Posted: Wednesday, April 21, 2010 10:06 am
by Peter Adelsen
The Taylor Titans (13-11, 2-5 MIC in 2009) look to be competitive in the 2010 season.
The Titans are returning seven starters and look to use that experience to its advantage.
"We have high expectations for ourselves," Taylor coach Jeremy Luna said. "We return an extremely solid core of guys."
Luna also said that he hopes that having four seniors and eight juniors brings the needed experience and no nerves out on the ball field.
Within the experience, Taylor returns two stand-out returnees, who are all-conference seniors Seth Vautaw and Dalton Tinsley. Last season, Vautaw had a .420 batting average and Tinsley had a .470 batting average.
"You throw those two guys into the mix, who are two of the top hitters in the county, we feel real confident," Luna said. "We feel like our expectations are extremely high and we'll see what happens when we go out and play the games."
Luna admits that it will be tough knocking down the perennial top teams of Western, Northwestern and 2A state runner-up Lewis Cass within the conference.
"Us, Eastern, Maconaquah, Peru, we're always trying to fight for the scraps," he said. "I think some of us are ready to step up and take on that three-headed monster up at the top. The best part about baseball is that you've got to go out and play the games."
In Taylor's opening game on March 29, Titans' junior Tyler Simmons threw a four-inning no hitter with 11 strike outs in the 3-1 win against Frankton.
Showing posts with label Taylor High School. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Taylor High School. Show all posts
Friday, June 11, 2010
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Western looks to avenge tournament loss to Taylor in conference fight Friday
Posted: Thursday, February 4, 2010 9:45 pm | Updated: 4:40 pm, Fri Feb 5, 2010.
By Peter Adelsen staff writer padelsen@kokomoperspective.com | 0 comments
(The Western at Taylor game has been postponed to a later date. To see other area basketball postponements, click here.)
For the second time this season, the Western Panthers travel to face the Taylor Titans at 7:30 p.m. Friday in a pivotal Mid-Indiana Conference battle.
The last time the two teams met was on Jan. 15 at the Howard County Tournament where the winner would advance to the tournament championship. In that game, the Titans defeated the Panthers 75-67 reroute to defeating Eastern for the championship.
"(Western) is going to be loaded and ready for a little revenge and we have to step up the challenge," Taylor coach Jeff Fisher said.
Like Western (9-6, 2-2 MIC), Taylor (10-5, 3-2 MIC) has won three out of their last four games. The one loss for both teams has been to 3A second-ranked Peru. Those two losses to Peru have been two of Peru's toughest games on their 12-game winning streak.
"Our toughness has gotten better," Fisher said. "Hopefully that will continue to get better."
The key to the game may be rebounding.
"(Western is) a little more physical than we are," Fisher said. "They generate some offense through offensive rebounding."
Both Western and Taylor have been playing with a balanced-scoring offense. Western's Drew Larrick, Jamal Johnson and Matt Reida have consistently been averaging near double-figures scoring and on any given night another player could step up to play a pivotal role in a game. The same is with Taylor. The Titans have seen great games from Reomey Northington, Drake Herr, Seth Vautaw and Cody Hinton.
Throughout the season for Western, they have played different styles depending on the situation and they are comfortable with that, Western coach Andy Weaver said. The Panthers have scored between 41 points last week against Peru and 85 points against Tri-Central, the week before.
Other games Friday:
Kokomo (10-5, 3-1 NCC) at Huntington North (4-11, 1-3 NCC), 7:45
Eastern (8-6, 2-3 MIC) at Elwood (2-14), 7:30
Northwestern (9-5, 2-2 MIC) at #6-2A Tipton (10-3), 7:30
#2-3A Peru (13-1, 4-0 MIC) at Lewis Cass (4-10, 0-4 MIC), 7:30
Maconaquah (6-8, 1-4 MIC) at Hamilton Heights (11-4, 3-1 MIC), 7:30
Saturday's games:
Kokomo (10-5, 3-1 NCC) at Lebanon (9-6), 7:30
Twin Lakes (5-9) at Western (9-6, 3-2 MIC), 7:30
#15-2A Taylor (10-5, 3-2 MIC) at #6-2A Tipton (10-3), 7:30
Southwood (8-4) at Northwestern (9-5, 2-2 MIC), 7:30
Oak Hill (4-10) at Eastern (8-6, 2-3 MIC), 7:30
Tri-Central (6-9) at Maconaquah (6-8, 1-4 MIC), 7:30
Manchester (2-13) at #2-3A Peru (13-1, 4-0 MIC), 7:30
Lewis Cass (4-10, 0-4 MIC) at Winamac (3-10), 7:30
Hamilton Heights (11-4, 3-1 MIC) at Westfield (9-5), 7:30
By Peter Adelsen staff writer padelsen@kokomoperspective.com | 0 comments
(The Western at Taylor game has been postponed to a later date. To see other area basketball postponements, click here.)
For the second time this season, the Western Panthers travel to face the Taylor Titans at 7:30 p.m. Friday in a pivotal Mid-Indiana Conference battle.
The last time the two teams met was on Jan. 15 at the Howard County Tournament where the winner would advance to the tournament championship. In that game, the Titans defeated the Panthers 75-67 reroute to defeating Eastern for the championship.
"(Western) is going to be loaded and ready for a little revenge and we have to step up the challenge," Taylor coach Jeff Fisher said.
Like Western (9-6, 2-2 MIC), Taylor (10-5, 3-2 MIC) has won three out of their last four games. The one loss for both teams has been to 3A second-ranked Peru. Those two losses to Peru have been two of Peru's toughest games on their 12-game winning streak.
