NORTH MANCHESTER - After 675 wins, one would think victories would be commonplace for Tippecanoe Valley varsity boys basketball coach Bill Patrick. Well, after two-straight losing seasons, he's appreciating them a little more these days.
"Every win's been tough to come by," the 42-year veteran coach said after Friday's 54-48 Three Rivers Conference win at Manchester.Despite going 12-30 the past two seasons, Patrick's 675 wins ranks him second among active boys coaches in Indiana, trailing just Cloverdale coach Pat Rady's 708.
Patrick has a young team this year, with two seniors accompanying two freshmen, four sophomores and two juniors. Over the course of the year, the young players have gained more experience and have won four of their last seven games after winning just one of their first seven games.
"Our schedule is obviously not as tough right now as it was early in the season, with Warsaw, Peru, Whitko, Plymouth and all those teams," Patrick said. "We're definitely making some progress."
The progress of the Tippecanoe Valley Vikings (5-9, 3-2 TRC) was evident against the Manchester Squires (3-9, 1-4 TRC), who have seen their share of woes, failing to have a winning season since the 2001-02 campaign.
"I feel like this is a game we could have won, but it's one we can learn from," Manchester coach Aaron Cripe said. "It's nice to be able to go into the locker room and be able to learn after a loss. We can look at the mistakes, like free throws or not getting defensive rebounds, giving up too many second chances."
Against Valley, giving sophomore Nick Kindig too much space was a mistake, as the sharp shooter went 10 of 19 for 26 points.
"Nick can shoot the ball," Patrick said.
Kindig's shooting prowess was on display, but the Vikings got contributions from more than him.
"Everybody came up with a big play here and there," Patrick said.
A player making consistent big plays was 5-foot-9 senior Dereck Ferrell, who had seven points, nine rebounds and two steals.
"He's just one of those kids, who may not be as talented as a lot of players, but plays because he plays so hard," Patrick said. "He just loves to play and competes."
Valley freshman Tanner Andrews had his playing limited because of foul trouble, but still managed to score five points and grab seven rebounds, while junior Brett Cooper had a five-point, three-rebound and two-assist game.
With Valley getting contributions from everyone, Manchester was relying on the three-point shooting of senior Austin Flack in the first half.
During the first 16 minutes of the game, Flack connected on 3 of 4 three-pointers, going 4 of 5 overall, scoring 12 points, helping to give Manchester at 30-27 halftime lead.
"It's nice to hit some three-pointers, but it's not something we've relied on this year," Cripe said. "We came out in the second half, trying to get the ball inside. We thought we had some good inside shots, they just didn't fall."
The Squires did manage to get the ball inside, but once it got there, getting it into the basket was another story, as Manchester hit just 7 of 23 shots in the second half.
One inside player Manchester was looking to was 6-foot-4 senior Scott Baker.
"Everyone is keying on Baker right now," Cripe said. "They're putting two or three guys on him and they're talking about where he's at."
Along with the defensive attention, Baker was also hampered by foul trouble and ended the game with just five points and one rebound.
"He's had a rough couple of games and may be lacking a little confidence," Cripe said. "We have to get him back in the offense."
Against Valley, Flack was the top offensive player, scoring 17 points, while junior Logan Brunn had a 10-point, seven-rebound performance.
Manchester is right back in action tonight, hosting Tri-Central at 6 p.m. Valley's next contest is Tuesay at home against Maconaquah.
TIPPECANOE VALLEY 54, MANCHESTER 48
V 15 12 15 12 - 54
M 12 18 7 11 - 48
Valley - Dereck Ferrell 2-4 2-2 7, Jacob Ritchey 1-1 0-0 2, Tanner Andrews 1-3 3-4 5, Nick Kindig 10-19 4-4 26, Jeffrey Tillman 3-5 0-0 6, Bret Cooper 2-8 0-0 5, Tanner Shepherd 1-3 1-2 3, Taylor Breeden 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-43 10-12 54.
Manchester - Derek Self 3-5 0-0 7, Logan Brunn 3-11 2-4 10, Austin Flack 6-14 2-3 17, Scott Baker 2-5 1-3 5, Aric Howard 3-6 0-0 6, Trae Bruce 0-0 0-0 0, Joey Spann 0-2 0-0 0, Caleb Thomas 1-1 1-3 3. Totals 18-44 6-13 48.
Three-pointers - Valley 4-10 (Kindig 2, Ferrell, Cooper), Manchester 6-12 (Flack 3, Brunn 2, Self); Team Fouls - Valley 12, Manchester 13; Turnovers - Valley 13, Manchester 11; Rebounds - Valley 24 (Ferrell 9), Manchester 23 (Brunn 7); Assists - Valley 5 (Cooper 2, Kindig 2), Manchester 3 (Brunn 2); Records: Valley 5-9 (3-2 TRC), Manchester 3-9 (1-4 TRC)
