AKRON — For the second-straight game, the Tippecanoe Valley boys basketball team made quick work of its Three Rivers Conference opponent. At Northfield Tuesday, the Tippecanoe Valley Vikings (8-2, 3-0 TRC) jumped out to an 18-5 first-quarter lead en route to a 71-49 victory, then Friday night at home against the Rochester Zebras (3-6, 2-1 TRC), Valley nabbed a 19-3 lead after one quarter and rode that to a 65-36 victory. Valley and Manchester now sit as the lone unbeatens in the conference, as the Squires also moved to 3-0 with their 51-49 overtime win at Wabash Friday night. Valley’s victory over Rochester is its fourth-straight, a streak that began with a 45-41 win against the Zebras in the consolation game of the Winning Edge Holiday Tournament at NorthWood High School on Jan. 4. “We’re playing with a little more enthusiasm,” Valley coach Bill Patrick said. “We’re playing harder and we’re playing together pretty well. The kids act like they’re having a little more fun playing right now.” Patrick credits preparation and a change in the starting lineup with how his team has been jumping out of the gates lately. “We’ve gone a little harder in practice,” he said. “We’ve also made a change in the starting lineup so we get off to a little better start. We were trying to play four forwards and a center, then we decided to go with the two guards. Since we’ve been starting two guards, I think that’s helped a lot. It opens up the inside and we’re able to move. Not that the other kids weren’t playing well, but we just went with a different rotation.” Senior forward Ben Shriver had been one of those starting forwards who is now coming off the bench. Instead of sulking, Shriver played big against the Zebras, scoring 12 points on 6-of-9 shooting. “Ben plays hard and he has the best attitude of anybody on the team,” Patrick said. “As good of an attitude as anybody I’ve ever coached. He goes hard in practice. Ben just does whatever is good for the team.” After scoring 24 points on 11-of-12 shooting against Northfield, senior forward Tanner Andrews was right back at it Friday night, hitting 10 of 14 to score 21 points, hauling in 11 rebounds along the way. “The last two games, he’s done a lot better job of (making cuts),” Patrick said of Andrews. “We’ve also opened up the middle with the two guards.” Junior Chainey Zolman finished the game with 15 points and senior Logan Britton had a good all-around game, recording eight points, four rebounds and three blocks. Valley is at home again Tuesday night against Peru in a makeup game, then returns to TRC play Friday at Southwood.
TIPPECANOE VALLEY 65, ROCHESTER 36 R 3 12 9 12 – 36 TV 19 16 24 6 – 65 Valley – Robby Groom 0-2 0-0 0, Jarred Littlejohn 1-3 0-0 3, Tanner Andrews 10-14 1-2 21, Chainey Zolman 4-6 4-5 15, Logan Britton 3-4 2-4 8, Ben Shriver 6-9 0-0 12, Aaron Hoffman 0-1 1-2 1, Gavin Bussard 1-2 1-2 3, Neil Clampitt 0-2 0-0 0, Derrick Cunningham 0-0 0-0 0, Alec Craig 1-1 0-1 2, Alex Salmon 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-44 9-16 65. Rochester – Alec Holland 2-5 0-1 4, Taylor Medina 1-5 1-1 3, Carter Screeton 2-6 1-2 5, Alec Gehrich 1-12 2-4 4, Luke Cannedy 4-12 0-0 9, Brandon Kamp 1-4 2-3 5, Brett Abbott 1-1 0-0 2, Dominic Thomas 0-0 0-0 0, Matthew Basham 0-2 4-6 4, Noah Dahlquist 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 12-48 10-17 36. Three-pointers – Valley 4-11 (Zolman 3, Littlejohn), Rochester 2-14 (Cannedy, Kamp); Team Fouls (fouled out) – Valley 13, Rochester 16 (Cannedy); Turnovers – Valley 8, Rochester 9; Rebounds – Valley 38 (Andrews 11), Rochester 27 (Cannedy 7); Assists – Valley 11 (Groom 3, Andrews 3), Rochester 4 (Screeton 2); Steals – Valley 4 (Littlejohn 2), Rochester 4; Blocks – Rochester 1, Valley 6 (Britton 3). Records: Valley 8-2 (3-0 TRC), Rochester 3-6 (2-1 TRC). JV – Valley 43, Rochester 22 Valley – Craig 12, Hoffman 8, Clampitt 7, Brandon Webster 4, Salmon 4, Trevor Neeley 3, Bussard 3, Ivan Santiago 2.
