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WRV defeats Shakamak 64-57
SWITZ CITY -- White River Valley shot 59 percent from the field, 81 percent from the foul line and dished out 17 assists on 23 baskets as the host Wolverines defeated Shakamak 64-57 here Friday night to remain on top of the Southwestern Indiana Athletic Conference standings.
The Wolverines improved to 6-5 overall, 3-0 in the conference. Shakamak lost its second straight SWIAC game, falling to 8-6, 3-2.
"Whenever they would make a run, we would be able to come up with a key basket or make free throws to hold them off," said WRV boys basketball coach Gene Hall. "We were able to finish plays against their pressure.
"Once we were able to get the lead, we opened the floor up and were able to somewhat control the tempo."
The Wolverines, who avenged a 63-53 loss to the Lakers two weeks earlier on the same court at the Greene County Invitational, made 23 of 39 shots from the field, including 5 of 8 from 3-point range.
White River Valley senior Jacob Birch hit on 10 of 15 attempts, including two treys and was 8-for-8 at the foul as part of a career-high 30-point game.
"We had a lot better effort in the second half than in the first half," said Shakamak coach Steve Brett, whose Lakers played without starters John Smith (ankle) and Jordan Langford (flu). "We have to play hard for 32 minutes.
"Most of our problems came on the defensive end. We did not do a very good job of keeping Birch out of the middle."
Birch also contributed three steals, two assists and four rebounds.
"When Jacob gets the ball at the foul line, he is very capable of knocking down that 15-foot shot," said Hall. "He also can use a fake and get the defender up in the air and get to the basket off the dribble.
"There are not many players around here better than doing that."
Shakamak led by as many as six points -- 15-9 after a baseline jumper from junior Billy Newton, who topped the Lakers with 23 points.
But WRV led 17-16, 32-24 and 44-40 after the first three quarter stops.
Jordan Crowe, who finished with six points, four rebounds, two steals and three assists, scored an offensive-rebound basket to cut the WRV lead to 44-42 on the first possession of the fourth quarter.
Shakamak had a 15-3 advantage on the offensive glass and 26-17 advantage overall in rebounding.
"We play three guards that aren't over 5-10," said Hall. "But with that said, we have to do a better job of checking out.
"Shakamak just killed us on the offensive boards tonight. We were fortunate to be able to overcome that tonight."
After Crowe's putback, Birch converted an old-fashioned three-point play for a 47-42 WRV lead.
Birch, who hit for 15 points in that first game against the Lakers, scored seven points in a row for WRV. On consecutive possessions, the Wolverines broke the Shakamak full-court pressure and ended up with lay-ups, the second set up by one of six assists from Levi Hostetter, and a 51-44 with 6:05 to play.
Tyler Richardson, who finished with eight points, five rebounds and one assist, scored on an offensive rebound as the Lakers climbed to within four points -- 52-48 with 5:23 remaining.
WRV then took control with an 8-0 spurt. Cole Goodman, who collected nine points and six rebounds, scored three straight hoops during the outburst.
The second hoop by Goodman came as a result of a perfect bounce pass from Jared Shelton, who dished out a team-best seven assists to go with seven points and four rebounds.
Ethan Dyer then capped off the run with a two-pointer, assisted by Birch, as WRV went ahead 60-48 with 1:25 to play.
"Our kids did a nice job of getting people the ball in places where they could score," said Hall. "Cole came in and knocked down some big baskets in the fourth quarter.
"Jared and Levi both did a nice job of finding the open man. We are 3-0 in the conference, not 4-0 or 5-0. We still have quite a few games to play, but thankfully they are all here at home."
Ethan Stanifer added 12 points for the Lakers.
WRV made 13 of 16 free throws compared to 8-for-14 by Shakamak. In the first meeting, the Lakers outscored WRV 26-11 at the foul line.
"We know they have a couple of kids nicked up," said Hall. "But we will take it."
Shakamak improved to 3-5 with a 38-27 victory over WRV in the JV contest. Ridge Johnson and Justin Crody both hit for 11 points for the winners. Brock Dowell scored eight points, Jeb Batchelor four and Evan Bish and Jarred VanHorn scored two apiece.
For WRV, Josh Denny finished with 11 points. Nate Bushy scored six, John Ashcraft four and Trey Graves, Ty Robbins and Austin Roudebush each added two. Brady Stoner and Alec Sipes also played.
WRV will host Sullivan Saturday while Shakamak will play at Barr-Reeve Friday.
SHAKAMAK (57) -- Billy Newton 9-19 3-5 23, Jordan Crowe 3-8 0-0 6, Jarred VanHorn 2-5 4-5 8, Ethan Stanifer 5-9 0-0 12, Tyler Richardson 3-8 1-4 8, Jacob Stevenson 0-1 0-0 0, Jordan Borders 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-50 8-14 57
WHITE RIVER VALLEY (64) -- Ethan Dyer 2-5 0-0 4, Billy Dove 3-5 1-2 7, Jacob Birch 10-15 8-8 30, Levi Hostetter 2-3 1-2 7, Jared Shelton 2-5 2-2 7, Cole Goodman 4-6 1-2 9, Evan Karr 0-0 0-0 0, Nate Bushy 0-0 0-0 0, John Ashcraft 0-0 0-0 0, Trey Graves 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-39 13-16 64.
Shakamak 16 8 16 17 -- 57
White River Valley 17 15 12 20 -- 64
3-Pointers -- Shakamak 5-15 (Newton 2-4, Stanifer 2-4, Richardson 1-4, Stevenson 0-1, Crowe 0-2), White River Valley 5-8 (Hostetter 2-3, Birch 2-3, Shelton 1-2). Fouls -- Shakamak 13, White River Valley 15. Fouled out -- None. Rebounds -- Shakamak 26 (Stanifer 6), White River Valley 17 (Goodman 6). Steals -- Shakamak 7 (Stanifer 3, Crowe 2), White River Valley 5 (Birch 3). Assists -- Shakamak 9 (Crowe 3), White River Valley 17 (Shelton 7, Hostetter 6). Turnovers -- Shakamak 14 (Stanifer 4), White River Valley 13 (Hostetter 3, Shelton 3). Blocks -- Shakamak 3 (VanHorn, Newton, Stanifer), White River Valley 0.