By Dennis Clark
Sullivan — After Sullivan raced out to a 21-point halftime lead with a domination so complete, the second half was seemingly destined to be a mere formality before yet another Arrows’ victory.
But a second-half charge led by West Vigo’s Scott West and Tyler Wampler — 35 of their combined 43 points coming in the second half — nearly saw the Vikings pull off a miracle comeback.
Only after Wampler’s lean-in 3-pointer just before the buzzer rattled in and out of the rim did Sullivan escape with a 71-68 victory over visiting West Vigo in a Western Indiana Conference boys high school basketball game on Wednesday.
“I’m glad there wasn’t another 25 or 30 seconds left in the game,” Sullivan coach Jeff Moore joked afterward. “It seems like the only 3-pointer West Vigo missed in the second half was the last one they took.
“I thought we played a great first half, one of our best first halves this year. In the second half, West Vigo got hot and there just wasn’t a whole lot we could do about it.”
After the Vikings assumed an early 10-7 lead, Sullivan (19-2, 5-0 WIC) finished the first half on a 32-8 run, a 15-0 run over the last four minutes, 38 seconds. The Arrows shot an amazing 74 percent (14-of-19) in that 32-8 run, then an even better 86 percent (6-of-7) in the 15-0 run.
Meanwhile, after scoring on four of their first five possessions, the Vikings scored on only three of their remaining 20 first-half possessions to trail 39-18 at the intermission.
But the second half was a completely different story.
West Vigo (11-10, 2-4 WIC) came out of the lockerroom connecting on five consecutive 3-pointers — two each by West and Jordan Houser — but the Arrows still led 56-43 after three quarters.
Undeterred, the Vikings continued to chip away at the Arrows' lead in the fourth quarter.
Wampler scored four straight baskets to get WV within 64-60 with 1:53 left, but the Arrows hit four straight free throws to lead 68-62 with 26.8 seconds remaining.
West jumped into the spotlight with a 3-pointer at 15.9 seconds, then bombed in yet another trey — just barely inbounds in front of the Sullivan cheering section — with seven seconds left to get the Vikings within 69-68.
Sullivan’s Dreyson Boyd hit a pair of free throws with 6.2 seconds left, before Wampler’s final 3-point attempt went awry.
After scoring only 18 points in the first half, the Vikings scored 50 points in the second half — 25 in each of the third and fourth quarters. The Vikings shot at a 64-percent clip (18-of-28) in the second half, including 8-of-11 in 3-pointers (74 percent).
“We dug ourselves a pretty big hole in the first half,” Boehler stated. “Our kids just really responded well in the second half, got some shots to drop. But unfortunately, we just couldn’t get any stops. We gave up 71 points. I think that’s the most points we’ve given up all season.”
The Vikings’ previous high in points allowed was 63 vs. Terre Haute North on Jan. 15.
Sullivan’s Rhett Smith recorded a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds, along with three blocked shots. But the Arrows’ sophomore sensation received great support from David Bedwell, Boyd, Caleb Turner, Kaleb Pirtle and James Lisman with 15, 14, nine, eight and eight points, respectively.
West paced the Vikings with 24 points, including 6-of-10 3-pointers, while Wampler added 19 points. Sophomores Cody Thornton and Houser added nine points apiece.
“West Vigo is a tough matchup for us,” Moore concluded. “They have more quickness than us and Wampler is probably as good a guard there is around driving the ball to the basket. But we weathered the storm and that was the important thing.”
West Vigo 68
Player fg 3pt ft r s pf tp
McCalister 1-3 0-0 0-0 1 0 0 2
Thornton 3-6 1-3 2-3 6 0 4 9
West 9-16 6-10 0-0 5 1 2 24
Wampler 7-12 1-5 4-4 2 1 2 19
Houser 3-5 3-3 0-0 1 0 2 9
Crowther 1-2 0-0 0-0 2 0 1 2
Kent 1-3 1-2 0-0 1 1 1 3
Flesher 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Totals 25-48 12-23 6-7 19* 3 12 68
Sullivan 71
Player fg 3pt ft r s pf tp
Lisman 3-7 0-1 2-2 0 0 3 87
Smith 5-8 1-2 2-2 10 1 2 13
Turner 4-5 0-1 1-2 4 1 3 9
Boyd 4-6 2-3 4-4 2 0 3 14
Bedwell 7-12 1-3 0-0 2 2 0 15
Pirtle 3-6 1-2 1-2 0 1 2 8
Ellett 2-3 0-0 0-0 1 1 0 4
Marx 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Totals 28-47 5-12 10-12 21* 6 13 71
West Vigo 13 5 25 25 — 68
Sullivan 18 21 17 15 — 71
FG Pct. — WV .521, Sul .596. 3P Pct. — WV .522, Sul .417. FT Pct. — WV .857, Sul .833. Blocks — WV 4 (Thornton 2, West, Crowther), Sul 3 (Smith 3). Turnovers — WV 13, Sul 11. Team rebounds(*) — WV 1, Sul 2.
JV — Sullivan 45 (Tyler Monroe 15), West Vigo 28 (Cade Lindsey 13).
Next — Sullivan (19-2, 5-0 WIC) hosts South Vermillion on Friday. West Vigo (11-10, 2-4 WIC) travels to Linton the same night.
