Blue Devils go 3-1 at tourney
by RANDY HUGGLER
posted January 2, 2012 at 12:28 p.m.

RICHMOND -- After taking one step backward, the Tipton boys basketball team took two paces forward Thursday at the fifth annual Bob Wettig Memorial Tournament.

About 17 hours after losing for the first time this season, the fourth-ranked Blue Devils got back on the winning track with two victories that placed them in the championship game of the consolation bracket against Jennings County.The Blue Devils defeated Jennings County 55-50.

Tipton started its day with a hard-fought 57-51 victory over Christian Academy of Louisville (Ky.), then turned in a strong effort later in the evening to take down Muncie Burris 62-47.

There were signs of marked improvement in both games compared with Wednesday night's 73-64 loss to Columbus North that relegated the Devils to the consolation bracket.

"We're still at the stage of the season where the main thing we're trying to do is improve," Tipton coach Brad Dickey said after Thursday night's victory. "We were better (against CAL) than we were the night before, and we showed even more good signs against Burris. To make improvement like we did and to pick up a couple of wins makes for a nice day. Hopefully we'll have enough left in the tank for one more game."

The Blue Devils haven't lost back-to-back games since late January 2010, but that was a realistic possibility for much of their first game Thursday.

Tipton trailed 42-40 early in the fourth quarter against Christian Academy, but Mike Crawford scored 13 of his game-high 23 points in the final seven minutes to lead the decisive charge.

There were nine lead changes and seven ties before Crawford hit four straight free throws and then an inside basket in a span of just over a minute as the Blue Devils turned a 45-45 tie into a 51-45 edge with 3:05 remaining. The Centurions (4-6) were never closer than four the rest of the way.

Brady Dolezal sparked a fast start for Tipton. He hit a three-pointer to open the scoring then an inside basket on the Blue Devils' next possession, and a Crawford basket a minute later made it 7-0. But Crawford didn't hit another field goal until early in the second half.

Dolezal was Tipton's only consistent offensive threat in the first 16 minutes, collecting 13 of his 19 points in the first half.

Christian Academy used a 12-3 surge early in the second period to take its largest lead, 22-17 midway through the second.

Dolezal then scored two straight buckets, and a driving layup by Blake Hoover put the Devils back on top 23-22. They maintained that advantage, 24-23 at halftime.

Tipton's defense was a factor in the decisive fourth quarter. The Centurions, who shot over .500 for the first three quarters (including 4 of 5 from three-point range), were hassled into a 2-for-11 showing in the fourth, and 1-for-6 from behind the three-point arc.

The Blue Devils, meanwhile, went 5 for 8, and their 8-of-11 effort from the free throw line helped secure the victory.
"We struggled with some things early in the game," Dickey said, "but we did a lot better job in the fourth quarter."

Dolezal had a game-high 11 rebounds to go with his 19 points. Jake Dye scored six points on 6-for-6 free throwing shooting, Hoover finished with four, Jake Shepherd and Logan Reeves scored two, and Luke Shively had one.

Guard Ivan Talley came off the bench to lead the Centurions with 17 points. Center Tyler Stocking had 14 points and nine rebounds.

Tipton 62, Muncie Burris 57
A 17-4 surge that began late in the first half and continued deep into the third period allowed the Blue Devils to pull away from the Owls.

The Blue Devils led just 25-24 when Dye scored on a drive to the basket with 52 seconds left in the first half. Before the second period ended, Dolezal turned a turnover into a layup, then hit a three-pointer with a second left for a 32-26 advantage at halftime.

Dye and Crawford each had four of the points as Tipton scored 10 of the first 12 second-half points to lead 42-28, and Burris (4-4) was never closer than nine the rest of the game.

Crawford was force throughout, scoring at least six points in each quarter en route to a game-high 27. He also led Tipton to a 26-22 rebounding advantage with a game-best seven. Two others joined him in double figures, Dye with 14 and Dolezal with 10.

James Altherr was next with seven on 7-of-8 shooting from the free-throw line. Hoover and Shively scored two points.

