Pilgrims take First Source Holiday Tourney title
PLYMOUTH — Plymouth’s Pilgrims put an exclamation point on the weekend, taking the title game of the First Source Bank Holiday Tournament with a 69-35 win over New Prairie.
From top to bottom, the entire roster once again made contributions to the win.
“Our depth is improving,” said Plymouth coach Greg Miller. “Guys are understanding their roles, accepting their roles, and excelling in them. They understand what we are trying to do. We are going to continue to get better.”
While the Pilgrims had three players in double figures scoring (Preston Wolfe, Kadyn Ellery, and Trent VanDuyne), five more had multiple rebounds, steals, and assists as the team continued to play with increased confidence.
“Early in the season, we were playing to our opponent’s level,” said Miller. “There are a couple of games on our schedule we would really like to have back. That’s part of the process. Understanding that everything is new. Now that we are more comfortable, the guys are starting to excel, and all credit to them.”
The Pilgrims were balanced in all facets of the game for the whole weekend and exhibited some offensive firepower putting up over 60 points in both games and holding their opponents to 35 points or less.
“We have a very open offense,” said Miller. “Very spaced, we are getting guys the ball where they can be successful.”
“I think there are some schools in our league and in our area that are looking at us as ‘little brother’ right now,” said Miller. “I was a little brother and you have to fight and scrap. Our guys have embraced that. Our guys have embraced that competitiveness and playing hard. That’s what we have to do.”
Kadyn Ellery came alive with another double/double with 19 points and 10 rebounds on the night. All but seven points came in the second half, as Ellery spent the first two quarters dishing out four assists and coming up with several steals.
“He was frustrated in the first quarter,” said Miller. “They were so focused on him and other teams are going to be. I told him that he wasn’t hitting shots, but he was playing a great basketball game, and things would open up, and surely it opened up for him.”
Trent VanDuyne had 16 points and four boards. Preston Wolfe came up with ten and four steals. The Pilgrims are now 5-4 on the year and will be in action Friday against Tippecanoe Valley.
•PLYMOUTH 69, NEW PRAIRIE 35
at Plymouth
Plymouth 22 45 64 69
N. Prairie 10 20 29 35
Plymouth (69) — Preston Wolfe 4 0-0 10, Milliser 0 0-0 0, Delp 2 0-0 6, Nguyen 3 0-0 8, Ramirez 0 0-0 0, Bagley 0 0-0 0, VanDuyne 6 1-3 16, Kadyn Ellery 8 3-6 19, Feldman 1 1-2 3, Kylen Ellery 2 0-0 4, Parker Wolfe 0 0-0 0, Caleb Ellery 0 0-0 0, Grayson Terrone 1 0-0 3. Totals 26 5-11 69.
N. Prairie (35) — Bisop 0 1-2 1, Bachmann 1 0-0 2, Daniels 3 0-0 7, Ernst 1 0-0 2, Evers 1 1-2 3, Wigginton 3 3-4 9, Fronk 0 0-0 0, Clemons 5 0-0 10, Krycka 0 0-0 0. Totals 14 5-8 35.
3 Pt. FG — Plymouth 9 (VanDuyne 3), N. Prairie 1 (Daniels).
Rebounds — Plymouth 33 (Kadyn Ellery 10), N. Prairie 23 (Clemons 7).
Assists — Plymouth 10 (Kadyn Ellery 4), N. Prairie 3 (Bishop, Mayfield, Wigginton)
Steals — Plymouth 12 (Preston Wolfe 4), N. Prairie 0.
Turnovers — Plymouth 7, N. Prairie 13.