"Our toughness has gotten better," Fisher said. "Hopefully that will continue to get better."
The key to the game may be rebounding.
"(Western is) a little more physical than we are," Fisher said. "They generate some offense through offensive rebounding."
Both Western and Taylor have been playing with a balanced-scoring offense. Western's Drew Larrick, Jamal Johnson and Matt Reida have consistently been averaging near double-figures scoring and on any given night another player could step up to play a pivotal role in a game. The same is with Taylor. The Titans have seen great games from Reomey Northington, Drake Herr, Seth Vautaw and Cody Hinton.
Throughout the season for Western, they have played different styles depending on the situation and they are comfortable with that, Western coach Andy Weaver said. The Panthers have scored between 41 points last week against Peru and 85 points against Tri-Central, the week before.
Other games Friday:
Kokomo (10-5, 3-1 NCC) at Huntington North (4-11, 1-3 NCC), 7:45
Eastern (8-6, 2-3 MIC) at Elwood (2-14), 7:30
Northwestern (9-5, 2-2 MIC) at #6-2A Tipton (10-3), 7:30
#2-3A Peru (13-1, 4-0 MIC) at Lewis Cass (4-10, 0-4 MIC), 7:30
Maconaquah (6-8, 1-4 MIC) at Hamilton Heights (11-4, 3-1 MIC), 7:30
Saturday's games:
Kokomo (10-5, 3-1 NCC) at Lebanon (9-6), 7:30
Twin Lakes (5-9) at Western (9-6, 3-2 MIC), 7:30
#15-2A Taylor (10-5, 3-2 MIC) at #6-2A Tipton (10-3), 7:30
Southwood (8-4) at Northwestern (9-5, 2-2 MIC), 7:30
Oak Hill (4-10) at Eastern (8-6, 2-3 MIC), 7:30
Tri-Central (6-9) at Maconaquah (6-8, 1-4 MIC), 7:30
Manchester (2-13) at #2-3A Peru (13-1, 4-0 MIC), 7:30
Lewis Cass (4-10, 0-4 MIC) at Winamac (3-10), 7:30
Hamilton Heights (11-4, 3-1 MIC) at Westfield (9-5), 7:30
Third-ranked Peru hangs with Taylor, pulls away for win in second half
Posted: Friday, January 22, 2010 11:35 pm | Updated: 11:44 pm, Fri Jan 22, 2010.
By Peter Adelsen staff writer padelsen@kokomoperspective.com | 0 comments
It has been a rare occasion for the class 3A third-ranked Peru High School Tigers to be trailing at halftime this season. The Taylor High School Titans came ready to host the Tigers Friday in a heavyweight battle of two of the best teams in the Mid-Indiana Conference.
The Tigers' depth and defensive pressure in the second half aided them to a victory over the Titans, 50-36.
The Titans scored the first five points in the match-up and led throughout the first quarter of play. Taylor had excellent ball movement to lead to open looks for shots. Senior Seth Vautaw led the Titans in scoring in the first quarter with 10 points. The quarter ended with senior Reomey Northington driving to the basket where he was fouled and scored on two free throws. The Titans led after one quarter, 18-14.
In the second quarter, Peru began to add more defensive pressure on the Titans. The Tigers began the quarter on a 6-3 run, yet the Titans maintained the lead. Taylor senior Drake Herr scored all the points for the Titans with three made three-point baskets. Peru junior Taylor Smith led the Tigers in the quarter with six points, including two made free throws to cut Taylor's lead to 27-24 at halftime.
The Tigers continued to put pressure on the Titans in the third quarter. At the beginning of the quarter, Taylor junior Tyler Simmons fouled Peru's Taylor Smith where Smith made one of two free throws to cut Taylor's lead to one point. Taylor's Herr quickly responded with a basket of his own to increase his team's lead to four points, 29-25. On Peru's next possession, senior Terry Smith scored a basket to cut the lead to two. Then as Taylor was moving the ball up the court following the score, the Tigers forced a turnover and senior Wes Zimmerman scored to tie the game at 29 with 4:42 to go in the quarter. From this point on, the Tigers went on a 6-1 run to close the quarter, including a three-point basket from Terry Smith. The Tigers led for the first time at the end of the quarter, 35-30.
Throughout the fourth quarter, the Tigers spend much of the time at the free-throw line. The Tigers made nine of 13 from the line as the Titans struggled to make only two field goals. The Titans' first made field goal was a Vautaw three-pointer at 3:27 to go in the game as the Tigers had already scored eight unanswered points. The Tigers kept the pressure on the Titans as they made open shots and forced turnovers. The Tigers pulled away from the Titans as they won, 50-36.
Taylor coach Jeff Fisher was proud of his team's effort, but they could not sustain that effort in the second half.
"We're just not that far off," Fisher said. "I'm still proud of our kids. We just did not execute. I think we showed what we can do in the first half. I thought our execution the first half was about as good as anybody that they've played. Then we got bogged down. They put a little more pressure on us. We did not respond to that next level of their pressure."
The turn in the game, Fisher said, was when Taylor lost its crispness on the court.
"I want to give (Peru) credit," he said. "They have a great team. They play excellent defense. I thought the key to us being successful in the first half was ball movement and hitting the open man with good crisp passes. We did exactly the opposite in the second half. We dribbled the ball too much. The big key is you have to pass to people as they come open. Not after they're open."
Peru coach Eric Thompson said he was proud of his team to be only down by three at halftime.
"To be only down three at halftime and not playing very well and they were playing pretty darn well, from a coaching standpoint for survival, I was pleased at where we were at," he said. "We just kept grinding away and hoped that our defense would force some turnovers, which it did. We started hitting our shots and that's what happened."
