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February 10, 2012

Sullivan stays on top of WIC for third straight year

Golden Arrows hold off West Vigo behind 29 from Rhett Smith

Todd Golden The Tribune-Star

SULLIVAN — Western Indiana Conference boys basketball teams have been trying to storm the Sullivan castle for three years now.

The Golden Arrows have endured nearly every kind of strategy in the effort to breech their wall. West Vigo tried a few more on Thursday in a showdown for the WIC championship.

While West Vigo’s effort was stout, the Arrows held strong. West Vigo’s array of zone defenses could not keep Sullivan’s offense from operating at its optimum as the Arrows defeated the Vikings 79-70 to clinch their third consecutive WIC crown.

“This class is 16-1 in conference,” Sullivan coach Jeff Moore said.

“I’m very proud of them. It’s been a pleasure to work with them for four years.”

Both teams’ stars shined. Rhett Smith led Sullivan (17-2, 5-0) with 29 points. West Vigo’s Jordan Houser scored 30 points and also had seven rebounds from his guard spot.

What determined the contest in Sullivan’s favor was its ability to score consistently. Other than a 13-0 West Vigo run in the second quarter, points were piled up at a steady pace by the Arrows. James Lisman scored 21 (and had 10 rebounds) and Lance Ellett had 12.

“I gambled a little bit on some things and it didn’t pay off. Rhett is so good on the inside, I feel you’re forced to take away their inside stuff. I had my fingers crossed that some of those other guys wouldn’t hit perimeter, but they knocked down some perimeter shots,” West Vigo coach Joe Boehler said.

It wasn’t as if West Vigo (10-11, 4-2) failed to score. Cade Lindsey had one of his best games as a Viking with 17 points. Cody Thornton chipped in 14.

Smith found plenty of space to operate inside West Vigo’s zone defense in the first quarter. The 6-foot-7 Smith primarily hurt the Vikings from the outside. He drained a 3-pointer to start the game and scored several buckets from the just inside the arc.

Working well with fellow senior Ellett, Smith scored nine in the opening stanza as the Arrows took an 18-9 lead.

“I’ve been working on [outside shooting] a lot recently with individual workouts. Teams stress me in the post, but if I can get out and hit a few, I’m harder to guard,” Smith said.

Thornton and Houser had been held in check for the most part in the opening period, but they were two Vikings the Arrows couldn’t keep down forever.

After Sullivan had taken a 20-9 lead, Thornton and Houser accounted for 10 of West Vigo’s points in a 13-0 run that put the Vikings in front 23-20. Houser did most of his damage in transition, getting started down the floor before Sullivan could fully back defensively.

Sullivan gathered itself and regained the lead via defense. West Vigo committed turnovers on the perimeter, which the Arrows converted into points via the free throw line. A 9-0 Sullivan run put the Arrows back in command and they had a 31-26 halftime edge.

A 12-5 Sullivan run to start the second half ultimately gave the Arrows an advantage they would not relinquish as Sullivan led 43-31. Lisman had a pair of 3-pointers to fuel the run.

“They went to a triangle-and-2 [defense] and Lisman stepped out and hit some three’s. They were big, because if we don’t hit those shots, we might see that defense for the rest of the year,” Moore said. “His shots were a big key to the game. They had to guard him and we were able to get Rhett some inside stuff.”

Sullivan’s lead would peak at 17 early in the fourth quarter, but the Vikings never stopped coming at the Arrows. Free throw woes by the Arrows (they shot 50 percent) kept the Vikings within striking range. The Sullivan lead was cut to nine in the last minute, but West Vigo couldn’t get over the hump from there.

“Jordan Houser is a great player and he’s got a great surrounding cast. If they had someone big, they could go really deep, I think,” Smith said.

Sullivan next plays White River Valley on Saturday afternoon. West Vigo is off until Feb. 18 when it plays host to North Central.



WEST VIGO (70) — Houser 11-24 6-8 30, Lindsey 6-7 4-6 17, Thornton 6-10 1-2 14, Gregg 1-6 1-2 3, Corenflos 1-3 0-1 2, Stewart 1-3 0-1 2, Maples 1-1 0-0 2, Gilbert 0-0 0-0 0. 27-54 FG, 12-20 FT, 70 TP.

SULLIVAN (79) — Lisman 7-11 5-8 21, Smith 13-21 2-6 29, Marx 1-3 6-11 9, Ellett 5-7 2-3 12, Turner 1-3 0-2 2, Weszely 1-2 1-2 4, Bement 1-2 0-0 2. 29-49 FG, 16-32 FT, 79 TP.

West Vigo    9    17    13    31    —    70    

Sullivan    18    13    20    28    —    79

3-point goals — WV 6-19 (Thornton 3-5, Houser 2-8, Lindsey 1-1, Gregg 0-2, Corenflos 0-2, Stewart 0-1), S 5-13 (Lisman 2-4, Smith 1-3, Marx 1-3, Weszely 1-1, Turner 0-1, Bement 0-1). Rebounds — WV 26 (Houser 7, Thornton 7, Corenflos 6, Gregg 4, Lindsey, Stewart), S 36* (Lisman 10, Smith 8, Ellett 4, Turner 4, Marx 3, Weszely 3, Bement 3, Team RB*), Steals — WV 7 (Corenflos 3, Lindsey 2, Houser, Stewart), S 6 (Lisman 2, Ellett 2, Smith, Weszely), Blocks — WV 0, S 2 (Smith 2), Turnovers — WV 8, S 9, Total fouls — WV 20, S 16.

JV — Sullivan 37 (Keegan 7), West Vigo 13 (Kirby 3, West 3, Hayes 3, Riley 3).

Next — West Vigo (10-11, 4-2) plays host to North Central on Feb. 18. Sullivan (17-2, 5-0) plays host to WRV on Saturday afternoon.

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