Buzzer beaters by Andrews, Britton push Vikings past Pilgrims
Posted
Dale Hubler-dhubler@timesuniononline.com
AKRON – Though he certainly has the gift of gab and is a great story-teller, Tippecanoe Valley High School boys basketball coach Bill Patrick was able to sum up Saturday night's game against Plymouth in one little sentence. “We really struggled scoring, but we made plays when we had to,” he said. In the 999th game of his Hall of Fame career, Patrick's team definitely made plays when it had to, as the Vikings beat the visiting Pilgrims 44-42 in overtime. Valley overcame its shooting woes, as well as a 13-of-25 effort from the free throw line, by making two buzzer beaters en route to the thrilling win, a victory that improved the Vikings to 6-2 on the season, while the Pilgrims fell to 4-5. The first buzzer beater knotted the game at 35-all at the end of regulation. Trailing 35-33, the Vikings inbounded the ball with five seconds remaining. Senior Tanner Andrews took the pass and raced the length of the court and layed it in as time expired. Andrews’ heroics sent Valley’s cheerblock into a frenzied celebration and the game into overtime. Little did the Vikings’ fans know, they would celebrate another clutch shot after more more minutes of action. With 20 seconds left in the extra session, a free throw by senior Robby Groom gave Valley a 42-39 advantage. The Pilgrims knottend the game at 42-all with 10 seconds remaining when senior Scott Carmichael drilled a three-pointer from the corner. Valley then won the game when senior Logan Britton kissed a shot off the glass as time expired, giving the Vikings just their third win over Plymouth in the last 11 meetings. The two-point victory snapped a six-game losing streak to the Pilgrims. “The first one, with Tanner, we told them to run the same play we did against Warsaw,” said Patrick. “The one with Logan, we tried to get something set up for Robby. He came off a screen, and Chainey (Zolman) was out on the wing. We were hoping Chainey would be open. Logan was open going to the basket and we got him the ball. That was a big shot by Logan.” In the season opener against Warsaw, Andrews raced the ball up the court and attempted a lay-in but missed. Classmate Ben Shriver, however, was there for the tip-in. With Saturday’s win over the Pilgrims, it is believed to be the first time Valley has beaten both Warsaw and Plymouth in the same season. “Those are good teams from a good conference,” Patrick said of the wins over tradition-rich Northern Lakes Conference prorams Warsaw and Plymouth. “They play in a tough conference. That’s two big wins for us against two good teams.” In Saturday’s game, Valley trailed 13-11 after one quarter of play and 18-17 at halftime. The teams were tied 27-27 at the end of the third quarter and 35-35 after the fourth. Andrews, who was honored before the game for scoring his 1,000th career point last week against NorthWood, led Valley with a game-high 13 points, while Groom finished with 11 points. Zolman chipped in with eight points, and Britton finished with seven. “I thought the seven kids that played all contributed,” said Patrick. “I thought Groom did a nice job on (Tom) Felke.” Freshman Nick Felke led Plymouth with 12 points, while senior Tom Felke scored eight points and sophomore Jack Barron and junior Tyler England chipped in with six points each. The Pilgrims were once again playing without 6-foot-9 senior Mack Mercer, as the NCAA Division I recruit recovers from a recent surgery. Plymouth will be in action again Friday when it hosts conference foe Concord. The Vikings travel to Three Rivers Conference rival Northfield Tuesday for a game that was originally scheduled for Friday but was postponed because Northfield was out of school. Tuesday’s game will mark the 1,000th varsity boys game of Patrick’s career. Now in his 45th season, he will enter the contest with a record of 719-280. Between Patrick and Northfield coach Moe Smedley, the veteran coaches have 80 seasons of experience, 1,769 games coached and 1,151 wins.
TIPPECANOE VALLEY 44, PLYMOUTH 42 (OT) P 13 5 9 8 7 – 42 TV 11 6 10 6 9 – 44 Plymouth – Matt Flynn 1 0-0 2, Jack Barron 1 4-4 6, Nick Felke 4 2-2 12, Nick Bayley 0 0-0 0, Trent Briles 1 2-3 5, Tom Felke 2 4-7 8, Scott Carmichael 1 0-0 3, Tyler England 2 2-4 6. Totals 12 14-20 42. Valley – Robby Groom 2 5-8 11, Gavin Bussard 0 2-4 2, Jarred Littlejohn 1 0-0 3, Logan Britton 3 1-5 7, Ben Shriver 0 0-0 0, Tanner Andrews 5 3-5 13, Chainey Zolman 3 2-3 8. Totals 14 13-25 44. Three-pointers – Plymouth 4 (N. Felke 2, Briles, Carmichael), Valley 3 (Groom 2, Littlejohn); Fouls – Plymouth 24, Valley 22; Fouled out – T. Felke, Andrews; Records: Plymouth 4-5, Valley 6-2 JV – Plymouth 40, Valley 29 Valley – Alex Salmon 7, Alec Craig 6, Gavin Bussard 5, Aaron Hoffman 5, Trevor Neeley 3, Neil Clampitt 3