Both coaches agreed on what was the turning point in the game.
"(Taylor) got tired and their passes weren't as crisp and we were a little bit deeper than they were and were able to keep fresh legs and get a lot more turnovers," Thompson said.
Peru's win over Taylor was the Tigers' 11th win in a row. During the streak, the Tigers have defeated four area schools, including Eastern, Marion, Kokomo and Maconaquah twice.
Taylor had only two players in double-figures scoring and were led by Herr's 13 points. Vautaw added 11 points for the Titans.
Peru had three players in double-figures scoring and they were Terry Smith with 15, Zimmerman with 13 and Taylor Smith with 10.
Taylor (7-5, 2-2 MIC) next takes the court Saturday at 7:30 p.m. against (1-9) Clinton Central. Peru (12-1, 3-0 MIC) next plays at home against Western (8-5, 3-1) at 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 29.
Scores by quarter:
Peru 14 10 9 15 = 50
Taylor 18 9 3 6 = 36
Other scores from Friday:
Frankfort 47, Kokomo 44
Western 55, Maconaquah 49
Eastern 61, Hamilton Heights 51
Northwestern 78, Lewis Cass 70
Saturday's games (7:30 starts, unless otherwise noted):
Tipton at Kokomo
Tri-Central at Western
Clinton Central at Taylor
Eastern at Northfield
Hamilton Heights at Sheridan
Lewis Cass at Delphi
Maconaquah at Logansport, 8 p.m.
By Peter Adelsen staff writer padelsen@kokomoperspective.com | 0 comments
It has been a rare occasion for the class 3A third-ranked Peru High School Tigers to be trailing at halftime this season. The Taylor High School Titans came ready to host the Tigers Friday in a heavyweight battle of two of the best teams in the Mid-Indiana Conference.
The Tigers' depth and defensive pressure in the second half aided them to a victory over the Titans, 50-36.
The Titans scored the first five points in the match-up and led throughout the first quarter of play. Taylor had excellent ball movement to lead to open looks for shots. Senior Seth Vautaw led the Titans in scoring in the first quarter with 10 points. The quarter ended with senior Reomey Northington driving to the basket where he was fouled and scored on two free throws. The Titans led after one quarter, 18-14.
In the second quarter, Peru began to add more defensive pressure on the Titans. The Tigers began the quarter on a 6-3 run, yet the Titans maintained the lead. Taylor senior Drake Herr scored all the points for the Titans with three made three-point baskets. Peru junior Taylor Smith led the Tigers in the quarter with six points, including two made free throws to cut Taylor's lead to 27-24 at halftime.
The Tigers continued to put pressure on the Titans in the third quarter. At the beginning of the quarter, Taylor junior Tyler Simmons fouled Peru's Taylor Smith where Smith made one of two free throws to cut Taylor's lead to one point. Taylor's Herr quickly responded with a basket of his own to increase his team's lead to four points, 29-25. On Peru's next possession, senior Terry Smith scored a basket to cut the lead to two. Then as Taylor was moving the ball up the court following the score, the Tigers forced a turnover and senior Wes Zimmerman scored to tie the game at 29 with 4:42 to go in the quarter. From this point on, the Tigers went on a 6-1 run to close the quarter, including a three-point basket from Terry Smith. The Tigers led for the first time at the end of the quarter, 35-30.
Throughout the fourth quarter, the Tigers spend much of the time at the free-throw line. The Tigers made nine of 13 from the line as the Titans struggled to make only two field goals. The Titans' first made field goal was a Vautaw three-pointer at 3:27 to go in the game as the Tigers had already scored eight unanswered points. The Tigers kept the pressure on the Titans as they made open shots and forced turnovers. The Tigers pulled away from the Titans as they won, 50-36.
Taylor coach Jeff Fisher was proud of his team's effort, but they could not sustain that effort in the second half.
"We're just not that far off," Fisher said. "I'm still proud of our kids. We just did not execute. I think we showed what we can do in the first half. I thought our execution the first half was about as good as anybody that they've played. Then we got bogged down. They put a little more pressure on us. We did not respond to that next level of their pressure."
The turn in the game, Fisher said, was when Taylor lost its crispness on the court.
"I want to give (Peru) credit," he said. "They have a great team. They play excellent defense. I thought the key to us being successful in the first half was ball movement and hitting the open man with good crisp passes. We did exactly the opposite in the second half. We dribbled the ball too much. The big key is you have to pass to people as they come open. Not after they're open."
Peru coach Eric Thompson said he was proud of his team to be only down by three at halftime.
"To be only down three at halftime and not playing very well and they were playing pretty darn well, from a coaching standpoint for survival, I was pleased at where we were at," he said. "We just kept grinding away and hoped that our defense would force some turnovers, which it did. We started hitting our shots and that's what happened."
Both coaches agreed on what was the turning point in the game.
"(Taylor) got tired and their passes weren't as crisp and we were a little bit deeper than they were and were able to keep fresh legs and get a lot more turnovers," Thompson said.
Peru's win over Taylor was the Tigers' 11th win in a row. During the streak, the Tigers have defeated four area schools, including Eastern, Marion, Kokomo and Maconaquah twice.
Taylor had only two players in double-figures scoring and were led by Herr's 13 points. Vautaw added 11 points for the Titans.
Peru had three players in double-figures scoring and they were Terry Smith with 15, Zimmerman with 13 and Taylor Smith with 10.
Taylor (7-5, 2-2 MIC) next takes the court Saturday at 7:30 p.m. against (1-9) Clinton Central. Peru (12-1, 3-0 MIC) next plays at home against Western (8-5, 3-1) at 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 29.
