AKRON – Veteran boys basketball coach Bill Patrick appears have righted the Tippecanoe Valley Vikings’ ship. Following 40-straight seasons of coaching teams to winning records, Patrick’s team’s have failed to reach the .500 mark the past three seasons. However, following Friday night’s 58-42 Three Rivers Conference win over visiting the visiting Manchester Squires, the Vikings now sit at 10-3. “We struggled the last couple years, because we just weren’t that strong defensively,” Patrick said of his squads that went 19-44 the previous three seasons. “I think our defense has gotten better. We have a group of kids that are playing a little bit harder. For the most part, we’re going harder in practice and I think they’ve gotten to a point where they believe in themselves. Right now, we think we can play with anyone. We may not win every game, but at least we have the feeling that they can go out and play with anyone.” And thanks to Whitko’s 72-52 victory over Wabash Friday night, Valley is in a good position for the TRC championship, as Wabash and Northfield are now 4-1, while the Vikings sit at 3-1. As Valley is battling for a conference championship, Manchester is trying to score a conference win, falling to 2-9 overall and 0-4 in the TRC following the loss. “These are young kids with lots of experience for Tippecanoe Valley,” Manchester coach Eric Thompson, a former Tippecanoe Valley player who scored 688 career points, said. “I’ve got quite a few young kids and older ones with hardly any experience. We’re getting it as we go.” Those players put up quite the fight early, holding a 10-9 lead with 22 seconds remaining in the opening quarter, but then things fell apart. Primed to hold a lead after the first quarter, Manchester allowed Valley sophomore Tanner Andrews to convert a three-point play, then committed a turnover with four seconds remaining, which enabled Valley sophomore Robby Groom to drive down the floor and drill a buzzer-beater just inside the three-point arc. The 5-0 run to close out the first quarter evolved into a 24-4 run, which gave Valley a 33-14 lead at the half. “Tippecanoe Valley turned it up a notch and we didn’t match it,” Thompson said. Patrick credited his team’s defensive pressure for the quick turnaround in fortunes. “Our defense in the second quarter was pretty solid,” Patrick said of the Vikings’ defense, which forced 10 of Manchester’s 14 total turnovers in the first half. “In the first half, we got a lot of points off turnovers. I thought we played hard and played a pretty solid first half. The second quarter was a pretty good quarter, I thought.” The quarter was definitely a good one for Andrews, but after scoring his 14th point, he picked up two quick fouls, which gave him three and put him on the bench for the final three minutes of the half. In the end, the 6-foot-3 Andrews posted 19 points on 7-of-13 shooting, while also getting four rebounds, two steals, two blocked shots and an assist. “He plays hard,” Patrick said of Andrews. “He’s got to learn that when something doesn’t go right, if he misses a shot, not to come back and foul.” Also playing well for the Vikings was junior Nick Kindig, who scored 24 points, while also posting eight rebounds, four assists and two steals. “Nick’s been playing really well,” Patrick said. “He’s moving the ball well and penetrating, finding the open man.” The tandem did score 43 of the Vikings’ 58 total points, but that doesn’t mean the rest of the team is just standing around. “Their players that aren’t their key scorers do a nice job of taking care of the basketball,” Thompson said after seeing Valley commit just six turnovers. “They know their roles very well. Coach Patrick’s been coaching longer than I’ve been alive. He knows what he’s doing and his players know what to do because of him.” Eventually, Thompson sees his team making a similar turnaround to Valley’s, it may just take a little time. “It’s a learning experience and we’re just building,” he said. “I’ve been here before as a coach. All the signs are good. If we shake a little ‘eight ball’, all signs point to ‘yes.' We’re making progress.” Manchester travels to Sharpsville to take on Tri-Central today, while Valley’s next contest is Tuesday at Maconaquah.
TIPPECANOE VALLEY 58, MANCHESTER 42 M 10 4 12 16 – 42 V 14 19 12 13 – 58 Valley – Robby Groom 1-2 0-0 2, Tanner Andrews 7-13 5-6 19, Jacob Ritchey 1-3 3-4 5, Nick Kindig 9-15 2-3 24, Jeffrey Tillman 2-4 0-1 4, Alex Thacker 0-2 0-0 0, Chainey Zolman 0-0 0-1 0, Jarred Littlejohn 0-0 0-0 0, Logan Britton 2-2 0-2 4, James Gregory 0-0 0-0 0, Derrick Cunningham 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-41 10-17 58. Manchester – Derek Self 3-9 0-0 7, Caleb Thomas 1-4 0-0 2, Clayton Petrie 3-4 0-0 7, Logan Brunn 2-6 4-6 8, Phoenix Goad 0-2 0-2 0, Micah McDaniel 0-0 0-0 0, Claudel Dickantone 0-0 0-0 0, Grant Schuler 1-2 0-0 2, Connor McLaughlin 2-8 2-2 8, Neil Underwood 3-4 0-0 8, Dalton Day 0-0 0-0 0, Noah Johnson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 15-39 6-10 42. Three-point goals – Valley 4-13 (Kindig 4), Manchester 6-13 (Underwood 2, McLaughlin 2, Self, Petrie); Team Fouls (fouled out) – Valley 13, Manchester 20 (Brunn); Turnovers – Valley 6, Manchester 14; Rebounds – Valley 24 (Kindig 8), Manchester 18 (Brunn 6); Assists – Valley 13 (Ritchey 5), Manchester 3; Steals – Valley 7 (Andrews 2, Kindig 2), Manchester 1; Blocks – Valley 3 (Andrews 2), Manchester 0; Records: Valley 10-3 (3-1 TRC), Manchester 2-9 (0-4 TRC). JV – Valley 36, Manchester 21. Valley – Britton 11, Zolman 10, Cunningham 4, Jarred Littlejohn 3, Bryce Zimpleman 2, Aaron Hoffman 2, Chandler O’Connor 2, Thacker 2 Manchester — McDaniel 13, Lucas Schilling 4, Johnson 2, Dickantone 2
