Published: February 28, 2009 12:11 am      

HOOPS: Tipton decks Western with dominant 8-minute stretch

RUSSIAVILLE — The Class 2A No. 1-ranked Tipton boys basketball team looks ready for the postseason.

Tipton outscored Western 20-5 in the decisive second quarter to build a commanding lead, then turned back the Panthers’ comeback bid in the final quarter to take a 71-57 win in a regular-season finale Friday night at Richard R. Rea Gymnasium.

The Blue Devils improved to 20-2 following their first road win in the series since 1995.

“It’s been a long time since we’ve come over and played well in this gym,” Tipton coach Travis Daugherty. “Especially in the first half, I thought our focus and our intensity were good. Especially in the second quarter, we were able to create some opportunities for ourselves in transition that allowed us to not have to deal with that zone quite as much.

“The second half, I think we became a little stagnant there late in the game, but Western deserves a lot of credit for the way they played.”

Mr. Basketball candidate Derek Elston scored 24 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to lead the Blue Devils. Greg Dickey netted 15 points, including nine in the final quarter to help slam the door, Jake Hoffman had 10 points off the bench, Jason Dye and Kyle Coleman each had nine points and Taylor Maxey offered his usual relentless defensive effort

Tipton jumped to an 8-2 lead in the first quarter, but Western guard Wes White scored 11 points over the final 3:29 of the quarter to forge a 13-all tie. White capped his scoring spree with a 3-pointer and a free throw for a rare four-point play.

The Blue Devils answered the challenge by outscoring the Panthers 20-5 in the second quarter for a 33-18 lead. Elston knocked down two 3-pointers and scored 12 points in the quarter.

“After going 13-13 in the opening quarter, the second quarter for us went about as poorly as it could,” Western coach Andy Weaver lamented. “We were 1 for 8 from the field and we had six turnovers and they had 11 points off our turnovers — 11 of their 20. That is too many points off turnovers.”

The Devils maintained a double-figure lead throughout the third quarter. They held a 16-point advantage, 55-39, midway through the final stanza before the Panthers began to chip away. Ben Constable came off the bench to hit two jumpers, White added a jumper and Darrian Greene hit a deuce and two 3-pointers to draw the Panthers within nine, 62-53, at 1:55. But White fouled out and Dickey coolly hit two free throws at 1:21 to put the lead back in double figures for good.

The Devils hit 8 of 9 free throws in the final quarter to make up for some rushed shots and turnovers.

“When we build a lead and teams start to get a little desperate, we’re going to have to be able to raise our level to match that intensity and that desperation in a game like this. But I think this is a good win that hopefully can catapult us a little bit into the next couple weeks,” said Daugherty, who has led the Devils to back-to-back 20-win seasons.

The Panthers played error-free and made 10 of 18 shots from the field in the final quarter — but their 15 turnovers and 11 of 31 shooting over the first three quarters had them in a deep hole.

White scored 18 points to lead the Panthers. Greene added 11, Reida had 10 and inside players Jamal Johnson and Stephen Truesdell combined for 14 points and 12 rebounds.

“We have to learn from our bad quarter and take the positives from the second half and wake up [today], be positive, and get ready for next week,” Weaver said.

Western (12-8) received one bit of good news Friday — it’s the outright Mid-Indiana Conference champion. Peru beat Hamilton Heights 63-46, denying Heights’ bid to grab a share of the league title.

• Tipton beat Western 48-31 in the junior varsity game to cap an 18-1 season. Drake Dell and Jake Rich combined for 31 points for the Blue Devils.

“From day one, this team was just a lot of fun to coach,” Tipton JV coach Nick Comer said. “There are a lot of really high IQ basketball players on this team. We knew that going in. Obviously, we didn’t expect [an 18-1 record]. … The kids appreciate and like each other and they like playing together. It’s a fun group.”

Tipton’s lone loss came against Kokomo.