Written By: Matt "Night" Rider
Photo Credited To: http://www.nmcs.k12.in.us/MiddleHighSchool/Athletics/Basketball/BoysBasketball/tabid/318/Default.aspx
The North Miami Warriors sent their three starting seniors away with a big 51-62 victory over rival Tippacanoe Valley on Thursday night. The Warriors were led by Junior Paul Hayes, who had a game-high seventeen points off the bench. Senior John Harris and Junior Jared Richardson added eleven points apiece to the winning effort.
Down the stretch, the Warriors shot lights out from the free throw line. Senior Zac Roth hit five clutch free throws, while Junior Austin See added six from the charity stripe. Senior Collin Gibbs added two points in his final home game for the Warriors.
After the big win, the three seniors talked about the game.
"It was awesome to get a win in my final game," Harris said. "The atmosphere was great. The support was very good," Roth said. "It feels awesome to get a win. It's always good to beat Valley," Gibbs said.
"We still made some mistakes, but we were able to rebound quicker from those mistakes. We were able to close it out," Warrior Coach Matt Storm said.
"Our Seniors played great tonight. The nerves from it being Senior night affected them a little bit, but they settled down. They helped us to a big win," Storm added.
The Tippacanoe Valley Vikings were led by Freshman Tanner Andrews with fifteen points. Freshman Tanner Shepherd and Sophomore Nick Kindig poured in thirteen points each for the visiting Vikings.
Varsity Scoring (By Quarter)
1st 2nd 3rd 4th Final
Tippacanoe Valley 13 23 38 51 51
North Miami 9 24 41 62 62
The Tippacanoe Valley Vikings won the JV game 43-30, behind the constant scoring from Freshman Derrick Cunningham. Cunningham poured in ten points for the Vikings, while Freshman Robby Groom and Junior Alex Newman each added eight points to the winning effort.
The JV Warriors were led by Sophomore Cody Pugh, who scored a game-high thirteen points. Sophomore Justin Prior added six points for the JV Warriors