Scores by quarter:
Peru 14 10 9 15 = 50
Taylor 18 9 3 6 = 36
Other scores from Friday:
Frankfort 47, Kokomo 44
Western 55, Maconaquah 49
Eastern 61, Hamilton Heights 51
Northwestern 78, Lewis Cass 70
Saturday's games (7:30 starts, unless otherwise noted):
Tipton at Kokomo
Tri-Central at Western
Clinton Central at Taylor
Eastern at Northfield
Hamilton Heights at Sheridan
Lewis Cass at Delphi
Maconaquah at Logansport, 8 p.m.
Taylor aims at conference title as they prepare for ranked Peru
Posted: Thursday, January 21, 2010 7:00 am | Updated: 6:22 pm, Wed Jan 20, 2010.
By Peter Adelsen staff writer padelsen@kokomoperspective.com | 0 comments
Coming off a weekend where they won their first Howard County Tournament championship in ten years, the Taylor High School Titans are looking for more hardware in the Mid-Indiana Conference championship.
It will not be easy though as the Titans (7-4, 2-1 MIC) welcome the Peru High School Tigers (11-1, 2-0 MIC), the third-ranked team in class 2A, to their home court Friday at 7:30 p.m.
“It’s our shot at the conference,” Taylor coach Jeff Fisher said. “If we want a shot, we’re going to have to beat Peru and it’s nice having them at home.”
The Taylor Titans are optimistic about Friday’s game because of the way the team has played within the past two weekends.
Two weeks ago, the Titans had a shot at taking the conference lead with a tough loss at conference-leader Hamilton Heights High School losing 46-51 after leading after every quarter break. The following night, the Titans took now 13-0 Mississinewa High School Indians (3A-8) to overtime in what was that team’s closest game so far this year.
Then last weekend, the Titans defeated Western High School 75-67 to make it to the Howard County Tournament final where they defeated Eastern High School 72-59.
“I think we’ve played well for the last two weekends,” Fisher said. “We’re fortunate to get wins over two good teams this weekend in the county tournament. I think we need to keep doing what we’ve been doing, especially offensively this weekend coming up against Peru.”
Peru has won 10 games in a row, including wins over Eastern, Marion, Kokomo and Maconaquah twice. The Tigers’ average margin of victory is 21.4 points.
“What’s tough about Peru is they are a very difficult defense to play against,” he said. “We’ll have to handle their switching man-to-man defense and their match-up zone and we’ll have to be able to not turn the ball over against that and get the shot we want is going to be important. I think our interior defense has to do well and we have to limit them to only one shot and those would be keys for us on the defensive end.”
In Peru’s last game against Maconaquah, the Braves decided to hold the ball for more than four minutes in the second quarter to disrupt the Peru Tigers. In the quarter, the Tigers scored four points and the Braves were held scoreless.
“That was the way Maconaquah attacked their defense by trying to give themselves a chance and that’s not a bad idea, but we won’t do it that way,” Fisher said.
Peru defeated Maconaquah 39-22. Peru senior Wes Zimmerman led the team in scoring with 15 points.
For the Titans, seniors Reomey Northington, Drake Herr and Cody Hinton have been impressive as of late. Against Western in the tournament, Northington scored 17, Herr scored 23 and Hinton added 17 points. In the championship against Eastern, Northington scored 22, Herr scored 13 and Hinton scored 4.
“Cody Hinton for the past couple weekend has kind of been our X-factor,” he said. “He’s kind of been the guy that has really scored well for us from the perimeter and gives us another dimension offensively.”
Other games Friday (7:30 p.m. starts):
Kokomo (8-3, 3-0 NCC) at Frankfort (5-6)
Maconaquah (4-6, 0-3 MIC) at Western (7-5, 2-1 MIC)
Hamilton Heights (9-3, 3-0 MIC) at Eastern (6-4, 1-2 MIC)
Lewis Cass (2-8, 0-2 MIC) at Northwestern (5-5, 1-2 MIC)
Saturday’s games (7:30 p.m. starts, unless otherwise noted):
Tipton (8-1) at Kokomo (8-3, 3-0 NCC)
Tri-Central (6-7) at Western (7-5, 2-1 MIC)
Clinton Central (1-8) at Taylor (7-4, 2-1 MIC)
Eastern (6-4, 1-2 MIC) at Northfield (4-6)
Hamilton Heights (9-3, 3-0 MIC) at Sheridan (3-7)
Lewis Cass (2-8, 0-2 MIC) at Delphi (5-3)
Maconaquah (4-6, 0-3 MIC) at Logansport (11-1, 2-0 NCC), 8 p.m.
By Peter Adelsen staff writer padelsen@kokomoperspective.com | 0 comments
Coming off a weekend where they won their first Howard County Tournament championship in ten years, the Taylor High School Titans are looking for more hardware in the Mid-Indiana Conference championship.
It will not be easy though as the Titans (7-4, 2-1 MIC) welcome the Peru High School Tigers (11-1, 2-0 MIC), the third-ranked team in class 2A, to their home court Friday at 7:30 p.m.
“It’s our shot at the conference,” Taylor coach Jeff Fisher said. “If we want a shot, we’re going to have to beat Peru and it’s nice having them at home.”
The Taylor Titans are optimistic about Friday’s game because of the way the team has played within the past two weekends.
Two weeks ago, the Titans had a shot at taking the conference lead with a tough loss at conference-leader Hamilton Heights High School losing 46-51 after leading after every quarter break. The following night, the Titans took now 13-0 Mississinewa High School Indians (3A-8) to overtime in what was that team’s closest game so far this year.
