By Craig Pearson
TERRE HAUTE — West Vigo rode Tyler Wampler’s hot hand past one Western Indiana Conference rival. The Vikings’ reward: A matchup with WIC leader Sullivan in the semifinals of today’s Pizza Hut Wabash Valley Classic.
Wampler poured in 25 points on 6 of 9 shooting from beyond the 3-point line to help West Vigo reach its first Pizza Hut semifinal with a 49-46 victory over Owen Valley.
Unlike Wampler, reserve Zach Kent was not having a strong shooting night, going 0 for 3 from beyond the arc until the fourth quarter. Kent then hit three fourth-quarter 3-pointers including the game-winner with two seconds left. Sophomore point guard Jordan Houser penetrated Owen Valley’s trapping defense before dishing to Kent on the right wing for the game-winner.
“I felt like I was weaving around in and out,” said Houser, who earned his sixth assist on the play. “I heard Wampy [Wampler] call for the ball, but I saw Zach open so I passed it to him. Thankfully, he hit it.”
“I was open and my teammates found me,” Kent said. “[Houser] just found the open man and I hit it.”
Wampler brought West Vigo out of its early doldrums — the Vikings trailed 9-0 out of the gate — when he stroked four straight 3-pointers during a span late in the first quarter and into the second quarter.
“He did a nice job of just keeping us in the game,” West Vigo coach Joe Boehler said. “We really stubbed our toe, we made seven turnovers in the first quarter. We about let the game get away from us.”
Owen Valley’s 6-foot-7 leading scorer Cody Vest picked up his second foul early in the second quarter, but the Patriots did a nice job maintaining, as Ethan Hoadley finished the half with a drive to cut their deficit to 25-24 at the break.
“We never really gained any ground,” Boehler said. “That had me concerned at halftime that we played with their best player on the bench a majority of the second quarter, and we still only had a 1-point lead and he was going to be coming out fresh in the second half.”
Boehler, who lost starting guard Scott West to injury recently, has continued to preach to other players to step up.
“We kept talking in the fourth quarter. We just kept mentioning. Somebody’s got to step up and make a play. That was just huge,” Boehler said of Kent, who also had two steals. “He’s capable of doing those things. He needs to play with confidence and believe in himself.”
Wampler scored 18 of his 25 in the first half, forcing Owen Valley into a box-and-one defense in the second half.
“And it was tougher to get shots off,” Wampler said. “If they’re guarding me, one of the younger guys has to hit a shot. Kent’s stepped up really well.”
West Vigo plays Sullivan in today’s 7 p.m. semifinal matchup.
“They’re playing exceptionally well,” Boehler said. “Rhett Smith is just phenomenal right now. It’s kind of scary that he’s just a sophomore right now. I think we’ll have to be the underdog going into it.”
Owen Valley 46
Player fg 3pt ft r s pf tp
C.Vest 6-8 0-1 1-2 9 1 3 13
Gilstrap 2-7 0-2 0-0 3 0 2 4
Worland 3-8 0-3 0-0 3 1 0 6
Christenberry 1-8 0-3 2-2 2 0 1 4
Hollows 2-2 0-0 0-0 5 1 3 4
White 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 1 2 0
Ray 0-1 0-0 0-0 2 0 3 0
D.Vest 1-4 0-0 0-0 3 0 0 2
Hoadley 5-8 1-4 2-2 4 1 0 13
Totals 20-47 1-12 5-6 33 4 14 46
West Vigo 49
Player fg 3pt ft r s pf tp
Houser 1-8 1-7 0-0 6 1 1 3
Wampler 8-17 6-9 3-5 5 1 3 25
Thornton 2-7 0-2 3-4 5 0 3 7
McCallister 0-0 0-0 1-2 2 1 0 1
Mix 1-3 0-1 0-0 0 0 1 2
Kent 3-6 3-6 0-0 1 2 1 9
Crowther 1-4 0-0 0-0 3 0 1 2
Totals 16-44 10-24 7-11 22 5 10 49
Owen Valley 11 13 14 8 — 46
West Vigo 11 14 9 15 — 49
FG Pct. — OV .426, WV .364. 3Pt. Pct — OV .083, WV .417. FT Pct. — OV .833, WV .636. Assists — OV 13 (Gilstrap 8), WV 12 (Houser 6). Turnovers — OV 9, WV 10.
Next — West Vigo (6-3) plays today against Sullivan in a 7 p.m. semifinal game. Owen Valley (3-5) plays today at 4 p.m. against Terre Haute South.
