TIPP CITY – Tippecanoe’s Red Devils overwhelmed visiting Greenville 50-20 to open the 2023-24 basketball season. Mixing a blend of returning lettermen from last year’s 21-4 team with some talented underclassmen, Coach Brock Moon’s squad jumped to an early lead and never looked back as they started their quest for a MVL Miami Division title.
After the Wave’s Jack Chick scored for a quick Greenville 2-0 lead, Tipp ran off to a 15-4
advantage after one period paced by 6’5” senior Jackson Smith’s work on the boards, 6’3”
senior Caden Turner’s four points, and three-point bombs by junior Jackson Davis and
sophomore CJ Bailey.
The second quarter saw more of the same with Tipp pressuring the Green Wave defensively
as the Red Devils took complete control of the contest, heading to the locker room at
intermission with a commanding 32-12 lead. Only Chace Drew, a 6’2” senior post, was able to penetrate the Tipp defense, scoring six points for the Wave.
Leading 45-14 beginning the final eight minutes, Tipp quickly went ahead by 35 points,
invoking the running clock rule for the remainder of the game.
Tipp dominated the boards against a physically overmatched Greenville group, cleaning the
glass by a 32-15 advantage, particularly at the offensive end of the court. Unofficially, the
Devils had only seven turnovers while the Wave committed fifteen.
Wave Coach Matt Hamilton’s team only attempted two foul shots for the night, both by
junior Layne Hocker in the fourth quarter. In what has become a recurring theme, Greenville struggled to get to the charity stripe again. Last year the Wave attempted only 197 free throws for the season compared, for example, to Tipp’s 293 made foul shots, a sign that the Green and White settle for too many outside shots while committing too many turnovers.
Smith led nine Tipp scorers with 12 points while Turner added 8 and Bailey 7. Drew’s 6
points paced Greenville six players entering the scorebook.
Greenville opens the home portion of the season by hosting Darke County rival Arcanum
Saturday night with the varsity tip-off at 7:30 while Tipp hosts Piqua Tuesday night in another MVL encounter.
