By Mike McGraw
Executive Director
TERRE HAUTE – Throughout the first half of Class 4A No. 4 Terre Haute South’s Dec. 26 opening game in the annual Wabash Valley Classic, Braves’ coach Mike Saylor could be heard chastising his players for running their sets for the wrong shooters.
It was a frustrating start for host South, which reached intermission with just a 10-point cushion (28-18) over a vastly outmanned South Vermillion squad. But Saylor must have passed out ID tags at halftime, the one saying “right shooter” clearly being handed to John Michael Jarvis.
The sharp-shooting junior put on a record-setting display from behind the 3-point arc in the second half, and the Braves (7-0) overwhelmed the Wildcats to the tune of 69-31. Jarvis ended the game with nine 3-pointers – six coming in the second half – and finished with 34 points.
While most of the attention from this contest will be focused on Jarvis’ incredible shooting, the real key was Terre Haute South’s defensive pressure.
South Vermillion (0-5) attempted to slow the pace by playing a compact 2-3 zone the entire game. South countered with a variety of pressure defenses, both half- and full-court, in an effort to speed up the Wildcats.
The constant defensive intensity succeeded in forcing the Wildcats into one quick shot after another. Most of the night South Vermillion players were shooting as much in an effort to simply get rid of the ball as they were in an attempt to score.
The result was way too many scoring opportunities for the Braves, and they capitalized on a high percentage of them in the final two quarters.
Nor should the play of Terre Haute South point guard Jake Odum go unmentioned. He ended the game with 12 assists, many of those perfectly placed darts to the deadly Jarvis.
Coach Saylor made it clear following the game that he believes Odum is the best-kept secret in Indiana basketball.
“The young man is under-appreciated and has been under-recruited,” said the fifth-year Braves coach. “If there is a better point guard in Indiana, I would like to know who it is.”
Terre Haute South advances to play a solid Marshall (IL) team that defeated Owen Valley, 66-52, Friday. If the brackets play out to form, the tourney should boast a tremendous Monday evening semifinal between the Braves and 1A #1 Rockville.
The tournament schedule (all games ET):
Wabash Valley Classic
Fri Dec 26: Day 1
1A #8 Shakamak 52, Turkey Run 37
Terre Haute North 61, Linton-Stockton 34
Northview 54, Monrovia 51
Sullivan 69, Riverton Parke 50
4A #4 Terre Haute South 69, South Vermillion 31
3A #12 West Vigo 61, Bloomfield 52
Marshall (Ill.) 66, Owen Valley 52
1A #1 Rockville 66, Casey-Westfield (Ill.) 40
Sat Dec 27: Day 2
Turkey Run vs. Linton, 10 a.m.
Monrovia vs. Riverton Parke, 11:30 a.m.
1A #8 Shakamak vs. Terre Haute North, 1 p.m.
Northview vs. Sullivan, 2:30 p.m.
South Vermillion vs. Bloomfield, 4 p.m.
Owen Valley vs. Casey-Westfield (Ill.), 5:30 p.m.
4A #4 Terre Haute South vs. 3A #12 West Vigo, 7 p.m.
Marshall (Ill.) vs. 1A #1 Rockville, 8:30 p.m.
Mon Dec 29: Day 3
Loser Game 9 vs. Loser Game 10, 10 a.m.
Loser Game 13 vs. Loser Game 14, 11:30 a.m.
Winner Game 9 vs. Winner Game 10, 1 p.m.
Winner Game 13 vs. Winner Game 14, 2:30 p.m.
Loser Game 11 vs. Loser Game 12, 4 p.m.
Loser Game 15 vs. Loser Game 16, 5:30 p.m.
Winner Game 11 vs. Winner Game 12, 7 p.m.
Winner Game 15 vs. Winner Game 16, 8:30 p.m.
Tue Dec 30: Day 4
7th place, 3 p.m.
5th place, 4:30 p.m.
3rd place, 6:15 p.m.
Championship, 8 p.m.
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