LINK: http://www.jconline.com/article/20130309/SPORTS01/303090014/Tipton-tops-Delphi-60-48-regional-semifinals
TIPTON — For three quarters in the Class 2A regional
semifinals Saturday morning, the Delphi Oracles were every bit as good
as No. 2 Tipton.
But the Oracles could not overcome
poor shooting and foul trouble as the Blue Devils opened the fourth
quarter with a 15-0 run to seal a 60-48 victory over their Hoosier
Conference foe.
It was the second time this season
that Delphi put a scare into Tipton, only to see the contest slip away
in the second half. The Oracles lost to the Blue Devils in December,
57-55.
After trailing 30-26 at halftime,
the Oracles went into fourth quarter tied 38-all before the wheels fell
off offensively. Delphi turned the ball over five times, missed two
shots and a one-and-one opportunity while Tipton raced out to a 53-38
lead to all but ice the contest.
“We came into the fourth quarter
right where we wanted to be,” said Delphi’s Cole Murray, who led the
Oracles with 13 points. “All we wanted was a chance. We kind of ran out
of gas. We thought we had a good shot, but they showed why they’re No. 2
in the state and were able to put us away.”
Mike Crawford led the Blue Devils
with 27 points, but 15 of those points came from the free throw line.
Crawford struggled to find room against Delphi’s defense.
“He’s difficult for us to cover,
because he’s really big and strong and has great mobility,” Delphi coach
Michael Lewis said. “He can find gaps and shove his way through. Then,
when you send him to the free throw line, he converts. The challenge
against Tipton is that you’ve got to play well against them for 32
minutes.”
At times, Delphi looked like a team
destined to threaten Tipton on its home court, as
Ricky Windell (10
points) barreled through open lanes in the paint for layups and Blake
Walters knocked down three 3-point shots in the first half.
But the Oracles struggled to close
out quarters, leaving the door open for Tipton to regain its footing.
Delphi failed to score over the last 1:50 of the first quarter, missing
its last three shots and allowing Tipton to cut a five-point deficit to
15-13.
In the second quarter, Delphi failed to score over the final 3:10 and the Blue Devils went on an 8-0 run to grab a 30-26 lead.
Then, with Tipton struggling to
score against Delphi’s defense, the Oracles were blanked over the final
3:11 of the third period after they rallied to take the lead. A Luke
Shively jumper tied the game at 38-all for Tipton to set up the fourth
quarter.
“Every possession is extremely
important in a game of this magnitude,” Lewis said. “I thought we had
opportunities to extend leads and didn’t take advantage of them. Against
the No. 2 team in the state on their home floor, you’ve got to convert
when you’ve got those opportunities. Unfortunately for us, it just
didn’t happen.”
The Oracles took their best shot to
open the third quarter, scoring the first eight points. Sparked by a
Murray layup and a Brent Hawn 3-pointer, Delphi took a 34-30 lead.
“We knew he had to come out strong,
because that’s where they killed us the first time we played them,”
Murray said. “We had other guys step up and play well today. It’s not
just me.”
Tipton coach Brad Dickey said Delphi’s third-quarter run got the Blue Devils’ attention.
“They just improved so much, and
Delphi is just a good program under coach Lewis,” Dickey said. “He did
such a good job at preparing their dribblers and shooters against us
that it made for a very tough challenge for us today.”
Dickey said he relied on two of his
tallest players, 6-foot-4 Nate Friend and 6-foot-5 Crawford, to body
Murray on the outside and limit him to one 3-point field goal. Dickey
said he sent a guard after Murray when he put the ball on the floor to
look for room.
“I think our depth helped us,
because we were able to use a lot of guards to balance the workload and
the fouls,” Dickey said. “We played 12 guys today, so that’s a credit to
the entire program.”
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