By Mike McGraw
Executive Director
TERRE HAUTE – Sometimes you can do everything right, and the results still turn out bad. That was the story Dec. 26 for highly regarded Class A Turkey Run in the first round of the Wabash Valley Pizza Hut Classic.
The 11th-ranked Warriors entered their contest with 3A Owen Valley knowing they needed to control tempo and shut off the post game of the much-bigger Patriots. They did an excellent job of both. What they didn’t figure on was solid perimeter shooting from the Patriots, nor the handful of opportunities they would squander themselves down the stretch.
The result was a 62-56 Owen Valley victory.
It took very little time for Turkey Run to establish the slower tempo it wanted. The Warriors opened in a compacted zone that successfully kept Owen Valley out of the paint and completely eliminated quick shots for the Patriots.
The two teams jousted to a 12-11 Owen Valley advantage after one quarter.
The opening minutes of the second period brought one of the two key stretches in the game. Owen Valley heated up from beyond the 3-point arc, something the scouting report said was unlikely. The three barrage was enough to build a 27-17 lead midway through the quarter and put Turkey Run on the ropes.
But the Warriors responded with a five-point burst to claw back into the game. Owen Valley, not to be outdone, came back with seven in a row, and once again the Warriors were on the ropes.
Coach Joey Hart’s crew ended the half on a six-point run to narrow Owen Valley’s advantage to 34-28.
The third quarter had to be frustrating for both coaches. Owen Valley continued to shoot well and put 16 points on the board in the stanza. Meanwhile, Turkey Run seemed to become the quicker of the two teams and responded with the same total.
The quarter ended as it had begun, with Owen Valley clinging to a six point lead at 50-44.
The Warriors had two opportunities in the final minute to close within four but could not capitalize. It was the start of an agonizing trend.
Turkey Run stepped up the defensive intensity at the start of the fourth quarter, and Owen Valley began to struggle mightily. The Patriots scored just four points in the first six-and-a-half minutes of the final period.
Despite that futility, however, the Warriors could not make a run. With a full dozen chances to cut the lead to fewer than six points during that stretch, Turkey Run failed each and every time.
Finally, with 1:24 left to play, the Warriors’ Jon Sowers hit a 3-pointer from the corner AND drew a foul. The four-point play drew Turkey Run within two at 56-54.
Ironically, the post game of the taller Patriots – which had been so successfully stymied throughout the contest – came to the rescue. Owen Valley responded with two buckets in the lane to stave off the late rally.
The victory improved Owen Valley, which was paced by 6’7” Cody Vest’s 19 points, to 3-4 on the season. Turkey Run (5-2) was led in scoring by Jake Weaver’s game-high 21 points.
The Warriors’ loss was the first in what proved to be a long day for Wabash River Conference teams. Riverton Parke fell to West Vigo, 63-44, with nearly 30 turnovers the Panthers’ undoing. Later in the day, Rockville fell to one of the tourney favorites, Marshall (IL), 59-39.
Both teams will return to action Monday as Owen Valley battles West Vigo (5-3) at 2:30 p.m. ET and Turkey Run tackles winless Riverton Parke at 11:30.
The box score (courtesy of tribstar.com):
Turkey Run 11 17 16 12 – 56
Owen Valley 12 22 16 12 – 62
1A #11 Turkey Run 56
Player FG 3FG FT R S PF TP
Cook 3-4 0-0 2-4 4 2 0 8
Woods 2-5 1-3 3-5 6 0 4 8
Marshall 3-9 2-7 2-2 8 0 2 10
Sowers 3-6 2-3 1-1 3 2 3 9
Weaver 7-20 1-10 6-7 5 2 4 21
Newton 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 1 0
Tappan 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 2 0
Totals 18-44 6-23 14-19 26 7 16 56
.444 .260 .739
Owen Valley 62
Player FG 3FG FT R S PF TP
C. Vest 9-17 0-2 1-4 11 3 3 19
Christenberry 1-3 1-1 0-0 0 0 0 3
Hollows 5-8 3-3 0-0 7 1 2 13
Worland 5-13 2-5 0-0 6 0 0 12
Gilstrap 2-5 2-4 0-0 0 0 4 6
D. Vest 1-2 0-1 1-3 1 0 2 3
Ray 1-2 0-0 2-2 1 0 0 4
White 0-1 0-0 0-0 3 1 2 0
Hoadley 1-1 0-0 0-0 0 1 0 2
