Last-second loss stings Pilgrims
MENTONE — Plymouth’s Pilgrims needed one shot to save a weekend win on the road but it was not to be as Tippecanoe Valley held them off 45-44.
The Pilgrims trailed by as many as 12 in the first half but with a fantastic third quarter clawed their way back to just two and then traded blows back and forth for the entire fourth quarter.
With the ball in their hands and just seconds left in the game a shot by Preston Wolfe with 3 seconds left fell just short and gave the Vikings the victory.
“Our kids battled all night they made every play except right at the end,” said Plymouth head coach Joel Grindle. “We did everything we had to do to get right back into the game. You don’t question the heart. You don’t question the toughness. You don’t question any of those things. Our kids were right there we were just one play short.”
It was a great recovery for the Pilgrims after a very tough night at Mishawaka where they played the way they wanted for the most part but during a four-minute span of the fourth quarter took a knockout punch from Mishawaka.
Coming back a night later Plymouth started throwing punches back taking a quick lead and holding it into the second quarter at 9-7.
Valley’s Riley Shepherd became a difference maker early in the second and ended the quarter with 10 of his 12 points helping his team jump out to a double-digit lead. By quarter end the Pilgrims had cut it back to eight and that was a sign of things to come.
Valley took a couple of swings early in the third quarter but just like a week ago, the Pilgrims came out of the locker room at half with a purpose.
Trading blow for blow with the Vikings the quarter ended with a two-point Viking lead.
“Our guys started doing the things that we wanted them to do they just kind of let loose and started playing,” said Grindle. “You saw Kadyn Ellery re-emerge into his old self, attacking, and that’s where we need to see him playing. When he does that he makes our whole team better. You had Coby (Walters) and Preston (Wolfe), everybody, doing the things that they do well, making the right plays and it’s amazing how well you can do when you do that.”
The two teams continued to trade blows for the fourth quarter with Coby Walters and Ellery making big plays for the Pilgrims leading to a final possession that fell just short.
Plymouth got 13 points from Walters and a big night of 10 points and seven rebounds from Ellery.
Plymouth is now 5-6 on the year and has a tough home game against Concord on Friday and a Saturday date at Elkhart.
•VALLEY 45, PLYMOUTH 44
at Valley
Plymouth 9 22 36 44
Valley 7 30 38 45
PLYMOUTH (44) — Bowling 1 0-0 3, Delp 1 0-0 2, Ellery 2 5-8 10, Nguyen 3 0-0 7, Van Duyne 1 0-0 2, Walters 4 4-5 13, Parker Wolfe 0 0-0 0, Preston Wolfe 3 0-0 7. Totals 15 9-13 44.
VALLEY (45) — Akase 6 1-2 13, Cooksey 5 0-0 13, Cowan 1 0-0 2, Hamilton 1 0-0 3, Johnson 1 0-0 2, Sheetz 0 0-0 0, Shepherd 4 2-3 12. Totals 18 4-8 45.
3 Pt FG — Plymouth 5-15 (Bowling, Ellery, Nguyen, Walters, Preston Wolfe), Valley 5-18 (Cooksey 3).
Rebounds — Plymouth 20 (Ellery 7), Valley 23 (Johnson 7).
Assists — Plymouth 7 (Nguyen 2), Valley 12 (Johnson 4).
Steals — Plymouth 5 (Preston Wolfe 2), Valley 6 (Cowan 3).
Turnovers — Plymouth 9, Valley 10.
