Red Devils survive sluggish game to defeat Indians

The first 12 minutes of their boys basketball game against Stebbins last week was something the Red Devils would just soon forget. But after they settled in, Tippecanoe kept their league record unblemished. 

A solid game in the post from Bryton Otto led Tipp to a 56-44 victory over the Indians and ran their conference record to 10-0 on the season. For the Red Devils, it was just about surviving through the worst quarter of basketball the Tipp boys have had in a while.

“We didn’t take care of the ball, we weren’t very good in defensive transition, we didn’t box out very well…we didn’t do much right,” Tipp coach Brock Moon said after the game. “The ball wasn’t going in the basket, and if you face a team and give them some hope, that’s what you are going to be in.”

Stebbins led 8-2 with under three minutes left in the first quarter before Colin Turner scored on a three-point to stop the bleeding, but the Indians maintained a 13-7 lead after one period of play. 

The Indians led 19-10 with just over six minutes left in the half as they continued to score at will in the paint against the Red Devils before the switch was flipped.

Over the final 5:31 of the second quarter, Tipp exploded on a 24-1 run to completely turn the game around and give the Red Devils the momentum going into the half. Tipp trailed 19-10, then led 34-20.

“Shots started going in, and we were getting key stops, getting out in transition,” Moon said. “We had seven turnovers in the first half, and all seven were in the first quarter.”

Tipp had a double digit lead all the way through the third before Stebbins fought back to cut their deficit to nine with 2:16 left. But the Red Devils sealed the game away for the win.

“We have to learn to put the team away, and that’s what I told the kids at halftime,” Moon said. “We have been up 15-20 multiple times, and we just let teams hang around, and then their confidence grows, and it’s a game.”

Otto led Tipp with 17 points, Turner added 14, and CJ Bailey added 10 points.