Totals 25-52 8-16 4-9 31* 6 13 62
.481 .500 .444
Team rebounds: Turkey Run 0, Owen Valley 2
Turnovers: Turkey Run 9, Owen Valley 9
Other Day 1 box scores involving ranked schools:
Terre Haute North 4 11 18 19 – 52
Casey-Westfield 6 4 7 9 – 26
4A #11 Terre Haute North 56
Player FG 3FG FT R S PF TP
Gant 6-14 0-3 0-2 3 1 0 12
Shipley 0-2 0-1 0-0 2 0 4 0
Anderson 4-6 0-0 1-2 3 2 1 9
C. O’Leary 1-2 0-1 0-1 2 1 2 2
Jones 1-2 0-0 8-9 2 4 3 10
Blank 2-3 0-0 1-2 1 0 0 5
Sponsler 2-5 0-1 2-2 3 0 2 6
Gauer 2-3 1-2 0-0 3 0 1 5
Marshall 1-1 1-1 0-0 0 1 1 3
Newton 0-2 0-2 0-0 1 1 1 0
Bolden 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
M. O’Leary 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 0 0 0
Totals 19-40 2-11 12-18 *27 10 15 52
.475 .182 .667
Casey-Westfield (IL) 26
Player FG 3FG FT R S PF TP
Scott 3-9 0-0 3-4 4 2 2 9
Kusterman 1-8 0-1 4-6 5 0 2 6
Unzicker 2-3 0-1 0-0 4 0 4 4
McVey 2-4 0-2 1-3 3 1 2 5
Scales 1-4 0-0 0-0 6 0 5 2
Shull 0-1 0-0 0-0 1 0 0 0
Carver 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Blankenship 0-2 0-2 0-0 0 0 1 0
Bolin 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Babbs 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Barnhart 0-2 0-2 0-0 1 0 0 0
Nichols 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Totals 9-34 0-8 8-13 *30 3 16 26
.265 .000 .615
Team rebounds: TH North 6, Casey 6
Turnovers: TH North 9, Casey 19
Assists: TH North 16 (C. O’Leary 4), Casey 5 (Scott 2)
Blocks: TH North 4 (Anderson 2), Casey 1 (Scales)
Technical fouls: Scott, Unzicker
Shakamak 13 12 18 25 – 68
Linton 9 7 18 12 – 46
1A #10 Shakamak 68
Player FG 3FG FT R S PF TP
Newton 15-27 3-6 1-2 10 3 2 34
Langford 3-7 0-0 0-0 4 1 2 6
VanHorn 3-6 0-0 1-3 4 1 2 7
Richardson 5-16 2-4 0-0 7 8 1 12
Smith 0-2 0-2 0-0 1 5 2 0
Crody 2-4 0-0 2-3 3 0 3 6
Dowell 1-1 1-1 0-0 1 1 0 3
Sparks 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 0 0
Crowe 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Batchelor 0-2 0-0 0-0 1 0 0 0
Totals 29-65 6-13 4-8 *31 20 12 68
.446 .462 .500
Linton 46
Player FG 3FG FT R S PF TP
Fougerousse 4-9 1-1 0-0 11 0 2 9
Eaton 1-4 0-0 0-0 1 0 2 2
Karazsia 1-3 0-0 0-0 1 3 1 2
Rhoten 6-8 2-3 4-6 3 0 1 18
Stuppy 4-7 3-5 2-2 3 1 1 13
Passen 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Scott 0-5 0-2 0-0 3 0 0 0
French 1-2 0-0 0-0 2 0 0 2
Flater 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Franklin 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 0 1 0
Jerrells 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 1 0 0
Totals 17-39 6-11 6-8 *33 5 8 46
.436 .545 .750
Team rebounds: Shakamak 0, Linton 9
Turnovers: Shakamak 13, Linton 29
Assists: Shakamak 17 (Smith 8), Linton 8 (Rhoten 4)
Blocks: Shakamak 3 (Richardson 2), Linton 2 (Fougerousse, Rhoten)
Results from the 2009 Wabash Valley Pizza Hut Classic hosted by Terre Haute North (all times ET):
Sat Dec. 26 (first round)
Terre Haute South 74, Bloomfield 47
Sullivan 61, South Vermillion 50
Owen Valley 62, 1A #11 Turkey Run 56
West Vigo 63, Riverton Parke 44
4A #11 Terre Haute North 52, Casey-Westfield (IL) 26
Marshall (IL) 59, Rockville 39
1A #10 Shakamak 68, Linton 46
Northview 74, Monrovia 51
Mon Dec. 28 (consolations/quarterfinals)
Bloomfield vs. South Vermillion, 10 am
1A #11 Turkey Run vs. Riverton Parke, 11:30 am
Terre Haute South vs. Sullivan, 1 pm
Owen Valley vs. West Vigo, 2:30 pm
Casey-Westfield (IL) vs. Rockville, 4 pm
Linton vs. Monrovia, 5:30 pm
Marshall (IL) at 4A #11 Terre Haute North, 7 pm
1A #10 Shakamak vs. Northview, 8:30 pm
Tue Dec. 29 (consolations/semifinals)
Loser Game 9 vs. Loser Game 10, 10 am
Loser Game 13 vs. Loser Game 14, 11:30 am
Winner Game 9 vs. Winner Game 10, 1 pm
Winner Game 13 vs. Winner Game 14, 2:30 pm
Loser Game 11 vs. Loser Game 12, 4 pm
Loser Game 15 vs. Loser Game 16, 5:30 pm
Winner Game 11 vs. Winner Game 12, 7 pm
Winner Game 15 vs. Winner Game 16, 8:30 pm
Wed Dec. 30 (championship round)
Winner Game 19 vs. Winner Game 20, 3 pm (seventh place)
Winner Game 21 vs. Winner Game 22, 4:30 pm (fifth place)
Loser Game 23 vs. Loser Game 24, 6:15 pm (third place)
Winner Game 23 vs. Winner Game 24, 8 pm (championship)
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