Local teams ready for Pizza Hut Wabash Valley Classic

Justin Crody (50), Jarred VanHorn (30) and Billy Newton (31) and their Shakamak Laker teammates will open play at the Pizza Hut Wabash Valley Classic at 7 p.m. Saturday at Terre Haute North High School against Linton-Stockton. (By Shad Cox). [Order this photo]

The docket includes eight games beginning at 10 a.m. and continuing throughout the day with a bevy of area teams in action.

The field includes a pair of teams listed by the Associated Press as honorable mention -- Terre Haute North and Turkey Run -- and one team ranked in the top 10 -- Shakamak.

The remainder of the field includes Terre Haute South, Bloomfield, Sullivan, South Vermillion, Owen Valley, Riverton Parke, West Vigo, Terre Haute North, Casey-Wesfield, Ill., Rockville, Marshall, Ill., Linton-Stockton, Northview and Monrovia.

The four-day event takes Sunday off before resuming on Monday morning and continuing through Wednesday.

Bloomfield (2-6) vs. Terre Haute South (1-4)

It all begins with a David-Golaith-type match-up between Class 4A Terre Haute South and the Bloomfield Cardinals.

The Braves enter Saturday's tournament opener with just a 1-4 record. But records, like a lot of other things in sports, can be deceiving.

They enter the tournament averaging 59.2 points per game while opponents have scored an average of 75 points per contest.

Their only win of the year came at the expense of Mooresville, who sports the same record. But they've dropped decisions to Class 4A No. 8 Lawrence North, 4A honorable mention Center Grove, Evansville Reitz and West Vigo, all a combined 18-5, while the Cardinals will enter the match-up at 2-6.

"There's a lot of good competition up there and we start off with South," first-year Bloomfield coach John Bucher said. "They'll have all of their players back I believe."

A pair of starters, John Michael Jarvis and Jacob Tanoose, returned to the Braves' lineup Friday. So they will be at full strength making the Cardinals' chore that much more difficult.

"There's very good competition up there and we won't get much rest," Bucher said. "We won't get much time off, so we'll have to be ready."

The Cardinals, who's averages are 50.5 offensively and 48.9 points per outing defensively, come into the contest on the heels of a four-game losing streak after splitting their first four.

They began the season with a solid 62-26 win over Union (Dugger) on Nov. 25 ahead of dropping decisions to Eastern Greene (51-49) and Shakamak (65-56) before knocking off Linton-Stockton 52-38 on Dec. 5.

The win over the Miners preceded a downward spiral that saw the Cardinals drop games to Clay City (50-49), Edgewood (62-56), Owen Valley (55-41) and White River Valley (44-39).

Despite the early struggles, Bucher is trying keep everything in perspective in both his own mind and the mind of his players.

He hopes the Wabash Valley Classic will be a lesson to the team. One teaching them that no matter how tough or how weak a team might be, they still have to go out and fight.

"We're trying to get better every game we play and we have a very, very tough schedule," he said. "Our kids are going to have to grow up quick and we're going to have to really start valuing the possession of the ball."

Depending on the final outcome of Saturday's contest, the Cardinals will face either Sullivan or South Vermillion.

The two Western Indiana Conference rivals meet in the second game of the day at 11:30 p.m. Saturday and will provide the competition for day two.

The loser's bracket game will be at 10 a.m. while the winners will face-off at 1 p.m. on Monday.

Shakamak (3-1) vs. Linton-Stockton (0-5)

Game number seven of the day features a pairing of familiar foes -- very familiar foes -- when the Class A No. 10 Shakamak Lakers and Linton-Stockton Miners get together for the second time in eight days.

On Friday Dec. 18, the Lakers posted a 69-49 triumph at Linton to close out the pre-Christmas break schedule for both squads.

"Obviously they're going to know just as much about us as we do them when you turn around and do that," Linton-Stockton coach Darren Clayton said about the quick turnaround for the rematch. "I'm sure both coaches are going to watch a lot of this game on tape and figure out what we did well and what we need to work on to face them a second time around. Hopefully, the result comes out a little better for us."

On the other side of the ledger, Shakamak coach Steve Brett doesn't really see anything all that upsetting or frustrating about playing the same team twice in succession -- especially in the case of the county rivals who fall into two different post season brackets.

"That doesn't bother me so much because we're not in the same sectional," Brett said. "I think Darren and I are both fine with that."

Brett takes it a step further by saying it's just something that he's come to expect over the 32 years he's been a head coach, including previous stints at Bloomfield, Seymour and Loogootee.

"You're going to have to play other teams that you've played," he said. "It's good to play somebody and see the kinds of adjustments other teams are going to make when they play you a second time."

The Lakers enter the event also with wins over Union (Dugger) (76-24) and Bloomfield (65-56). Their only blemish was a 64-52 loss to the Golden Arrows of Sullivan, who were unbeaten at the time.

They're currently averaging 65.5 points per game as a team while giving up an average of 48.3.

The Miners, who average 47.8 ppg as a team and allow 61.2, come in following losses to North Knox (60-47), Owen Valley (59-51), Bloomfield (52-38) and White River Valley (66-54) in addition to the loss against Shakamak.

Both coaches have definite ideas about what they'd like to see their teams accomplish during the tournament.

For Clayton a lot of it's about getting the team used to tournament play, quick turnarounds and tough competition.