Then last weekend, the Titans defeated Western High School 75-67 to make it to the Howard County Tournament final where they defeated Eastern High School 72-59.
“I think we’ve played well for the last two weekends,” Fisher said. “We’re fortunate to get wins over two good teams this weekend in the county tournament. I think we need to keep doing what we’ve been doing, especially offensively this weekend coming up against Peru.”
Peru has won 10 games in a row, including wins over Eastern, Marion, Kokomo and Maconaquah twice. The Tigers’ average margin of victory is 21.4 points.
“What’s tough about Peru is they are a very difficult defense to play against,” he said. “We’ll have to handle their switching man-to-man defense and their match-up zone and we’ll have to be able to not turn the ball over against that and get the shot we want is going to be important. I think our interior defense has to do well and we have to limit them to only one shot and those would be keys for us on the defensive end.”
In Peru’s last game against Maconaquah, the Braves decided to hold the ball for more than four minutes in the second quarter to disrupt the Peru Tigers. In the quarter, the Tigers scored four points and the Braves were held scoreless.
“That was the way Maconaquah attacked their defense by trying to give themselves a chance and that’s not a bad idea, but we won’t do it that way,” Fisher said.
Peru defeated Maconaquah 39-22. Peru senior Wes Zimmerman led the team in scoring with 15 points.
For the Titans, seniors Reomey Northington, Drake Herr and Cody Hinton have been impressive as of late. Against Western in the tournament, Northington scored 17, Herr scored 23 and Hinton added 17 points. In the championship against Eastern, Northington scored 22, Herr scored 13 and Hinton scored 4.
“Cody Hinton for the past couple weekend has kind of been our X-factor,” he said. “He’s kind of been the guy that has really scored well for us from the perimeter and gives us another dimension offensively.”
Other games Friday (7:30 p.m. starts):
Kokomo (8-3, 3-0 NCC) at Frankfort (5-6)
Maconaquah (4-6, 0-3 MIC) at Western (7-5, 2-1 MIC)
Hamilton Heights (9-3, 3-0 MIC) at Eastern (6-4, 1-2 MIC)
Lewis Cass (2-8, 0-2 MIC) at Northwestern (5-5, 1-2 MIC)
Saturday’s games (7:30 p.m. starts, unless otherwise noted):
Tipton (8-1) at Kokomo (8-3, 3-0 NCC)
Tri-Central (6-7) at Western (7-5, 2-1 MIC)
Clinton Central (1-8) at Taylor (7-4, 2-1 MIC)
Eastern (6-4, 1-2 MIC) at Northfield (4-6)
Hamilton Heights (9-3, 3-0 MIC) at Sheridan (3-7)
Lewis Cass (2-8, 0-2 MIC) at Delphi (5-3)
Maconaquah (4-6, 0-3 MIC) at Logansport (11-1, 2-0 NCC), 8 p.m.
Titans down Comets in county championship
Posted: Sunday, January 17, 2010 12:10 am | Updated: 12:22 am, Sun Jan 17, 2010.
By Peter Adelsen staff writer padelsen@kokomoperspective.com | 0 comments
For the first time since the 2000 season, the Taylor High School Titans are Howard County Tournament Champions.
The Titans defeated the Eastern High School Comets on their home court Saturday 72-59.
It has been a tournament dominated by Northwestern and Western high schools for the past decade, but neither of those teams made it to the championship. They battled each other in the consolation game with Western winning 70-59.
In the championship game, the Comets jumped out to an early 4-0 lead over the Titans in the first quarter. Before the Titans could score their first points senior Reomey Northington, the Titans' leading scorer on the season, had to be taken out of the game after the air was knocked out of him with 6:14 to go in the quarter. Luckily for the Titans he returned with 5 minutes remaining in the quarter.
The Comets led 6-5 when Northington returned. From that point on, he scored 8 of the Titans last 11 points including a three-pointer at the end of the quarter. The Titans led after one quarter, 16-10.
The Titans added to their lead with a 10-3 run to begin the second quarter with a 26-15 lead. Eastern junior Wes Horner ended the run with a three-point basket with 4:38 to go in the quarter. The Titans later got an 11-point lead with 1:40 to go after two made free throws from junior Tyler Simmons. The Comets responded to end the quarter on a 6-2 run to bring the score to 33-26 Taylor lead at halftime.
The Comets made another push in the third quarter to cut the Titans' lead to three points with 6:08 to go after senior Brandon Hainlen made two foul shots. This was the closest the Comets would get. The Titans closed the third quarter strong to increase their lead to 55-41, including a shot from senior Drake Herr at the quarter buzzer.
There was no scoring in the fourth quarter for nearly two minutes until Eastern's senior Joby Renbarger made two free throws with 6:15 to go in the game to cut Taylor's lead to 55-43. However, this would end up to be the second-highest scoring quarter in combined scoring with Eastern scoring 18 and Taylor scoring 17 for 35 points. Of those points, 17 were from the foul line. Eastern made five of nine and Taylor made 12 of 16. The Titans went on to defeat the Comets 72-59.
"Our kids have done a nice job for the last four games," Taylor coach Jeff Fisher said. "I really thought we were set to win this and I told (the team) that. We played well at Hamilton Heights and Mississinewa and then again last night against Western."
The Titans had four players in double-figures scoring and were led by Northington's 22 points. The other players in double figures were Herr with 13, junior Tyler Simmons with 12 and senior Seth Vautaw with 10 points.
The Comets had two players in double-figures scoring and were led by Renbarger's 18. Sophomore Joey Price scored 17 points.
