Patriots fall in semifinal (03/12/07)

NAPPANEE - Just about everyone in the gym thought the Tippecanoe Valley Vikings had the game won. One minute and one second later, Jay County was in the lead.

But Tippecanoe Valley won it again, forcing turnovers on each of the final three Patriot possessions to send the ninth-ranked team in Class 3A home with a heart-wrenching 49-46 defeat.

Though the season ended earlier than his team had hoped after reaching the state finals last season and putting together the best regular season in school history this year, JCHS coach Craig Teagle had mostly praise for his team after the regional semifinal defeat at NorthWood.

"That's the thing, everybody in the gym may have felt (the game was over), but the kids didn't feel that way, nor the coaching staff," said Teagle of his team's eight-point deficit with just 1:30 on the clock. "We felt we were still in the game.

"I'm proud of them. They just fought and battled, and kids with lesser character never would have came back from that deficit."

Jay County faced a 44-36 hole with just 1:30 to play. Then back-to-back 3-pointers from Rhett Retter and Billy Wellman followed by four points from senior point guard Scott "Scooter" Bruggeman formed a 10-1 run to put the Patriots back on top 46-45.

It was their first lead since the 5:13 mark of the third quarter, but it lasted just 12.2 seconds. Kevin Kindig put his Vikings back ahead with a pair of free throws at the 15.1-second mark, and Corey Comer's pass to Bruggeman on the ensuing possession ended up in the hands of the Vikings.

Adam Nelson split free throws for a two-point lead, Jay County turned the ball over again and Chad Hoffer split two more. With just 2.1 seconds remaining the Patriots were left to try a desperation play in which Billy Wellman, a sophomore and starting quarterback on the football team, tossed a floor-length inbound pass.

Bruggeman was able to get to the pass on the right sideline and keep it inbounds, but it ended up in the hands of Hoffer as time expired.

Teagle said he felt the foul call on Kindig, who carried his team with a game-high 19 points, was critical.

"We were playing with the lead at that point and we were going to have the rebound and now we're going to be able to shoot free throws," Teagle said of the call, which he considered questionable. "We got in a situation at the end where you're trying to run last-second plays you're drawing up in dirt. That's tough for the kids to execute in those situations."

The host Panthers defeated Bishop Luers 70-63 in overtime in the second semifinal game, and went on to defeat Tippecanoe Valley 61-52 in the regional championship game. NorthWood advances to play Plymouth (23-2), the team Jay County defeated in the semi-state a year ago, for the right to advance to the state finals.

Kindig's effort carried the Vikings to their berth in the regional championship. He scored his game-high total on 6-of-7 shooting, leading Tippecanoe Valley to a 52-percent from the field overall. He also hit seven free throws and had a team-high seven rebounds.

"Kindig is the most under-rated player in the state of Indiana," said Tippecanoe Valley coach Bill Patrick after his 642nd career victory. "He is a good basketball player. I'll tell you right now, nobody knows much about him, but he's a heck of a player. He could average 25-30 points a game if he wanted to."

Hoffer finished with nine points and four assists, and Steven Tillman also added nine points.

Jay County, which finished one win short of a single-season school record at 19-5, was in control early after Comer came up with a steal for the first hoop of the second quarter and a 16-8 lead. But the Patriots, 7-of-14 from the field (50 percent) at that point, shot just 38 percent the rest of the way.

Tippecanoe Valley went on a quick 6-0 run after Comer's hoop, then hit big shots at the end of the second and third quarters. A long two-pointer by Jerrod Parker with just four seconds left before the half tied the game at 21, and a triple by Ryan Scherzer, his only hoop of the game, off a Hoffer assist with three seconds left in the third pushed the Vikings to a 32-29 advantage.

Tippecanoe Valley (19-4) made 11 straight free throws - it shot 17-of-23 from the line overall - to keep the lead in the fourth quarter until the Patriots went on their furious rally. The Vikings made just two of their final four foul shots in the last 10 seconds, but Jay County never got a shot off after Kindig gave them the lead with his pair at the 15.1-second mark.

Bruggeman, who departs as the JCHS career record holder for steals and assists, led the way with 12 points. Wellman had eight points, Clint Muhlenkamp added seven points and eight rebounds and Comer had seven points and five boards.

"To be able to be coached in the Jay County program, I mean, it's a blessing," said Bruggeman of his career.

"Just the experience and the knowledge that all of us have of the game of basketball because of our coaches is just unreal.

"(Teagle is a) father figure to all of us. He showed us how to be disciplined ... and average basketball players to be great as a team."

Teagle, who currently sits at 199 career wins, was effusive in his praise as well.

"This is the most overachieving team I've ever coached," he said. "They are good players, but what makes them really good is their character and their heart and their poise and their toughness.

"They're undersized, but they do not allow that to be an excuse.

"I went in (to the locker room), and I didn't have anything but positives to say. It's the end of the year, and I've been coaching a long time and I rank this group as one of the most enjoyable groups I've ever coached."

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