Jamie Baker posted on February 03, 2012 22:57
By TED RADICK
Staff writer
VANLUE — Guards Jordan Wisner and Linden Smith asked Vanlue boys basketball coach Jeff Kloepfer for a private word after a practice session this week.
“I always tell the boys, man up and come to me if you want to discuss something and let’s talk about it,” Kloepfer said.
“My guards came to me this week, both Linden and Jordan, and said, ‘Coach, you have to have confidence in us and let us bring the ball up.’”
After Vanlue’s 51-50 victory Friday in a key Blanchard Valley Conference game, Kloepfer was glad he agreed to let them have that chance.
“I told them, ‘You’re going to have the opportunity,’” he said. “They did a fantastic job. It was a little shaky at the start, but to finish the game that way is great.”
Wisner drove the lane for two layups late in the fourth quarter and Smith hit a 3-pointer with 1:15 remaining in the game as the Wildcats clawed back from what had been an 11-point deficit in the first half to claim the victory.
Zach Garber hit a free throw with 10 seconds left to break a 50-50 tie and a 12-foot jumper at the buzzer by Arlington’s Thayne Recker hit the rim and bounced away as Vanlue improved to 13-2 overall, 6-1 in the BVC. Arlington fell to 13-3, 6-1.
Both teams, and Liberty-Benton as well, remain behind Leipsic with one league loss. The Vikings took possession of first place at 6-0 i with their 91-30 win Friday over Hardin Northern.
Arlington led the entire game until Wisner drove for a layup to tie the score at 45-45 with 2:52 remaining. Another Wisner layup gave the Wildcats a 47-45 lead with 2:12 left.
“There were double teams on our big guys, so I drove backdoor and layed it in,” Wisner said.
“In a game like this, you can’t lose your mental edge. You have to be focused for 32 minutes,” Arlington coach Jason Vermillion said. “They made us pay for some of the breakdowns we had defensively with Wisner scoring in the lane and Smith hitting that 3-pointer in the corner. Those are going to come back and haunt you if you’re not sharp.”
A Recker layup amid a jumble of bodies re-tied the game 47-47 moments later, but the Red Devils left Smith wide open in the corner and the junior buried a trey.
“Linden made a big shot for us to take the lead,” Wisner said.
Turnovers in big games have cost Vanlue the past couple of seasons. With the 6-foot-9 Garber and 6-5 running mate Jonathan Kloepfer manning the post, the common perception is that the way to beat Vanlue is to force the guards into mistakes.
Those guards had zero turnovers in the fourth quarter Friday.
“Coach has been working us all week with pressure, pressure, pressure,” Wisner said. “We’ve learned not to turn it over.”
Garber finished with a game-highs of 21 points and eight rebounds. After Arlington’s Andrew Hunter had tied the game at 50 with a 3-pointer and 34 seconds left, Garber drew a foul on Recker and gave the Wildcats the lead for good by hitting one of two free throws.
All the Vanlue junior center wanted to talk, though, was his backcourt teammates.
“We started out shaky and probably had five turnovers the first two minutes of the game,” he said. “The guys stepped up.”
Arlington’s aggressive defense set the tempo early as the Red Devils jumped out to leads of 11-4 after one quarter and 19-8 midway through the second. The Vanlue guards then settled in and turnovers stopped hurting the Wildcats.
“We never got the tempo in the second half like we wanted it, like we did in the first half,” Vermillion said. “We forced 12 turnovers in the first half and they finished with two in the second half.”
“When teams put so much attention on Jonny and Zach, the other kids are going to have to step up and they did tonight,” coach Kloepfer said.
Wisner finished with 10 points and six assists. Recker led Arlington with 13 points and had five rebounds, while Wes Corbin added 11 points.
Arlington (13-3, 6-1)
Corbin 4-1—11, Leonard 3-2—8, Hunter 2-0—5, J. Freed 1-0—2, McBride 1-0—3, Inniger 2-0—5, Blunk 1-1—3, Recker 5-1—13, Mohr 0-0—0. TOTALS: 19-44 5-8 — 50.
Vanlue (13-2, 6-1)
Wisner 5-0—10, Stone 2-0—4, Clymer 2-1—5, L. Smith 1-0—3, Summers 1-0—2, Kloepfer 3-0—6, Garber 8-4—21. TOTALS: 21-40 5-8 — 51.
Arlington 11 10 17 12 — 50
Vanlue 4 13 17 17 — 51
3-Point GOALS: Arlington 7-15 (Corbin & Recker 2, Hunter, McBride, Inniger); Vanlue 2-6 (Garber, L. Smith).
rebounds: Arlington 15 (Recker & Leonard 5); Vanlue 24 (Garber 8).
turnovers: Arlington 7, Vanlue 14.
junior varsity: Arlington, 48-22.
Radick: 419-427-8405,
tedradick@thecourier.com