"We got to hand it to Taylor in terms of winning the county championship," Eastern coach Duane Keisling said. "I thought they really took us out of some things that we tried to do and I think especially defensively they did a good job. They need to be congratulated on a good tournament win."
Taylor (7-4) next takes the court at home against Mid-Indiana Conference rival and third-ranked Peru Tigers (12-1) in Class 3A on Friday at 7:30 p.m. Eastern (6-4) hosts conference foe Hamilton Heights (9-3) at 7:30 p.m. Friday.
Scores by quarter:
Eastern 10 16 15 18 =59
Taylor 16 17 22 17 =72
Western (7-5) and Northwestern (5-5) host conference foes as well on Friday at 7:30 p.m. Western hosts Maconaquah (4-6) and Northwestern hosts Lewis Cass (2-8).
Other scores from Saturday:
(4A-9)Carmel 56, (4A-16)Kokomo 45
Hamilton Heights 65, Western Boone 58
Logansport 68, Lewis Cass 61
(2A-3)Tipton 87, Twin Lakes 68
By Peter Adelsen staff writer padelsen@kokomoperspective.com | 0 comments
For the first time since the 2000 season, the Taylor High School Titans are Howard County Tournament Champions.
The Titans defeated the Eastern High School Comets on their home court Saturday 72-59.
It has been a tournament dominated by Northwestern and Western high schools for the past decade, but neither of those teams made it to the championship. They battled each other in the consolation game with Western winning 70-59.
In the championship game, the Comets jumped out to an early 4-0 lead over the Titans in the first quarter. Before the Titans could score their first points senior Reomey Northington, the Titans' leading scorer on the season, had to be taken out of the game after the air was knocked out of him with 6:14 to go in the quarter. Luckily for the Titans he returned with 5 minutes remaining in the quarter.
The Comets led 6-5 when Northington returned. From that point on, he scored 8 of the Titans last 11 points including a three-pointer at the end of the quarter. The Titans led after one quarter, 16-10.
The Titans added to their lead with a 10-3 run to begin the second quarter with a 26-15 lead. Eastern junior Wes Horner ended the run with a three-point basket with 4:38 to go in the quarter. The Titans later got an 11-point lead with 1:40 to go after two made free throws from junior Tyler Simmons. The Comets responded to end the quarter on a 6-2 run to bring the score to 33-26 Taylor lead at halftime.
The Comets made another push in the third quarter to cut the Titans' lead to three points with 6:08 to go after senior Brandon Hainlen made two foul shots. This was the closest the Comets would get. The Titans closed the third quarter strong to increase their lead to 55-41, including a shot from senior Drake Herr at the quarter buzzer.
There was no scoring in the fourth quarter for nearly two minutes until Eastern's senior Joby Renbarger made two free throws with 6:15 to go in the game to cut Taylor's lead to 55-43. However, this would end up to be the second-highest scoring quarter in combined scoring with Eastern scoring 18 and Taylor scoring 17 for 35 points. Of those points, 17 were from the foul line. Eastern made five of nine and Taylor made 12 of 16. The Titans went on to defeat the Comets 72-59.
"Our kids have done a nice job for the last four games," Taylor coach Jeff Fisher said. "I really thought we were set to win this and I told (the team) that. We played well at Hamilton Heights and Mississinewa and then again last night against Western."
The Titans had four players in double-figures scoring and were led by Northington's 22 points. The other players in double figures were Herr with 13, junior Tyler Simmons with 12 and senior Seth Vautaw with 10 points.
The Comets had two players in double-figures scoring and were led by Renbarger's 18. Sophomore Joey Price scored 17 points.
"We got to hand it to Taylor in terms of winning the county championship," Eastern coach Duane Keisling said. "I thought they really took us out of some things that we tried to do and I think especially defensively they did a good job. They need to be congratulated on a good tournament win."
Taylor (7-4) next takes the court at home against Mid-Indiana Conference rival and third-ranked Peru Tigers (12-1) in Class 3A on Friday at 7:30 p.m. Eastern (6-4) hosts conference foe Hamilton Heights (9-3) at 7:30 p.m. Friday.
Scores by quarter:
Eastern 10 16 15 18 =59
Taylor 16 17 22 17 =72
Western (7-5) and Northwestern (5-5) host conference foes as well on Friday at 7:30 p.m. Western hosts Maconaquah (4-6) and Northwestern hosts Lewis Cass (2-8).
Other scores from Saturday:
(4A-9)Carmel 56, (4A-16)Kokomo 45
Hamilton Heights 65, Western Boone 58
Logansport 68, Lewis Cass 61
(2A-3)Tipton 87, Twin Lakes 68
County foes prepare to square off in annual tournament this weekend
Posted: Thursday, January 14, 2010 5:30 pm | Updated: 4:14 pm, Thu Jan 14, 2010.
By Peter Adelsen staff writer padelsen@kokomoperspective.com | 0 comments
This may be one of the most balanced Howard County Tournaments in a long time.
The four Howard County schools are separated by only one game from top to bottom in the standings as they prepare to meet at Taylor High School on Friday and Saturday.
“This is about as balanced as it’s been in a long time,” Northwestern coach Jim Gish said. “Who ever wins will have to put their best two nights together and it could come down to which team is hot at that time.”
The defending champion Northwestern High School Tigers (5-3) have found its stride with four consecutive wins after a 1-3 start.
“We went into Christmas break knowing that there was a long season ahead of us,” Gish said. “We had times when we lost our focus to where we wanted to be, but I felt we were really coming together offensively and defensively.”
The Tigers are 0-2 in county play with losses against Western (72-55) and Taylor (55-53). The game against Taylor came down to the final shot as Taylor’s Reomey Northington hit a game-wining basket with a second remaining.
