MENTONE – Plymouth’s Pilgrim finally got back in the win column ending a five game skid in a big way at Tippecanoe Valley taking a 62-35 win.
It was also Plymouth head coach Ryan Bales 100th win at Plymouth, a milestone that was celebrated with an extra “shower” in the locker room after the game.
“Any time we can celebrate a win that’s okay. I’m happy for win number one, forget 100,” said Bales.
“It’s hard to put into words,” he said. “There have been a lot of great coaches here. For me to have an opportunity to be here there have been some great players even in the time I’ve been here, some great relationships established, that is the reason why we do this.”
“I’ve got a great staff. Their loyalty means a lot and there’s no way I’d have that number of wins without the players I’ve coached.”
And the players he’s coached this season responded with a big team game, something that Bales had stressed after a tough loss on the road the night before.
“Our energy level was a different level tonight,” said Bales. “Our guys collectively just brought it tonight. Clay (Hilliard) got off to a great start, Jake (Reichard) came off the bench and hit some shots, Garrett (Tharp) had another big night, Bryce (Carmichael) had an outstanding week and that showed tonight. They came out and played.”
The Pilgrims led tip to buzzer and while the game was contested to halftime, the Pilgrims ran away with it in the second half.
“We knew Tippy was going to compete,” said Bales. “They came out and hit shots but I feel like over the course of the game we just wore them down. I think our defense just stayed solid and took care of the rebounding as well.”
The Pilgrims were able to withstand the Vikings runs in the second half to take the win.
“They made runs at us, even in the third quarter and we had to respond,” said Bales. “That’s something in the past that we’ve had bad possessions or let them hit shots and I felt like we had some great answers at the other end. We played really unselfish and played great team basketball.”
Plymouth now moves to 6-6 and will be at home against Concord on Friday night and on the road at LaPorte on Saturday.
•PLYMOUTH 62, TIPPECANOE VALLEY 35
At Tippecanoe Valley
Plymouth 12 22 44 62
Valley 6 15 27 35
Plymouth (62) – Nixon 2 0-0 4, Hilliard 6 3-5 21, Carmichael 2 2-2 6, Filson 1 0-0 2, Zeigler 0 0-0 0, McCrammer 1 3-3 5, Reichard 2 1-4 7, Leazenby 0 0-0 0, Skirvin 0 1-2 1, Tharp 7 0-0 15. Totals 21 11-18 62.
Valley (35) – Trippedi 2 0-0 5, Shepard 2 1-2 5, Dalrymple 4 0-0 11, Morrison 4 0-0 8, Parker 1 1-2 4, Potter 1 0-0 2. Totals 14 2-4 35.
3 Pt. FG – Plymouth 9-14 (Hilliard 6), Valley 5-20 (Dalrymple 3).
Rebounds – Plymouth 33 (McCrammer 9), Valley 18 (Trippedi 6).
Assists – Plymouth 14 (McCrammer 5), Valley 10 (Trippedi 3).
Steals – Plymouth 4 (Reichard 2), Valley 3.
Turnovers – Plymouth 13, Valley 13.
Fouls (Fouled out) – Plymouth 13, Valley 17.
