Turnovers Again Derail Vikings
By Mike Deak
InkFreeNews
AKRON – Valley boys basketball head coach Chad Patrick felt his team had a long way to go heading into the holiday weekend last week. Tuesday night left the coach feeling his ball club is getting closer.
Fort Wayne Luers continued to expose some weaknesses in Tippecanoe Valley’s armor, claiming a 72-53 victory Tuesday night at Rita Price Simpson Court, but its performance was graded much higher than a week ago against Oregon-Davis.
“We are getting there,” Patrick said. “We showed a lot more heart tonight than we did last week and that’s encouraging. But we are still making way too many mistakes. And you can’t do that against teams like Luers.”
A combination of Luers’ shooting touch and Valley’s penchant for turnovers told the tale. The Knights were sharp from inside the three-point arc, hitting 20-36 shots (56 percent) and 47 percent (24-51) overall for the night. It was a three-pointer at the end of the first quarter by Naylon Thompson that gave Luers a 19-13 advantage.
A handful of Valley turnovers sent that lead into double digits, quickly sitting at 31-15. There were moments where Valley would come back from the mat, scoring five points in two possessions aided by a Nolan Cumberland three, but in another sequence, Cumberland missed a wide open three, and on the other end, Isaac Zay buried a triple from the corner for a six-point swing.
“Everybody is going to press us and trap us until we prove we can handle it,” Patrick said. He noted guard Paul Leasure was still out with a foot injury but would possibly be back to practice next week. “We had worked on the press with seven guys because we don’t have guys to match up with (Luers), so we made it chaos. We worked on it, but they are just a good team.
“I just struggle with the turnovers where we just get scared and we just turn and throw it because we don’t want the ball anymore. I don’t care if we make turnovers, just be aggressive and attack. And there at the end we did. But in the first half we would catch the ball and hold it for five seconds and then try to take off.”
Valley would commit 24 turnovers on the night to just 14 for Luers. While the Knights scored just 10 points off those turnovers, the extra possessions ran off more clock as Valley was in chase mode. Valley would trim the lead to 11 at one point in the second half, but wouldn’t get any closer.
Thompson had a monster night for Luers with 28 points, seven rebounds, four assists and three steals in a full load. Nick Thompson had 11 points, six boards and four steals and Zay added 10 points.
Dawson Perkins continued to draw most of the defensive attention, but still piled up 19 points and seven rebounds. Cumberland had 15 points but hit just three field goals on the night. Braden Shepherd added nine points and four rebounds.
Luers (2-3) used its experience against three of the top teams in the state in losses to Leo, Homestead and Indianapolis Cathedral, with a combined record of 23-1. Luers had beaten Fort Wayne Canterbury prior to the Valley triumph.
Valley (1-5) will turn around and play at home again Wednesday, hosting Columbia City. The Eagles lost by 17 at NorthWood Tuesday night.
In the JV game, Valley turned an 11-point halftime deficit into an 11-point win, 51-40. Riley Shepherd led the Vikings with 21 points and Dylan Neese chipped in nine points.