The Western High School Panthers (6-4) are coming off a tough weekend against the Logansport High School Berries and the West Lafayette Red Devils. The Panthers lost to the now 9-1 Berries 80-61 and defeated the now 4-5 Red Devils 54-44.
So far on the season, the Panthers have been unbeaten against its county foes with wins against Northwestern High School (72-55) and Eastern High School (61-55). It has yet to play Taylor.
“What I like about our team is that we are pretty balanced,” Western coach Andy Weaver said. “An opponent cannot key on one or two of our players.”
The Panthers are averaging three players in double-figures scoring. They are Jamal Johnson, Drew Larrick and Matt Reida.
The Eastern High School Comets (5-3) are on a three-game winning streak with wins over Clinton Central High School, conference rival Maconaquah High School and Carroll High School. For the past two games, the Comets pull out the wins in overtime.
The Comets have only played Western in county play losing to them 61-55 early in the season.
The hosts Taylor High School Titans (5-4) are coming into the tournament on a two-game losing streak against with tough losses to conference rival Hamilton Heights High School and Mississinewa High School.
The Titans are 1-0 in county play with a win over Northwestern (55-53) on December 11.
With how evenly matched the teams are it will be a tough tournament.
“Four teams with a winning record and nobody is undefeated,” Weaver said. “It makes it wide open.”
In game one of the tournament, Western plays Taylor at 6 p.m. Friday. Following that game at approximately 7:30 p.m., Eastern plays Northwestern.
On Saturday, the losers of Friday’s games meet at 6 p.m. for the consolation game. Following that game will be the championship between the two winners from Friday at 7:30 p.m.
Other games Friday (7:30 p.m. starts, unless otherwise noted):
New Castle at Kokomo, 6:30 p.m.
Peru at Maconaquah
Lapel at Hamilton Heights
Pioneer at Lewis Cass
Other games Saturday (7:30 p.m. starts, unless otherwise noted):
Carmel at Kokomo, 4:30 p.m.
Hamilton Heights at Western Boone
Logansport at Lewis Cass
By Peter Adelsen staff writer padelsen@kokomoperspective.com | 0 comments
This may be one of the most balanced Howard County Tournaments in a long time.
The four Howard County schools are separated by only one game from top to bottom in the standings as they prepare to meet at Taylor High School on Friday and Saturday.
“This is about as balanced as it’s been in a long time,” Northwestern coach Jim Gish said. “Who ever wins will have to put their best two nights together and it could come down to which team is hot at that time.”
The defending champion Northwestern High School Tigers (5-3) have found its stride with four consecutive wins after a 1-3 start.
“We went into Christmas break knowing that there was a long season ahead of us,” Gish said. “We had times when we lost our focus to where we wanted to be, but I felt we were really coming together offensively and defensively.”
The Tigers are 0-2 in county play with losses against Western (72-55) and Taylor (55-53). The game against Taylor came down to the final shot as Taylor’s Reomey Northington hit a game-wining basket with a second remaining.
The Western High School Panthers (6-4) are coming off a tough weekend against the Logansport High School Berries and the West Lafayette Red Devils. The Panthers lost to the now 9-1 Berries 80-61 and defeated the now 4-5 Red Devils 54-44.
So far on the season, the Panthers have been unbeaten against its county foes with wins against Northwestern High School (72-55) and Eastern High School (61-55). It has yet to play Taylor.
“What I like about our team is that we are pretty balanced,” Western coach Andy Weaver said. “An opponent cannot key on one or two of our players.”
The Panthers are averaging three players in double-figures scoring. They are Jamal Johnson, Drew Larrick and Matt Reida.
The Eastern High School Comets (5-3) are on a three-game winning streak with wins over Clinton Central High School, conference rival Maconaquah High School and Carroll High School. For the past two games, the Comets pull out the wins in overtime.
The Comets have only played Western in county play losing to them 61-55 early in the season.
The hosts Taylor High School Titans (5-4) are coming into the tournament on a two-game losing streak against with tough losses to conference rival Hamilton Heights High School and Mississinewa High School.
The Titans are 1-0 in county play with a win over Northwestern (55-53) on December 11.
With how evenly matched the teams are it will be a tough tournament.
“Four teams with a winning record and nobody is undefeated,” Weaver said. “It makes it wide open.”
In game one of the tournament, Western plays Taylor at 6 p.m. Friday. Following that game at approximately 7:30 p.m., Eastern plays Northwestern.
On Saturday, the losers of Friday’s games meet at 6 p.m. for the consolation game. Following that game will be the championship between the two winners from Friday at 7:30 p.m.
Other games Friday (7:30 p.m. starts, unless otherwise noted):
New Castle at Kokomo, 6:30 p.m.
Peru at Maconaquah
Lapel at Hamilton Heights
Pioneer at Lewis Cass
Other games Saturday (7:30 p.m. starts, unless otherwise noted):
Carmel at Kokomo, 4:30 p.m.
Hamilton Heights at Western Boone
Logansport at Lewis Cass
Titans sink Tigers with game-winning shot
Posted: December 11, 2009
By Peter Adelsen
It all came down to one shot.
With just under two minutes remaining in a tied game Friday, the Taylor High School Titans had possession of the ball. They would not relinquish the ball until junior Reomey Northington took the final shot from within the free-throw line with 0.8 to go and he sunk the shot.
The game was not over, however, as the Northwestern High School Tigers had a set play to score quick points. As the Tigers attempted a full-court pass to the other end of the court, Northwestern sophomore Kylan Dubbels was fouled by Taylor senior Drake Herr on the far end of the court. This gave Northwestern a chance to force overtime, but with heavy pressure Dubbels missed the foul shots. Taylor defeated its Mid-Indiana Conference rival Northwestern 55-53 at Taylor High School.
