scorer, leads Bethany Christian this year with 17.5 points per game. Triton had its worst - and best- shooting nights last weekend. The Trojans shot a season-low 33 percent in a 65-59 loss to Whitko on Friday. They shot a season-high 69 percent in the Saturday win over Valley. The Trojans allowed 65 points in two games last week, an 81-65 win over John Glenn and the loss to Whitko. Those are the first two times this season a team scored more than 59 points against Triton.
Game Talk:
O'Rourke... "They've been together a long time. They have the same personnel as last year. They do a very good job defensively. They play man-to-man defense, and their halfcourt defense is solid. They do a nice job running the motion offense and getting the right person the ball for the shot. They have good shooters in Brad Schrock and Andrew Burkhalter. Marcos Garber is as quick of a point guard as we've faced all year long."
Buller..."The thing that impresses everybody is Triton's balance. It is very difficult to stop one player (and win). Although, (Cory) Monesmith is a very strong key for them. They have six or seven guys that can score. It is very difficult to match up and focus on a second and third player and say these are the three to stop because all of their starters can get the job done. ... We have had a good year. Our second-leading forward, Anders Weaver, is out with two major injuries. He broke his hand, and then when he did come back, he badly sprained his ankle. He returned to practice, but we do not expect him to play against Triton. We are not real big, and he was one of the guys we counted on inside. That has changed the nature of our play a little bit. It has made a big impact for us."
