Raiders clip Indians in hoops shootout

PHOTO BY BETH SCHMALTZ

PICTURED RIGHT: South Ripley junior Drew Volz drives the lane against Milan’s Gabe Riehle in Friday night’s Raider win. Volz finished with 24 points while Riehle dropped 19 points.

There was not a lack of scoring on Friday night in Versailles and by the end of the night the home team managed a couple more buckets than its opponent as South Ripley clipped Milan 82-78 in an Ohio River Valley Conference boys basketball rivalry matchup.

The Class 2A No. 12 Raiders have won four-straight games and have swept Milan for the season. Friday also served as Homecoming Night for South Ripley.
South Ripley led at each stop but not without a fight from the black and gold. The two teams combined for 44 points in the first quarter and another 19 points by the Raiders sent them into halftime with a 43-37 lead. A 23-18 edge in the third quarter put the advantage out to 11 points but the Indians scorched the nets for 23 points in the fourth period to make a gutsy run before succumbing to defeat.

Four total players went for 20-plus points, two for each team. South Ripley’s Drew Volz scored 20 of his 24 points in the first half and sophomore Eli Gilpin dropped 23 points with 13 points in the first two quarters. Milan’s Micah Norman led all scorers with 26 points -13 points in each half- and Ethan Clark drilled five 3-pointers en route to 21 points.
Senior Gabe Riehle added 19 points for the game and Grant Langferman tallied 12 points. 29 of those combined 31 points came in the final three quarters. South Ripley junior Dylan Jessee scored 14 second half points -12 from the 3-point line- and Blake Gunter scored 11 points.

South Ripley (12-4, 3-0 ORVC) hosts Connersville on Friday before visiting Lawrenceburg on Saturday. Milan, who also fell last Tuesday to Trinity Lutheran, is now 5-6 with a 0-1 mark in the ORVC. The Indians play two conference games this weekend, hosting Southwestern (Hanover) on Friday and visiting Switzerland County on Saturday.

FRIDAY’S BOYS
BASKETBALL GAME
at South Ripley
CLASS 2A NO. 12 SOUTH RIPLEY 82, MILAN 78

M – 20. 17. 18. 23. – 78
SR – 24. 19. 23. 16. – 82
MILAN (5-6, 0-1 ORVC) – Micah Norman 26, Ethan Clark 21, Gabe Riehle 19, Grant Langferman 12, Ben Knowlton 0, Tommy Poole 0, Josh Pettit 0.
SOUTH RIPLEY (12-4, 3-0 ORVC) – Drew Volz 24, Eli Gilpin 23, Dylan Jessee 14, Blake Gunter 11, Landon Werner 6, Bryson Sipples 4, Mason Bascom 0.

3-Point Goals – M 8 (Clark 5, Norman 3), SR 6 (Jessee 4, Volz 1, Gilpin 1). Total Fouls – M 15, SR 18. Free Throws – M 20-27, SR 14-19. Fouled Out – SR: Sipples.