Tipton enjoyed a solid shooting game. The Blue Devils went 20 of 37 (54 percent) from the field and 20 of 23 (87 percent) from the free throw line. Dye was 6 for 6 from the stripe for the second time in the day.

 

Trojans go 4-1 at Clinton Prairie
by JEFF PYKE
posted December 11, 2011 at 8:10 p.m.

JEFFERSON –– Tri-Central fared well at the Papa Johns Wrestling Invitational here on Saturday. Four wrestlers finished the day with unblemished records and the Trojans were 4-1 on the day.

Finishing 5-0 were juniors Clay Shaffer (106) and Dakota Anderson (113), senior Corbin O’Neal (126), and sophomore Garrett Kelley (132).

Five Wrestlers were 4-1: freshman Tommy Turner (120), juniors Janson Grubb (138,) Patrick Krogstie (152) and Blake Wyrick (170), and senior Noah Pyke (145).

O’Neal is the only Tri-Central wrestler that remains undefeated for the season at 10-0.

The Trojans started the day undefeated against Faith Christian, but four forfeited matches made the final score 57-24.

After a bye round Tri-Central faced Frontier and again not one Trojan fell to the other team. Frontier was awarded only one forfeit due to Double Forfeits, putting the final at 57-6.

After another bye round and a lunch break the Trojans faced former Hoosier Heartland Conference opponent, Lafayette Central Catholic in the fifth round. TC dominated the dual, but did lose one match at 220 ––sophomore Darius Stanley was pinned leaving the final score at 54-6.

In the sixth round, the Trojans faced the Eagles of Frankton. Winning only six matches and losing eight, the Trojans lost 30-48.

In the seventh and final round Tri-Central made quick work of neighboring Taylor, losing two matches to the Titans to win 48-24. The Trojans are now 11-4 as a team and O’Neal leads the team at 10-0. Anderson is 14-1 and Wyrick is 9-1.

Competing in junior varsity action for the Trojans were freshmen Colby Shaffer (113), Jordan Thurston (113), sophomore Josh Murdock (138), and juniors Brandon Whitehead (138) and Austin Horn (182).

Tri-Central will be back in action Saturday, Dec. 17, at Clinton Central at 10 a.m.

 

Lady Devils edge Bison 52-50
by EMILY WILSON
posted December 4, 2011 at 10:40 p.m.

TIPTON –– January 3, 2004 was the last time Tipton’s Lady Devil basketball team had beaten perennial conference powerhouse Benton Central.

That streak ended Saturday.

With the sinking of a pair of free throws by Tipton senior Audra West, the Blue Devils prevailed 52-50 over Class 3A No. 3-ranked Benton Central.

For most of the game, it was all Brooklyn Juday, who finished with a career high 30 points. Nineteen of those points came in the first half. Tipton pulled out to an early lead in the first quarter 15-10.

In a very physical game, Kacie Juday got in foul trouble early was forced to watch from the sidelines while Benton Central fought back to take a three-point (27-24) lead into halftime.

Tipton trailed 35-41 at the end of three quarters before outscoring Benton Central 17 to 9 in the fourth quarter to secure the win.

Kacie Juday had 10 of her 12 points in the second half, while playing in foul trouble. Lela Crawford added six points, Shelby Shirk scored two and Audra West had the clutch pair from the foul line to win the game.

It was a nail biter at the end. With 16 seconds left, Kacie Juday went to the line and tied the ballgame, sinking the front end of her two but missing the second shot.

Benton Central attempted to score and a fifth foul called on Shelby Shirk sent them to the line for a one and one. Benton Central missed and Tipton gained the rebound.

Audra West was then fouled with put her at the line with 7.3 seconds to go. Showing cool clutch under pressure, Audra made them both to put Tipton up 52-50.

Tipton then called time out to set up the defense. Benton Central inbounded the ball and drove down to the hoop but their last second shot failed to fall giving the Lady Devils the victory.

Tipton now stands at 7-0 and is ranked No. 4 in Class 2A. The win gives the Lady Devils the upper hand in their quest for the Hoosier Conference championship.

The Lady Devils will travel to Elwood on Wednesday, and to Twin Lakes on Saturday.