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Showing improvement as the season has moved along, the Tippecanoe Valley boys basketball team looked to pick up another win on Tuesday night with Plymouth visiting Rita Price-Simpson Court. The game was hard-fought and close for all 32 minutes, and the end result was the Vikings picking up a momentum-building 56-54 win.
“I think you’re definitely starting to see this team make strides. I was going to be proud of this group regardless if we won or lost because of how hard they played tonight,” Valley head coach Eli Henson said. “The beginning of the season was tough for us but these guys are finally starting to get into a rhythm.”
Both teams came out of the gate aggressively and firing on all cylinders. The Vikings especially were not looking to waste any time on the offensive end, as the home side was quick to move the ball up the court and into the paint at each change of possession. Valley was using a balanced scoring attack early, with Hudson Shepherd leading the charge with five early points.
On the other end, the Pilgrims were playing very efficiently as well. For as well as the Vikings started the game, Plymouth was right there to answer with a bucket of its own to keep things tight.
Eventually, the hot-handed Valley squad cooled down, and the visitors were able to take full advantage. After being deadlocked at eleven for a few minutes, the Pilgrims unleashed a three-point barrage, draining three shots from deep in the final minutes of the first quarter to open up a nine-point advantage.
The Viking drought lasted nearly three minutes before William Mellott beat the buzzer with a triple from the corner to make it a six-point game after eight minutes. That last-second make seemed to energize the home side, as the green and gold began the second quarter with four more points to make it a one-possession game.
After a bucket by Plymouth halted the run momentarily, Valley got right back to work. Four straight points by Owen Omondi evened things up and put momentum firmly back on the side of the home team.
“This was by far Plymouth’s best shooting game of the season, so kudos to them for coming out strong,” Henson said. “I liked to see our guys get punched in the mouth and just keep on going. We got a little fatigued during that comeback but we were working hard.”
With a little under four minutes left in the half, a steal led to a basket by Wes Parker that gave the lead back to the Vikings. The home side was doing a lot right during this stretch, demonstrated by the dominance Valley was showcasing on the offensive glass. The green and gold had more than a few possessions that resulted in multiple shots going up, and more times than not, the extra looks found their way in.
Even with the Vikings coming alive, Plymouth continued to play its game at the other end and was able to come up with some big buckets down the stretch. Despite Valley leading for a large chunk of the second, the two teams headed to the locker room tied at 32 after an and-one layup by Parker Wolfe.
Tippecanoe Valley senior Jude Kammerer eludes Plymouth's Kyleb Ellery to get his shot off in the second quarter...Nieter
The game remained highly-contested in the opening minutes of the third, with three ties in the first three minutes of the period. Defenses on both ends were often falling victim to better offenses, but every once in a while would come up with a big play that led directly to a transition basket.
Neither side was able to go up by more than two until a layup by Shepherd put the Vikings up by four with just over 10 minutes remaining in the game. Following a timeout by the visitors, Valley looked like it was going to finish the quarter strong, going up by as many as seven. However, back-to-back makes from deep by Dan Nguyen made it a one-point game in the final minute of the third. A last-second shot by Hunter Stage put the home side back up by three and set up the final quarter of action.
Despite not scoring for the first three minutes of the fourth quarter, the Vikings were able to stay in front. The defensive effort had picked up dramatically, and all of a sudden, the home side was stringing together stops to stay on top on the scoreboard.
With three and a half minutes left in the game, Stage doubled his team’s three point lead with a shot from beyond the arc. In the midst of a long drought, the Pilgrims answered almost immediately on the other end, snapping a stretch of over three minutes without a point. The visitors went on to get a stop, which was followed by a long offensive possession that resulted in three more points and a tie game with less than two minutes left.
Both teams turned it over on their following possession, leaving things still knotted up with just 62 seconds remaining. After a block by the Plymouth defense with 45 seconds left, Jude Kramerer came up with a heady play for the Vikings. The senior leaped high to come down with an offensive board, and without even thinking twice, went back up immediately for a layup that put the home side back in front.
Valley followed the go-ahead basket with an equally impressive defensive stand. The home side forced the Pilgrims to play hot potato around the perimeter for about 20 seconds before having to burn a timeout. Now, less than 15 seconds remained in the contest and the Vikings had one more stop to get.
With three seconds left, Plymouth’s Kylen Ellery was fouled on a putback attempt and was sent to the free throw line. After missing the first, he intentionally missed the second to try and generate a putback attempt for his team. Instead, Parker came down with the rebound to put the finishing touches on a thrilling win.
Tippecanoe Valley (4-6) is at Bremen on Friday.
“They’re a very good team, so we’re going to want to speed them up,” Henson said. “DeVine is going to get his points regardless, we just have to make sure the other guys don’t beat us.”