“Eight-tenths isn’t a lot of time to work with, so I tried to manufacture something at that point,” Northwestern coach Jim Gish said. “We put ourselves in position to tie the game. “
Northwestern struggled at the free-throw line shooting 50 percent and could not stop Taylor junior Reomey Northington who scored 29 points for the Titans.
“You just don’t win basketball games shooting 50 percent from the line,” Gish said. “What’s discouraging is that we gave such a good, hard defensive effort tonight. Taylor is a really good basketball team.”
The game was close throughout with the largest lead being only six points when Taylor was up on Northwestern 16-10 in the first quarter. The first quarter ended with a 16-16 tie as Northwester scored the last six points.
Throughout the remaining quarters, Taylor’s Northington’s tough defense forced steals that led to easy layups.
In the fourth quarter, with a 50-50 tie, Northington hit a three-pointer with just over two minutes to go in the game. When Northwestern got the ball back, junior Brett Galloway answered the basket with a three-pointer of his own to tie the game again. This would be the last time Northwestern had the ball until under a second remaining. The Titans controlled the ball until Northington made the game-winning basket with 0.8 remaining.
“Reomey is the key,” Taylor coach Jeff Fisher said. “He gets lots of picks, scores easy baskets and scores 29. He hits the game winner. I can’t ask him to do much more than that.”
Taylor was led in scoring by Northington’s 29 points. He also had five steals. The other Titan in double-figures scoring was junior Seth Vautaw with 13 points.
Northwestern’s had three players who scored in double-figures. Senior Jared Treadway led the Tigers with 15 points. Junior Brett Galloway had 11 points and senior Brayden Merrell had 10 points.
Taylor (no. 15 in 2A at 3-1) next takes the court on December 18 when they face the Lewis Cass Kings (1-3) in Mid-Indiana Conference play. Northwestern (1-2) next takes the court at home against Mississinewa (no. 17 in 3A at 4-0) on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
Scores by quarter:
Northwestern 16 14 13 10 =53
Taylor 16 15 15 9 =55
Other area scores from Friday:
(#14-4A) Kokomo 70, Muncie Central, 64
Western 61, (#18-2A) Eastern 55
Maconaquah 72, Wabash 43
Hamilton Heights 65, Lewis Cass 47
(#10-3A) Peru 49, Plymouth 42
Previous games of the week:
Week One: Western at Kokomo
Week Two: Northwestern at Western
By Peter Adelsen
It all came down to one shot.
With just under two minutes remaining in a tied game Friday, the Taylor High School Titans had possession of the ball. They would not relinquish the ball until junior Reomey Northington took the final shot from within the free-throw line with 0.8 to go and he sunk the shot.
The game was not over, however, as the Northwestern High School Tigers had a set play to score quick points. As the Tigers attempted a full-court pass to the other end of the court, Northwestern sophomore Kylan Dubbels was fouled by Taylor senior Drake Herr on the far end of the court. This gave Northwestern a chance to force overtime, but with heavy pressure Dubbels missed the foul shots. Taylor defeated its Mid-Indiana Conference rival Northwestern 55-53 at Taylor High School.
“Eight-tenths isn’t a lot of time to work with, so I tried to manufacture something at that point,” Northwestern coach Jim Gish said. “We put ourselves in position to tie the game. “
Northwestern struggled at the free-throw line shooting 50 percent and could not stop Taylor junior Reomey Northington who scored 29 points for the Titans.
“You just don’t win basketball games shooting 50 percent from the line,” Gish said. “What’s discouraging is that we gave such a good, hard defensive effort tonight. Taylor is a really good basketball team.”
The game was close throughout with the largest lead being only six points when Taylor was up on Northwestern 16-10 in the first quarter. The first quarter ended with a 16-16 tie as Northwester scored the last six points.
Throughout the remaining quarters, Taylor’s Northington’s tough defense forced steals that led to easy layups.
In the fourth quarter, with a 50-50 tie, Northington hit a three-pointer with just over two minutes to go in the game. When Northwestern got the ball back, junior Brett Galloway answered the basket with a three-pointer of his own to tie the game again. This would be the last time Northwestern had the ball until under a second remaining. The Titans controlled the ball until Northington made the game-winning basket with 0.8 remaining.
“Reomey is the key,” Taylor coach Jeff Fisher said. “He gets lots of picks, scores easy baskets and scores 29. He hits the game winner. I can’t ask him to do much more than that.”
Taylor was led in scoring by Northington’s 29 points. He also had five steals. The other Titan in double-figures scoring was junior Seth Vautaw with 13 points.
Northwestern’s had three players who scored in double-figures. Senior Jared Treadway led the Tigers with 15 points. Junior Brett Galloway had 11 points and senior Brayden Merrell had 10 points.
Taylor (no. 15 in 2A at 3-1) next takes the court on December 18 when they face the Lewis Cass Kings (1-3) in Mid-Indiana Conference play. Northwestern (1-2) next takes the court at home against Mississinewa (no. 17 in 3A at 4-0) on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
Scores by quarter:
Northwestern 16 14 13 10 =53
Taylor 16 15 15 9 =55
Other area scores from Friday:
(#14-4A) Kokomo 70, Muncie Central, 64
Western 61, (#18-2A) Eastern 55
Maconaquah 72, Wabash 43
Hamilton Heights 65, Lewis Cass 47
(#10-3A) Peru 49, Plymouth 42
Previous games of the week:
Week One: Western at Kokomo
Week Two: Northwestern at Western
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