Tipp pivotman Bryton Otto attempts to score between a pair of defenders during Saturday’s loss to
Alter. (Press Pros Feature Photos by Lee Woolery)
Battle-tested Alter jumped on Tippecanoe early Saturday and road a ferocious defense to a 20-point win over the Red Devils.
By Marcus Hartman for Press Pros
Tipp City, OH — The Alter Knights, like many teams these days, like to shoot 3-pointers.
It’s a formula that leads to a lot of wins, including the state championship in Division II two seasons ago, and one many coaches would like to copy if at all possible.
Minster Bank proudly sponsors the best in area sports stories on Press Pros Magazine.com.
They made six in the first half Saturday afternoon against Tippecanoe but only one in the second.
Veteran columnist Marcus Freeman writes the Buckeyes and sports at large for Press Pros Magazine.com.
Their defense was so good it didn’t matter, and that provided another lesson for Brock Moon’s Red Devils.
“The challenge with us is getting challenged from here on out every night, and then challenging our guys that no matter who we’re playing, we’re playing hard and we’re playing physical,” Moon said after this team absorbed a 70-50 beating from the visiting Knights. “The problem is right now that’s not us every night. We need to learn to do that no matter who we’re playing against.”
The Red Devils are 11-0 in the Miami Valley League, but they are 0-2 in nonconference games with the other defeat coming at home against Columbus DeSales two weeks ago
However, turnovers have been a bugaboo even in wins, and they committed 19 (unofficially) against an Alter team that plays an aggressive 2-3 match-up zone and will press full court at times.
Logan Services, in Cincinnati, Dayton, and Columbus, proudly sponsor the best in area sports coverage on Press Pros Magazine.com.
“That’s our Achilles right now,” Moon said. “And even though we’ve been winning games, we’ve had a high number of turnovers. And it’s something we’ve been trying to focus on. A lot of it is spacing for us and knowing where to be in the right spot, and a lot of it’s making the right pass and meeting the pass, so just things we need to work on.”
The teams traded the lead a few times early Saturday before Peyton Bakos gave the Knights a 9-7 lead with a 3-pointer.
Tipp’s David Alvarez tries to avoid a charge call on this shot attempt during Saturday’s loss to Kettering Alter.
Drew Cripps followed that with a fast-break layup, then Thomas Nicholas connected from 3-point land to give Alter a seven-point lead.
It swelled to nine later in the quarter on a Cripps layup and went to 10 for the first time when Nicholas hit another trey from the right corner. Bakos made a 17-foot jumper at 2:32 of the second quarter for an 11-point lead (33-22), then it went to 12 on a trey by Naceive Fenton Jr.
That was the difference at halftime, then Alter scored the first two baskets of the second half to stretch the lead to 16.
Tippecanoe’s Hudson Ganger made a 3 to cut it to 10 at the 3:37 mark, but Alter responded with a 10-2 run that came mostly on layups in transition created by the Knights’ defense.
Tipp star C.J. Bailey ended that with a 3-pointer from the left corner, but the Red Devils still went to the fourth quarter trailing 56-41.
Olde English Outfitters proudly sponsor area sports on Press Pros Magazine.com.
Despite absorbing numerous body blows, they were down 11 with the ball midway through the fourth quarter with a chance to cut the deficit to single digits.
Instead, they committed three straight turnovers that turned into seven straight Alter points — all by freshman guard William Peagler Jr. He made consecutive steals that led to layups then was fouled trying to put back a miss and made one of two free throws.
The run kept going after another turnover when Fenton scored from in close to give Alter an 18-point lead for the first time with under three minutes to play. Nicholas made a layup off another Tipp turnover with under two minutes to play to give the Knights a 20-point lead, and both coaches emptied their benches with under a minute to go.
“The conversation in the locker room was not, ‘We’re okay,’” Moon said. “I think they’re a really good team that we can beat. We need to clean up a ton of stuff, so it’s just an opportunity to continue to get better. It wasn’t a moral victory or anything like that. That wasn’t the message. The message is we got to get better, and we only have limited time to get better, so we just need to keep working.
“But credit still, Alter’s a really good team with some really good guards, and when they’re hitting shots, they’re tough to guard.”
Bailey led Tippecanoe with 13 points while Jett Maxwell and Ganger had 11 apiece.
The Knights improved to 10-6 overall against a schedule that includes heavy hitters such as Cincinnati Moeller, Maysville and Trotwood-Madison along with multiple out-of-state squads.
Why are we playing like this…Tipp coach Brock Moon seems to be asking the quesiton concerning increasing issues with turnovers.
With only one starter back from last season, coach Eric Coulter said he has been mixing and matching lineups to try to find the best one. Only this month did Peagler, a 6-foot freshman guard, become a starter, but he looks like he’ll be a mainstay for the Knights. He entered the weekend averaging 17.5 points per game to go with 6.6 rebounds — both best in the GLC-Coed.
“I wanted to ease him into it a little bit, but you know, it got to the point where I’m like, ‘He’s ready for varsity basketball,’” Coulter said.
Peagler had 16 Saturday despite battling foul trouble while Bakos finished with a game-high 19. Fenton added 13 points while Nicolas added 12 to give Coulter a well-rounded scoring effort, but Alter’s defense was really more the story.
“For us, I feel like that was a key — forcing them to turn the ball over,” Coulter said. “They run a lot of good stuff. Coach does a really good job, especially in the half court. I had to switch our zone up tonight because he was running some stuff that gave us some problems.
“It seems like nobody plays match-up zone but us, so it’s hard to get stuff on them to know what they do, but they did a great job. I mean, I think they’re a really good team. It just wasn’t their day today, but they do a nice job. And I like their personnel.
“We’re not your typical zone where we lay back,” Coulter said. “We want to pressure the ball and deny passing lanes and really force you to move and cut and things like that, and then we take away angles, too, but it’s a great win for us going on the road against them and and even though Coach (Moon) is probably not happy about the loss, I think it’s going to help them to come tournaments.”
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.