Tipp’s defense was on point…CJ Bailey blocks the shot attempt of Troy’s Malakyi Hall. But turnovers continue to be a concern for Brock Moon’s 9-1 Red Devils. (Press Pros Feature Photos)
Tipp played well enough, and long enough at the right times, to survive 18 turnovers and best Troy Tuesday for their ninth win of the season.
Tipp City, OH – Tipp coach Brock Moon and Troy coach Mark Hess could agree on a theory following Tuesday’s 57-44 Tipp win over the Trojans…the Red Devils’ ninth of the season against one loss.
And that theory was simply this. That if their respective teams could learn to respect possession of the basketball and play with some discipline…they’re going to be better over the course of the next eight weeks of the season. And just in time to be a legitimate threat during the district round of the OHSAA tournament.
Minster Bank proudly sponsors the best in area sports stories on Press Pros Magazine.com.
Both have the athletes with which to compete.
Publisher Sonny Fulks writes OHSAA and Ohio State sports for Press Pros Magazine.com.
Troy’s mercurial sophomore, Malakyi Hall, scored 13 points Tuesday to continually keep the 7-5 Trojans within striking distance of Tipp’s continual lead in the second half.
Tipp got 20 points from senior Bryton Otto, 16 from senior CJ Bailey, and 10 from energetic sophomore point guard Hudson Ganger to frustrate Troy and keep them at arm’s length, and rebound from Saturday’s 60-55 loss to Columbus DeSales, their lone loss of the season.
But neither team played with the patience and discipline necessary to take advantage of its athletic advantages, and Hess and Moon could only shake their heads over the frustration of playing against yourself – the two teams combining for 33 turnovers in the game.
Moon especially, whose Red Devils turned the ball 18 times and yet won by 13 points, after losing by 5 points to DeSales Saturday and turning it 17 times.
Troy’s Malakyi Hall drives to the rim for two of his team-high 13 points.
Hess’s Trojans came out like a house afire, hitting 6 of 14 shots in the first quarter, led by senior Josh Murphy’s 7 points, and led by a point after the opening eight minutes, 13-12.
But during the timeout between quarters, Moon reminded his team about defense, about playing with a bit more pace, and subsequently got Troy to play ahead of themselves in the second quarter. The Trojans would score just eight times, fall prey to the turnover bug, lose the lead, and lose their focus on taking care of the basketball.
Tipp turned it over, too, but began getting to the rim for high percentage buckets, and scored enough in transition off Troy turnovers and miscues to go to the halftime locker room with a 25-20 lead.
“We were there,” said Hess. “And I told them we were there, but we just didn’t hit the big shot or get the big stop.”
Call now for pre-pay discountsl. Chances are, the best lawn on your block is an Ever-Green lawn. Call us at 937-335-6418!
“We wanted to play with tempo,” said Moon. “But playing fast doesn’t mean shooting fast, or taking bad shots. And we have to learn that. We did what we did against DeSales on Saturday. We had way too many turnovers again tonight…twelve in the first half.”
Logan Services, in Cincinnati, Dayton, and Columbus, proudly sponsor the best in area sports coverage on Press Pros Magazine.com.
Hess, too, made his point during the halftime break, and showed improvement at the outset of the third quarter. But Tipp began getting the ball inside to Bryton Otto, who ignited for 8 of his 20 points in the game, while Troy fell into a span of too many empty possessions due to shot selection and missed shots on their end.
Tipp began the fourth quarter with a 40-31 lead, only to lose ground with some sloppy possessions that allowed Troy to cut that lead to seven. And a Brady O’Leary recovery of a turnover and baseline layup at 5:38 actually got the Trojans to within five again, at 43-38.
But the Trojans again hit a bad spurt where they turned sloppy with the ball, and took quick and questionable shots. And with plenty of time remaining they couldn’t find the patience to run the offense one pass longer and get a better shot. Turnovers began to pile up, along with Tipp’s lead. The Red Devils got to the foul line late in the game where they hit five of six in the final quarter, Otto finished with a flourish, and Tipp survived their eighteen turnovers to win by thirteen points.
Otto led all scorers with 20 points, CJ Bailey had 14, Hudson had Ganger had 10, David Alvarez had 6 and Colin Turner had 7 to account for Tipp’s 57 points.
Tipp’s Bryton Otto led all scorers with 20 points in the Red Devils 57-43 win over Troy.
For Troy, Malakyi Hall had 13, Josh Murphy had 11, Aiden Luis had 8, Kardel Winfield and Ethane Atkins had 4 each, and Brady O’Leary and Max Gifford had 2 points each.
Tipp shot 18 of 20 from the foul line (90%), while Troy hit 7 of 10 (70%).
“We need to learn to play with discipline,” Hess said, afterwards. “And that’s the challenge. In order to beat better teams, like Tipp, we have to learn to play with more discipline. And there were times in the second half when we did…when we got reversals and some easier looks.
“Some of it is experience. We’ve had some close games, but we haven’t played teams of Tipp’s caliber. And sometimes you can get away with it against teams that aren’t as good defensively as Tipp. It’s a learning point, and we’ll see these things on film. And tonight’s game was closer than 13 points, athletically…missed shots and shot selection. We have some good shooters and shots didn’t go down. We can compete, and we were there. But the final score doesn’t always tell the story. We just didn’t do enough to win.”
Athletes In Action is proud to be a presenting sponsor of area basketball on Press Pros Magazine.com. Call now for camp opportunities for your team in summer, 2026.
Moon shook his head and smiled at the irony of back-to-back games where the difference in opponents put the issue of double-digit turnovers in sharp contrast.
Tipp’s CJ Bailey rises to score to of his 14 points over Troy’s Ethane Atkins.
“I thought we were really good defensively,” he said, to Hess’s point. “But, we gave up a lot of transition points. I don’t know how many, but a lot. And when you turn the ball over, especially live turnovers, it just negates your good defense. We have to slow down and take care of the ball, and once we figure that out we’ll be a much different team.
“DeSales had 4 turnovers on Saturday. We had 17. And it’s hard to win games against good teams when there’s that big a differential. If we learn that we’ll be OK.”
And at 9-1 they’re OK, anyway. The point is…if they can learn to value the basketball, make the extra pass, and not negate their defense, they’re a good bet to run through a second half MVL schedule that they’ve already run through once.
As for Troy, there’ll be a rematch, on February 7. Time enough to see if Hess can sell his theory; and time enough to see if Tuesday really was closer than 13 points.
Wilson Health/Orthopedics proudly sponsors the best in area sports and the Ohio State Buckeyes on Press Pros.