"Beyond the winning you want to go up there and let the younger kids know that this is like a sectional environment, this is what you're going to face at the end of the year," Clayton said. "Usually play up there is a little more physical and it's very comparable to what you'll see come sectional time."

The stakes might be just a little bit higher for the Lakers. Not only do they enter the field with a top 10 ranking and playing a team which is familiar, they're also projected by some to be capable of reaching at least the semifinals in the classic and maybe more in the bigger tournament at the end of the season.

"We're going to play one game at a time and continue to improve all year long," Brett said hopefully. "Then if we do that we've got a good shot to do that (win the sectional).

"But it all comes down to playing between the lines. It doesn't matter what's written or what's said, great potential is sometimes the greatest burden a kid can have."

Brett offers a caveat to his team's being a favorite on paper against the Miners in Saturday's game. He says his team has shown a tendency to underestimate.

"I'm not sure we handle that as well as we should sometimes," he admits. "We've got to understand that you can't just walk onto the floor and expect people to fall over for you."

He also adds a caveat to the team itself.

"What that does is put a target on you and makes people play harder," he said. "Which is good. You have to raise your level at that time too."

The game is slated for a 7 p.m. start ahead of the day's finale that pits Northview against Monrovia.

The winners of the two games will meet at 8:30 p.m. on Monday while the loser's battle in a 5:30 p.m. contest the same day.

Other games on Saturday include Turkey Run taking on Owen Valley at 1 p.m., Riverton Parke meeting West Vigo at 2:30 p.m., Terre Haute North battling Casey-Westfield at 4 p.m. and Rockville taking on Marshall at 5:30 p.m.

Tickets for the event will be available at the door for $6 per day or $17 for an all-tournament pass.

Greene County Daily World Sports Editor B.J. Hargis and Editor Chris Pruett both contributed to this story.

BOYS BASKETBALL

Tri-River Conference

Tuesday, Dec. 15

Cloverdale 70, Clay City 55

Friday, Dec. 18

Eminence 59, University 42

Shakamak 69, Linton-Stockton 49

Sullivan 75, North Central 70

Vincennes Rivet 61, Clay City 41

Saturday, Dec. 19

Eminence 68, Southwestern (Shelby), 57

Turkey Run 58, Union (Dugger) 34

Saturday, Dec. 26

Linton vs. Shakamak at TH No, 7 p.m.

Monday, Dec. 28

Linton, Shak at TH North, TBA.

Tuesday, Dec. 29

Linton, Shak at TH North, TBA.

Clay City at South Putnam, Inv., TBA.

Wednesday, Dec. 30

Linton, Shak at TH North, TBA.

Tuesday, Jan. 5

Greene County Invitational: North Central vs. Shakamak, 6 p.m.; Eastern Greene vs. Clay City, 7:30 p.m.

Wednesday, Jan, 6

Greene County Invitational: Vincennes Rivet at Union (Dugger), 6 p.m.; White River Valley at Linton-Stockton, 7:30 p.m.

Thursday, Jan. 7

Greene County Invitational: Consolation games, 6 p.m., 7:30 p.m.

Friday, Jan. 8

Greene County Invitational: Semifinals, 6 p.m.; 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, Jan.. 9

Greene County Invitational: Seventh-place game, 10 a.m.; Fifth-place game, 11:30 a.m.; Third-place game, 6 p.m.; Championship game, 7:30 p.m.

Southwestern Indiana Athletic Conf.

Tuesday, Dec. 15

Cloverdale 70, Clay City 55

Friday, Dec. 18

Eastern Greene 42, Martinsville 39

North Daviess 35, Wood Memorial 33

Owen Valley 55, Bloomfield 41

Shakamak 69, Linton-Stockton 49

Vincennes Rivet 61, Clay City 41

Saturday, Dec. 19

Paoli 49, Eastern Greene 47

Turkey Run 58, Union (Dugger) 34

White River Valley 44, Bloomfield 39

Tuesday, Dec. 22

WRV 60, Washington Catholic 42

Cloverdale 74, Easern Greene 61

N. Daviess 37, Tecumseh 21

Wednesday, Dec. 30

Eastern Greene at W Washingon, 6 p.m

Saturday, Dec. 26

Linton vs. Shakamak at TH No, 7 p.m.

Monday, Dec. 28

Bloomf., Linton, Shak at TH North, TBA.

Tuesday, Dec. 29

Bloomf., Linton, Shak at TH North, TBA.

Clay City at South Putnam, Inv., TBA.

Wednesday, Dec. 30

Eastern Greene at W Washingon, 6 p.m

Bloomf., Linton, Shak at TH North, TBA.

Tuesday, Jan. 5

Greene County Invitational: North Central vs. Shakamak, 6 p.m.; Eastern Greene vs. Clay City, 7:30 p.m.

Wednesday, Jan, 6

Greene County Invitational: Vincennes Rivet at Union (Dugger), 6 p.m.; White River Valley at Linton-Stockton, 7:30 p.m.

Thursday, Jan. 7

Greene County Invitational: Consolation games, 6 p.m., 7:30 p.m.

Friday, Jan. 8

Greene County Invitational: Semifinals, 6 p.m.; 7:30 p.m.

Sullivan at Bloomfield, 6 p.m.

Saturday, Jan.. 9

Greene County Invitational: Seventh-place game, 10 a.m.; Fifth-place game, 11:30 a.m.; Third-place game, 6 p.m.; Championship game, 7:30 p.m.

AREA STATISTICS

Games through 12-23-09

Scoring

Free throws