AKRON – From the very start, when senior Gavin Bussard grabbed the opening tip and scored on a lightly-contested layup less than five seconds into the game, Tippecanoe Valley led Rochester. The gap grew slowly but surely through the first 3-1/2 quarters in the Vikings’ 55-38 home win over the Zebras in Three Rivers Conference play Friday night. Valley controlled the game throughout, and while a long way from playing a perfect game, the Vikings were able to force Rochester into less-than-ideal shots, outhustled the Zebras for loose balls, and converted those mistakes into scoring chances for themselves. The Vikings also got a spark off the bench, when senior Trevor Neeley scored 11 points in the second quarter, including a trio of three-point shots. He finished with 14 points. “We’re playing harder, and I thought we played solid defense, especially in the first half,” Viking head coach Bill Patrick said. “We still struggled a little bit to score in the half-court game, and it’s tough to fix that this time of year. Those are things you just gotta have a better offseason and work on some individual moves and work on shooting. “So we’re still struggling a little bit there. We need to get in more of a full-court game so we get more opportunities to score. “We got off to that quick start, 6-0, and played well in the first part of the first quarter. Our kids ran and did a nice job for us. Alec Craig (who finished with a game-high 17 points) played well, Gavin (Bussard) played hard and well, Trevor came in off the bench and hit a couple of big shots. Jarod Duzenbery (four points, five rebounds) had a really solid game on defense. He did a nice job on the big kid from Rochester (Gavin Bennett, who was held to three points). I thought we got good play from all seven kids we played (in the first half). But defense was the big key.” Patrick has been through enough rivalry games to realize his team didn’t get Rochester’s best shot this season. Injuries and a difficult slate of games appear to have taken a toll on the Zebras. The one win they have this year was a 22-point win over another one-win squad, North Miami. Rochester senior Alec Holland left the game in the second quarter after reinjuring his left knee. He wore a significant brace onto the floor, and was on crutches after the game. “They’ve had some tough breaks this year. They had (Brett) Abbott get hurt in football, Holland got hurt, and they’ve played a really tought schedule. I think only two teams on their schedule have a losing record. Everybody else, if you add up the total number of losses, it would add up to less than five. Logansport, Plymouth, Winamac, Culver (Community) ... those teams all have good records, so it’s been a tough start for ‘em. “They’ve got some talent. They’ve got some players that can play. Obviously Holland struggled tonight, he didn’t hit a three and normally he’ll hit two or three of those in a game. It’s a much better Rochester team than what they’re playing. Schedule-wise it’s been a tough start, and their schedule may ease up a bit the rest of the way. But they’ve had some tough injuries and lost some kids that would have helped.” Valley remains tied for third in the loss column with a 3-1 TRC record, and improved to 5-7 overall. The Vikings host Winamac at 3 p.m. today. Rochester fell to 1-10 (1-3 in the TRC) and hosts Caston Tuesday.
TIPPECANOE VALLEY 55, ROCHESTER 38 R 2 14 9 13 – 38 TV 8 22 13 12 – 55 Rochester – Jacob Nigh 1-3 2-2 4, Alec Holland 0-2 0-0 0, Brett Abbott 2-7 1-1 5, A.J. Notz 0-2 0-0 0, Jordan Reinholt 2-5 0-2 6, Wilson Lee 1-2 0-0 2, Zac Dishon 1-2 0-0 2, Gavin Bennett 1-3 1-4 3, Ben Perez 7-7 2-4 16. Totals 15-33 6-13 38. Valley – Brandon Webster 1-2 0-0 3, Trevor Neeley 5-11 0-0 14, Keith Wright 1-6 2-4 5, D.J. Heckman 0-1 0-0 0, Alec Craig 5-6 6-6 17, Jake Gearhart 0-0 0-0 0, Gavin Bussard 3-8 0-2 6, Alex Morrison 0-0 0-0 0, Bryce Webster 1-1 0-0 2, Jarod Duzenbery 1-4 2-2 4, Dakota Parker 0-0 0-0 0, Wes Melanson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 17-39 14-20 55. Three-pointers – Rochester 2 (Reinholt 2), Valley 7 (Neeley 4, Bran. Webster, Wright, Craig); Rebounds – Rochester 17 (Notz 3, Bennett 3); Valley 25 (Duzenbery 5); Turnovers – Rochester 18, Valley 14; Fouls – rochester 20, Valley 12; Fouled out – none; Records: Rochester 1-10 (1-3 TRC), Valley 5-7 (3-1 TRC) JV – Rochester 46, Valley 35 Valley – Alex Morrison 11, Jake Gearhart 10, Wes Melanson 6, Ivan Santiago 4, Dakota Parker 3, D.J. Heckman 1
