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 ONeal (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).
ONeal 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 ONeal 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 Tiptons
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.