PREP BASKETBALL: Tipton roughs up Taylor

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February 8, 2010

BY MARK SALUKE The Kokomo Tribune Mon Feb 08, 2010, 11:39 PM EST

TIPTON — Both sides of the rest-over-rust coin were on display when Tipton and Taylor hit the hardwood for a rare Monday night of boys basketball hoops.

A flurry of postponements left both squads sitting in limbo last weekend, but it was the Class 2A No. 4-ranked Blue Devils who played fresh and unaffected by the layoff, running away, 68-42, from a Titans squad that seemed out of character and never quite found its rhythm.

“We just got our butt kicked by a team who wanted it more than we did,” Taylor coach Jeff Fisher said. “I thought we were playing our best basketball of the season [two weeks ago], and then we came in here and laid an egg. We’re a better team than the way we played [Monday] night. This is a great group of guys and we’ve come a long way this season, but we need to get tougher mentally.”

Heading into the night, Taylor (10-5) had won five of its last six games including the Howard County championship, but Tipton (11-3) quickly put this one out of reach.

The Blue Devils opened the game with a 10-0 run, taking a 22-9 lead in the first eight minutes.

Tipton’s lead swelled to as high as 22 in the second quarter before the Devils settled for a 21-point cushion, 39-18, at the half.

Freshman Mike Crawford came off the bench to score a game-high 16 points for Tipton, while Greg Dickey and Alex Hutson followed with 15 each.

“This was a real good performance,” Tipton coach Brad Dickey said. “I think we were more comfortable being at home under the strange circumstances the weather has caused in the schedule. Overall, we’re continuing to show some good signs of progress.”

Taylor’s Reomey Northington went on a five-point tear to open the second half and cut the Blue Devil lead to 16, 39-23, but that’s as close as the Titans would get as Tipton held a 53-29 advantage at the third stop and pushed the lead as high as 32 in the fourth quarter before emptying its bench over the final three minutes.

“I don’t know how many times we’ve come over here and got ourselves down by 20 or more points at half-time,” Fisher said. “Then we go in and talk at the half about coming out and making ourselves proud. Well, we’re beyond that. We need to make ourselves proud as soon as we walk across the black line at the start of the game.”

Taylor struggled to find its shot throughout the contest, hitting 14 of 52 (27 percent). The Titans’ leading scorers, Northington and Drake Herr, entered the contest averaging 17.2 and 14.7 points respectively, but were held to 15 points combined on 5 of 19 shooting.

“I guarantee Taylor will shoot better if we see them again, and it’s quite possible we will in the sectional,” Brad Dickey said. “Those are good ball players who will find ways to improve from this game.”

Northington led the Titans with nine points. Tyler Simmons followed with seven, and Herr and Walter Wheeler each scored six.

Ethan Jacobs just missed a double-double for Tipton, finishing with eight points and a team-high nine rebounds. Connor Rich also netted eight points.

Both teams will be back on the court Thursday as Tipton travels to Carroll while Taylor visits Mid-Indiana Conference foe Maconaquah.

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