April 23, 2024

Not big enough for the two of them

By KALEB CARTER
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Nodaway Valley sophomore Clay Hohertz fires off a 3-pointer on a night he hit two of them in the Wolverines’ 69-57 win over Sidney. The Wolverines overcame the size of the previously 12-10 Cowboys thanks in large part to 22 points and 14 rebounds from Brady Hilpipre and 21 points from Tyler Vandewater. (CNA photo)

RED OAK — Nodaway Valley dictated the pace of the game more and more as the game Tuesday wore into the second and third quarters, and that propelled the Wolverines to the Class 1A District 13 championship game against Bedford (18-5) Thursday in Clarinda.

Nodaway Valley (11-13) won 69-57 to end the season of the Sidney Cowboys.

The Cowboys had a decided size advantage, one that benefited Sidney at times, but wasn’t enough to match the Wolverines’ quickness and ability to get to the rim and shoot from beyond the arc.

The Wolverines led by just one after an Aryll Shantz bucket through a foul, and his ensuing free throw gave NV a 14-13 lead after quarter.

Brady Hilpipre fired up the Wolverine offense with nine first-quarter points and continued in spurts the rest of the night. None were bigger than a stretch in the third quarter where he followed a Spencer Thompson 3-pointer with a corner triple of his own. Almost immediately after, Tyler Vandewater stole the inbounds pass and laid the ball into the net in an almost seamless motion.

Hilpipre soon after that hit another trey from the same spot as his previous trey, giving NV a 50-34 lead late in the third quarter.

“Once he gets into a rhythm offensively he’s pretty tough,” Nodaway Valley coach Darrell Burmeister said about Hilpipre.

The versatile junior forward extended his game beyond the perimeter, much to NV’s benefit.

“In the locker room we always talking about getting it inside, getting it outside sometimes and kicking it out,” Hilpipre said. “I’ve noticed that in the third quarter, that’s where we have our run.”

Tyler Vandewater, with 21 points, also knocked down a pair of 3-pointers, as did Clay Hohertz.

“Our guys put a lot of time shooting threes,” Burmeister said. “We made five threes that first half and that kind of opened up for some of the drives.”

Sidney did narrow the deficit, pulling within seven points with under three minutes remaining in the game, but Nodaway Valley’s free throw shooting kept the Cowboys’ hands off the trigger.

Spencer Thompson knocked down 12 of his 14 free throws as NV went 23-33 in the game and 15 of 19 in the fourth quarter.

Sidney’s Brady Lorimor used his 6-3 frame to grab six offensive rebounds and scored several early easy baskets, but Hilpipre believes that NV’s collective defensive effort was where it needed to be.

“We worked hard on fronting those guys and I think we did a pretty good job of that tonight,” Hilpipre said.

Hilpipre led the way on the boards as well with 14 rebounds, that coming off a 17-rebound performance in an opening-round win over Clarinda Academy.

“Some rebounders just have a knack and he’s athletic enough he can out jump a few people, but he has a knack for the ball coming off the rim I think,” Burmeister said.

NV’s matchup in Clarinda against Bedford is a rubber match, the third of the series this season.

The Wolverines defeated Bedford in Greenfield 73-70 on Jan. 30 while the Bulldogs defeated the Wolverines 83-62 on Dec. 1.

The winner of NV and Bedford will face the St. Albert-Stanton winner at substate in Shenandoah Saturday.

Running score by quarter

NV – 14 33 50 69

Sid – 13 22 34 57

NV (FG FT PTS) – Totals – 19 23-33 69. Brady Hilpipre 9 1-2 22, Tyler Vandewater 6 7-10 21, Spencer Thompson 1 12 14 15, Clay Hohertz 2 0-4 6, Aryll Shantz 1 1-1 3, Josh Baudler 0 2-2 2. 3-point goals – 8 (Hilpipre 3, Hohertz 2, Vandewater 2, Thompson 1). Assists — 10 (Thompson 4, Vandewater 2, Hilpipre 2, Baudler 1, Toby Bower 1). Rebounds — 31 (Hilpipre 14, Thompson 5, Vandewater 4, Bower 3, Shantz 2, Hohertz 2). Steals — 8 (Vandewater 2, Hohertz 2). Team fouls – 20. Fouled out – none.

Sid (FG FT PTS) – 21 9-21 57. (PTS) Brady Lorimor 18, Cameron Whitehead 14, Noah Jorgensen 12, Braxton Lynn 8, Zayne Osborn 3, Brock Shirley 2. 3-point goals – 6. Assists — 13 (Whitehead 4, Shirley 4). Rebounds — 33 (Lorimor 13). Steals — 5. Blocks — 3.