Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
AKRON - It wasn't what he said so much as how he said it.
"We just couldn't stop Drudge," said a dejected Manchester head coach Gary Goshert as he shook his head.
Tippecanoe Valley's Shane Drudge sparked a 10-1 run after the Squires cut a 21-point lead to seven in the third quarter of Friday night's boys basketball game between the two Three Rivers Conference combatants.
Drudge tied teammate Chad Hoffer for a game-high 18 points as he led the Vikings to a 67-45 win.
It was the 21st straight conference win for Valley and head coach Bill Patrick. In Patrick's eight years at Valley, the Vikings have won six straight TRC titles and appear well on their way to a seventh.
For about seven minutes in the third quarter however, that streak appeared to be in jeopardy.
Manchester's Aaron Medley scored two quick baskets out of the break as the Squires went on a 15-1 run that extended most of the third quarter.
Valley's lone point came on a Hoffer free throw at the 5:35 mark.
The Vikings appeared well on their way to going the entire quarter without a field goal before Drudge tipped in a Steven Tillman miss.
"I thought the key turning point was the Drudge tip-in," said Goshert. "Little things like that can be the key difference. It stopped our run and started theirs."
Drudge then scored eight of Valley's first 10 points of the final period as the Vikings extended their lead to 16.
"Shane was struggling a little bit early on," said Patrick. "But he found a little extra energy at the end and carried us."
Both Drudge and Hoffer missed school and practice this week due to the flu but appeared no worse for the wear.
Hoffer hit his first five shots from the field as he scored 13 first-half points to help extend Valley's lead to 21.
Hoffer finished 7 of 9 from the field and 4 of 6 from the free-throw line for his 18 points. He also grabbed three steals and three rebounds.
While Hoffer has come off the bench for Valley this season, his play may call for a shakeup in the Vikings starting lineup.
"We started playing better with Hoffer in," said Patrick. "We let him sit out the first four minutes of the first and third quarter and struggled during those times. He just gives us so much energy. We don't start him but we may have to change that."
Valley went on a 14-1 run after Hoffer entered the game in the first quarter as the talented sophomore chipped in eight.
Hoffer also saw increased responsibility as a tightly officiated contest adversely affected Valley senior David Lash.
Lash, who averages nearly 15 points per game and nine rebounds, played sparingly Friday night and finished with just four points and two rebounds.
Manchester was rung up for nine personal fouls in the first quarter alone and lost both Daniel Bourne and David Cable in the fourth quarter.
Bourne led the way for the Squires with 11 points while Cable scored just four.
After two less than stellar performances against Wawasee and Rochester, Manchester played perhaps its best quarter of basketball in the third quarter Friday night.
"I don't know that we could be any less assertive in the first half," said Goshert. "I'm sure glad we came out and played different in the third quarter. The whole difference is how we played in the first half versus the third quarter."
While Goshert was buoyed by the play of his team in the third quarter, that eight-minute stretch caused some concern for Patrick.
"At halftime we told the kids we won the first half," said Patrick. "We said, 'Now let's go and win the second half'. We just don't play well with a big lead. In the third quarter we settled for too many outside shots."
The Vikings shot 1 of 6 (17 percent) from the field in the third quarter as compared to 21 of 33 (64 percent) for the rest of the game.
Manchester finished the evening 18 of 40 (45 percent) from the field after starting the game 2 of 7 in the first quarter.
Manchester made it to the free-throw line just 10 times hitting seven.
While both teams are known for their proclivity to launch three pointers, the two squads combined to hit just 4 of 14 shots from beyond the three-point arc.
Rounding out the scoring for Manchester was Aaron Medley with eight, Nathan Smith with seven off the bench, Andrew Evans with five and Wesley Penrod with four. Three other Squires each scored two points.
The Vikings held a 30-15 advantage in bench scoring over Manchester thanks to Hoffer's 18 points.
Tillman and Tad Neeley came off the Viking bench to score five points each while Shane Salyer had two points.
With the loss, Manchester falls to 2-11 on the season and 1-4 in the TRC. The Squires are next in action Friday when they travel to Northfield for a 6:15 p.m. JV start.
Valley upped its record to 10-3 overall and 5-0 in the TRC as they Vikings have won five straight. The Vikings host West Central in non-conference action Friday with a 6:15 p.m. JV start.
T. VALLEY 67, MANCH 45
Manchester 6 15 15 9 - 45
T. Valley 20 22 3 22 - 67
Manchester FG FT R S Pts.
*Briner 0-2 2-2 1 0 2
*Evans 2-5 0-0 0 0 5
*Bourne 5-13 0-0 2 1 11
*Cable 2-2 0-0 2 0 4
*Medley 2-4 4-6 3 0 8
W. Penrod 2-5 0-0 1 2 4
Walker 1-1 0-0 2 0 2
Smith 3-6 1-1 3 0 7
Shepherd 1-2 0-0 1 0 2
S. Penrod 0-0 0-1 0 0 0
Totals 18-40 7-10 15 3 45
T. Valley FG FT R S Pts.
*Lash 1-2 1-2 2 1 4
*Parker 1-2 0-0 1 0 2
*Kindig 2-3 3-4 4 2 7
*Kelley 1-5 4-4 2 2 6
*Drudge 7-12 4-4 5 2 18
Hoffer 7-9 4-6 3 3 18
Tillman 0-1 5-8 2 0 5
Reed 0-1 0-0 2 0 0
Salyer 1-1 0-0 1 0 2
Neeley 2-2 0-0 1 0 5
Nelson 0-1 0-0 0 1 0
Totals 22-39 21-28 23 11 67
Three-point goals - Manchester 2-7 (Evans 1-2, Bourne 1-2), T. Valley 2-7 (Lash 1-1, Neeley 1-1). Turnovers - Manchester 17, T. Valley 12. Fouls - Manchester 27, T. Valley 15. Fouled out - Bourne, Cable.
