AKRON — There wasn’t much on the line, other than bragging rights, but the Tippecanoe Valley and Triton boys basketball teams played with passion in front of a large crowd Friday night. The game between neighboring communities brought plenty of fans to Valley, and they got their money’s worth, as the home team came out on top 55-51. In a game featuring 11 lead changes, and plenty of nail-biting, Valley senior Tanner Andrews made sure it was his fans that went home happy. Following a pair of free throws by Triton senior Tanner Shepherd, who played at Valley as a freshman, the Vikings faced their biggest deficit at 45-38 with 6:16 left to play. From there, Andrews took over, scoring seven points on Valley’s next three possessions, igniting a 17-6 Vikings run to close the game out. “He’s played really well the last few games,” Valley coach Bill Patrick said of Andrews. Valley is now 14-3 on the year, while Triton fell to 11-7. The 6-foot-3 Andrews really went to work in the fourth, netting 12 of his 19 points, as well as six of his eight rebounds. “We changed our offense a little bit,” Patrick said of the change in the final six minutes of the game. “We were running a 1-2-2 set, screening down, screening Tanner to get him the ball. They struggled to guard him down on the blocks.” When he wasn’t hitting from close range, Andrews was converting at the free-throw line, where he made 11 of 13 on the night. “They just went inside to him and he went to the free throw line,” Triton coach Jason Groves said. “It was plain and simple. They did a nice job of taking our offense away. They made plays down the stretch and we didn’t.” Valley took a 52-51 lead on a three-point play by Andrews with 2:49 remaining, and Triton didn’t score after that. “I think we executed our gameplan, we played decent defense,” Groves said. “We took care of the ball. That’s a good recipe for winning a basketball game. They just made plays down the stretch and we didn’t.” Triton’s final chance to get the win came with Valley on top 54-51 with 10 seconds to play. Coming out of a timeout, Groves wanted to get the ball to his top three-point threat, junior Skyler Reichert. With Reichert having already made 3 of 8 three-point attempts, Patrick also had an idea where the ball was going, so he put 6-5 senior center Logan Britton on the sharp shooter. “He wasn’t going to get a shot off,” Patrick said. “We were just going to give them a two if they wanted that, but we weren’t going to let Reichert get a shot.” Hounded by Britton, Reichert still put up the shot from the corner, attempting to draw contact, but no call was made. Instead, Andrews got the rebound, was fouled and converted 1 of 2 free throws, extending the lead to 55-51 with seven seconds remaining. “I think he thought he was getting bodied and was going to get the call,” Groves said of the three-point attempt. “I don’t think that’s going to happen (in that situation). That’s the play we drew up. We just need to knock it down or make a better decision.” Shepherd finished the game with a game-high 22 points for Triton, followed by nine out of Reichert and seven from junior Joey Corder. The 6-4 point guard Corder also had the duty of guarding Andrews late in the game, but Valley’s size was just too much for the smaller Trojans. “My biggest concern was inside the paint with the size, particularly Andrews,” Groves said. “We were doubling him, but he was splitting it and getting the fouls called.” Along with Andrews’ 19-point night, senior Robby Groom put up 18 to go with three blocks and three rebounds. “He had a nice game,” Patrick said. “He scored and did a nice job of handling the basketball.” Also for Valley, junior Chainey Zolman and Britton each had seven points. Winners of 10 of their last 11 games, the Vikings will look to keep the good times rolling tonight against Peru. Triton has also been hot lately, coming in winners of seven of its previous eight games, and will look to bounce back in its regular season finale Friday at home against Knox.
TIPPECANOE VALLEY 55, TRITON 51 Tr 13 13 15 10 – 51 TV 15 9 14 17 – 55 Valley – Ben Shriver 1-2 0-0 2, Robby Groom 5-9 5-6 18, Tanner Andrews 4-10 11-13 19, Chainey Zolman 2-3 3-3 7, Logan Britton 3-5 1-4 7, Jarred Littlejohn 0-2 0-0 0, Gavin Bussard 1-2 0-0 2, Alec Craig 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 16-33 20-26 55. Triton – Joey Corder 3-10 1-2 7, Jordan Anderson 2-6 0-0 5, Tanner Shepherd 6-13 7-9 22, Dillon Meadway 1-3 0-0 2, Skyler Reichert 3-10 0-0 9, Landon Kaufman 0-1 0-0 0, Bryce Wanemacher 0-0 0-0 0, Masen Yeo 2-2 0-0 4, Austin Sellers 1-2 0-2 2. Totals 18-47 8-13 51. Three-pointers – Valley 3-7 (Groom 3), Triton 7-20 (Reichert 3, Shepherd 3, Anderson); Team Fouls – Valley 19, Triton 11; Turnovers – Valley 8, Triton 8; Rebounds – Valley 25 (Andrews 8), Triton 25 (Corder 6); Steals – Valley 5 (Littlejohn 2), Triton 3, (Anderson 2); Blocks – Valley 5 (Groom 3), Triton 2; Records: Valley 14-3, Triton 11-7. JV – Valley 47, Triton 29 Valley – Craig 12, Trevor Neeley 9, Tyler Ross 6, Neil Clampitt 6, Alex Salmon 6, Ivan Santiago 4, Brandon Webster 2, Keith Wright 2. Triton – Nate Flenar 8, Dalton Bailey 6, Kaufman 5, Grant Johnson 4, Jarrett Kreft 3, Spencer Glingle 2, Brent Motz 1.
