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Both the Manchester and Tippecanoe Valley boys basketball teams came into Tuesday night’s meeting looking for their first win of the season. Both teams battled for all four quarters and then some to get it, but in the end, it was the Squires spoiling former head coach Eli Henson’s return with a 62-57 win in overtime.
“I was really proud of our team’s effort tonight,” head coach Pat Lepper said after getting his first win for the school. “I know they really wanted to win this game, and I thought there were some points tonight where we really became a team. These guys have a lot of fight in them.”
Both sides came into this game having struggled to score points so far this season. That was not the case early on here, as both sides were able to find success shooting the basketball. Owen Omondi made an immediate impact for the Vikings, scoring four quick points in the opening minute.
On the other side, junior Samuel Winger was doing his best to fire up the home crowd by hitting two huge triples, the second of which tied the game up at nine apiece. Winger looked to be a bit too fired up himself after his first make, as his celebration earned him a technical foul.
After the scoring flurry to begin the contest subsided, the two defenses began to make their presence felt. The Squires were making things especially difficult for their opponent, as Valley struggled mightily to get back on track after the hot start. Despite trailing for a majority of the opening period, it was Manchester that led by three going into the second thanks to an and-one by Carson Heath.
Four quick points by the visitors quickly flipped the scoreboard once more as the action resumed. After a rather physical first quarter, things only continued to escalate in the second. Each time a player caught the ball anywhere near the paint, he was instantly swarmed by three jerseys of the opposite color. Points were at a premium once again as every point, shot and possession was becoming more hard-earned by the second.
With four minutes until halftime, a personal 5-0 run by Manchester’s Wyatt Schroll opened the home side’s lead up to seven, the largest for either side to this point. The advantage grew from there, as senior Aaron Reid finished off the first half with his first five points of the game, extending his team’s lead to nine at the break.
“Aaron is such an important player for us. He’s only going to keep getting better and better,” Lepper said.
Omondi gave his team a much-needed spark coming out of the half, scoring the first four points of the third quarter to quickly shrink the lead. After the Squires had dominated the previous eight minutes, it felt as if the roles had reversed here. It was now the home side with a lid on its basket while the visitors were mounting a comeback.
The Viking offense was now flowing a lot better, and the team would probably have taken the lead early in the third if not for a plethora of missed layups over the course of the night. The errant looks at the rim kept Valley off the scoreboard for a large chunk of the first half, and it was happening again in the second.
Tippecanoe Valley junior Owen Omondi drives to the basket as Carson Heath of Manchester attempts to block the shot...Nieter
Winger’s third triple of the night stopped the bleeding for Manchester and doubled the edge back to six with 90 seconds to go in the quarter. The last bucket of the period belonged to Omondi though, as his game-high 16th point made it a three-point game heading into the fourth.
With everything on the line and just eight minutes to play, the intensity level reached new heights in the following minutes. Valley was doing everything in its power to try and even things up, but each time the team got within a possession, the Squires came right back with an answer.
After four minutes of back-and-forth action, the Vikings finally tied things up on an and-one from Omondi. It was short lived, as Reid buried his second three of the evening before hitting a layup on back-to-back possessions to quickly put his team back up by five.
Five big points by Wes Parker tied things up yet again with less than two minutes to go. Even with each possession meaning so much, both teams were continuing to fly up and down the court. Manchester jumped back in front with 80 seconds left on a layup by Lincoln Young, before Omondi split a pair of free throws to make it a one-point affair with less than a minute left.
After a particularly chippy play between Dallas Martin and JJ Kammerer ended with a pair of missed free throws by Manchester, the Vikings regained possession with 50 seconds left and a chance to take the lead. After 20 more seconds ticked off the clock, the end result of the possession was a pair of free throws for Mason Miller. He hit them both, giving the visitors their first lead since the first quarter.
Now it was Manchester’s turn. With just over 10 seconds left, Reid came up with the biggest shot of the night: a corner three to put the Squires up two. Needing something in a hurry, Valley didn’t panic. Omondi calmly drove into the lane and was fouled with four seconds left. He hit both free throws and after a failed half-court heave by the home side, we were going to overtime.
“A lot of the guys haven’t played any overtime minutes before,” Lepper said. “The message was that you’re not going to win overtime on the first, second or third possession. It’s going to be the team that stays calm and executes the best.”
The first field goal of the fifth quarter wouldn’t come until nearly two minutes in. The Squires could not stop Omondi and the junior was exploiting it. Now at 24 points, he put the Vikings up by one. Reid continued to be the story on the other end, as he joined Omondi at the 20-point threshold to retake the lead. After a block on the other end, Schroll scored his 19th point of the night to make it a four-point game with 1:06 left.
Two massive defensive stops in the final minute put the Squires in prime position to win. All they had to do now was ice the game at the free throw line. After two straight trips to the charity stripe resulted in a split, Valley had a chance to make it a one-possession game once more with 15 seconds left, but one final turnovers wrapped things up.
Omondi led all scorers with 26. Reid finished with 22, and Scholl with 19.
Manchester (1-3) is at Huntington North on Saturday, while Tippecanoe Valley (0-3) hosts Brownsburg on Friday.
