AKRON - A horrendous start put Tippecanoe Valley's boys basketball team in a hole it couldn't dig out of Friday.
Hosting their Three Rivers Conference opener, the Vikings (1-6, 0-1 TRC) got behind 25-3 in the second quarter, leading to a 57-42 loss to the Whitko Wildcats (5-1, 1-0 TRC)."For some reason, we're just getting off to slow starts, then we also get into foul trouble," Valley coach Bill Patrick said.
Before the first quarter was even over, Valley freshmen Tanner Shepherd and Tanner Andrews each had three fouls, putting the Vikings at an even bigger disadvantage.
"With Andrews and Shepherd out, we have no size, using three or four guards," Patrick said.
Whitko coach Rob Irwin saw his team get off to a great start, but it was how they played after getting the lead that he was concerned with.
"We were just guarding them, and then, we just kind of took it easy," Irwin said about his squad, which was outscored 39-32 after getting the 25-3 lead. "We relaxed and thought, 'Well, it's going to be an easy one.'
"When you get up 20, you have to get up 25, but we don't," Irwin added. "We get up 20 and decide we're going to let them get back into it."
Valley cut the lead to 48-36 in the fourth quarter, but a defensive lapse on an in-bound pass dashed the home team's hopes.
Following a bucket by Shepherd, Patrick called a timeout, but on the ensuing in-bound pass, Whitko junior Logan Irwin was left open under the basket. Once he received the pass, he made an easy layup and was fouled in the process, increasing the lead to 51-36 with 3:21 remaining.
"We got within 12 points with over three minutes to go, then we don't get out on (Irwin) following a timeout," Patrick said. "He's wide open under the basket. I don't know what the defenders were doing."
It's hard to imagine how the Vikings lost track of Irwin, who combatted the cheer block's chants of "overrated" by scoring 33 points on 12-of-21 shooting, hauling in 11 rebounds in the process.
"I hope people keep on doing it, because it just makes him tougher," Rob Irwin said about opposing fans chanting various terms at his son. "I just hope they keep doing it. It fuels the fire and makes him work harder."
The fans may not appreciate Logan Irwin's talents, but Patrick does.
"Logan's a good player," Patrick said. "He does a lot of things. Anytime we got close, he just took over and scored a basket. He hurt us rebounding, too. He got some big offensive rebounds. He's one of the best players in the state. Him and (Warsaw senior) Nic Moore are two of the best players we've played against. We haven't played against anyone comparable."
Whitko senior Zac VanDeWater chipped in 12 points and 10 rebounds, while sophomore Alex Stoddard scored seven points.
Valley was led by junior Bret Cooper's 19 points, while sophomore Nick Kindig finished the game with seven points, three rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots.
In his 42 years of coaching, this year's squad may be Patrick's youngest, as he started two freshmen, two sophomores and a junior against Whitko. Even though his team is young, he isn't offering any excuses.
"Everybody keeps saying, 'Well, they're young, they're young.' We've played seven games," Patrick said. "At some point, that's not a very good excuse. We've got to stop those mental mistakes."
After serving as an assistant coach at Whitko under Patrick, Rob Irwin has always looked up to the Valley coach, and doesn't relish going up against his mentor, who has 671 career wins.
"I'm just glad it's over," Rob Irwin said. "I told (Patrick) before the game, 'I just want this one to be over.' It's not very much fun coaching against Coach. It does feel better being on this side of it though."
Whitko hosts Plymouth Wednesday, while Valley hosts the Winning Edge Tournament Dec. 29, taking on Michigan City Marquette.
