On the heels of their first back-to-back losses since late December, the Ripley Vikings suffered a third straight on their home court to the visiting Huntington Highlanders last Wednesday, 73-64, on a night they wished their seniors a fond farewell.
Jumping to an early 2-0 lead off a Garrett Reid put back would be the only time the Vikes had the lead in a game where Huntington controlled the paint with their big man, John Wells, who ended his night with 23 points, netting nine points in the second and fourth quarters to help seal the Highlanders victory.
“We just weren’t putting the ball in the hole,” Vikings coach Harmon said. “ First time all year we just flat out didn’t shoot the ball.”
Ripley (14-8, 11-5 MSAC) shot a mere 33-percent (27-81) from the floor, including just three-of-19 from three-point range. Trailing 33-21 at the break Ripley came out in the second half to out duel Huntington 43-40, but was unable to overcome the early deficit.
“The second half we picked it up and made a good run but couldn’t finish up.” Harmon commented. “We had to do a lot of adjusting on offense. We saw a lot of junk defenses.”
The Vikes would come within seven points in the final 35 seconds, 69-62, following a Derek Mullins three, but the foul shooting game kept Huntington firmly in the lead. Ripley sank 13-of-16 from the free throw line.
Despite the loss, Ripley displayed a pair of double-digit scorers. One was the usual suspect Chase Fischer, who netted 27, while teammate Cody Miller dropped a season-high 20.
“Cody had a great game second half,” Harmon said. “He’s understanding the kind of effort you need to put out in this league. He’s coming along great.”
Fischer closed the evening with five assists, four rebounds and five steals. Miller dished out three assists, corralled a team-high six boards and had two takeaways.
The following Friday (2/26), Ripley traveled to ‘The Pit’ for the second meeting with their rival Red Devils (17-4, 9-2 LKC) to close out the regular season for both squads.
The Vikings looked to extend their winning streak over the defending AA State Champs to four games and did so edging out Ravenswood 50-48.
Chase Fischer led Ripley with 32 points shooting 52-percent off a 12-for-23 effort. Luke Murray netted 17 for the Devils off a six-for-14 performance.
Further details on the game, including varsity and JV scores and stats, will be featured in Thursday’s edition of the Jackson Star News.
Ripley’s seniors, Kyle Harpold, Blake Barnette, and Garrett Reid will have one more chance to play in front of their home crowd as the Vikes were slated to face Parkersburg last night in the first round of the Class AAA Region 3 Section 1 Tournament.
Ravenswood returns to action Wednesday, facing Roane County in the first round of the Class AA Region 1, Section 2 Tournament held at Ripley High. Tip off is set for 7 p.m.
Huntington- 15-18-13-27—73
Ripley- 9-12-22-21—64
RIPLEY v. HUNTINGTON- Mullins (6 PTS, 3 AST, 3 STL, REB), Nick Barnette (5 PTS, 5 REB), Harpold (2 PTS, 3 REB, 2 BLK, AST, STL), Barnette (2 PTS, 3 AST, 3 REB, STL), Reid (2 PTS, 4 REB, AST).
Ripley JV 49, Huntington 51- Jared Mullins 8, Casey Smith 10, Jacob Hayes 17, Nate Donahew 8, Corey Smith 3, Nick Coon 3.
Ripley- 14-16-9-11—50
Ravenswood 11-10-16-11—48
