PREP BOYS BASKETBALL: Danville falls at home to Indianapolis Pike

Jan. 21—DANVILLE — Everything was there Saturday afternoon for the Danville Vikings to get back-to-back wins for just the second time this season.

Coming off a 67-41 triumph over Bloomington on Friday night, the Vikings used that positive energy to build a 16-1 lead over Indianapolis Pike in the first five minutes of Saturday's contest at Danville High.

But, things changed drastically over the next 27 minutes.

The Pike Red Devils came back to tie the game in the third quarter and they outscored the Vikings 20-10 in the final eight minutes to claim a 62-57 victory.

"I really want them to get that feeling of winning multiple games in a row," Danville coach Durrell Robinson said. "We want to keep improving, and hopefully turn that into some wins."

And that's why Saturday's loss was tough to swallow for Robinson.

"It's especially difficult for the mentality of our guys," he said. "We never want to be on a losing streak. It all starts with our effort. I feel like since the Urbana game (Jan. 9), our effort has been where we need it to be.

"It's just a matter of making shots, finishing plays and winning games."

Danville (6-13) seemingly handled the making shots and finishing plays in the first four minutes and 29 seconds of Saturday's game by outscoring Pike by 15 points as Junior CL Dye scored 10 of his team-high 20 points during that opening quarter for the Vikings.

"After we got the lead, I don't feel the ball movement and the decision making was the same," Robinson said. "We started taking some contested shots. When we moving the ball, we got some open looks and we knocked them down.

"Pike, to their credit, turned up their defensive intensity, which made our kids have to make quicker decisions."

The Red Devils (5-10) also seemingly changed their offensive philosophy as guards Damon Howard and DeZhon Hall started driving more to the basket. They combined for 38 points with 19 of those coming from Howard after the first quarter.

"We tried to play them man-to-man and zone, but their guards were so quick and crafty," Robinson said. "They were still able to get to the basket. We just tried switching up as much as could to keep them off-balanced."

Robinson acknowledged it's going to be a good teaching tool for this week as the Vikings, who play four games in five days, including a Friday Big 12 game with Peoria Manual, who will also have guards that can penetrate the Danville defense.

"Everything with our schedule is designed to prepare us for March," Robinson said. "We feel that our schedule will continue to make us better. We just hope that some wins come along as well."

Up next for Danville is a non-conference contest on Tuesday against La Salette Academy at Danville High School. Then on Wednesday, the Vikings will host the Normal West Wildcats in a makeup game from Jan. 12. After that is Friday's game with Peoria Manual and then on Saturday, Danville travels to Manual Shootout to play Springfield Calvary.

Joining Dye in double figures against Pike was junior guard Diddy Robinson with 17.

In Saturday's JV game, Indianapolis Pike defeated Danville 78-51. Jaymion Avery led the Vikings with 15, while Kinden Mason had 13.

Indianapolis Pike 62, Danville 57

Pike (62) — Damon Howard Jr. 8 5-5 21, Michael Irving 1 0-0 2, Terrencio Davis 2 0-2 5, Coryell Spates 1 0-0 3, DeZhon Hall 6 3-6 17, Titus Hunter II 1 2-2 4, Jalen Ashley 2 3-4 7, Isaiah Hall 0 2-4 2, Dayton Stephens 0 0-0 0, Muna Newman-Nwodika 0 1-2 1. Totals: 21 16-25 62.

Danville (57) — Diddy Robinson 5 4-5 17, Devan Larkin 4 0-0 8, CL Dye 6 6-6 20, Jentezen Harris 0 0-0 0, Eric Bryant 0 0-2 0, Darius Jay 0 2-2 2, Jerry Reed 2 0-0 5, Persiris Menifield 1 0-0 3, Tayvion Diltz 1 0-0 2. Totals: 19 12-15 57.

Pike 11 18 13 20 — 62

Danville 19 15 13 10 — 57

3-pointers — Indianapolis Pike 4 (Hall 2, Davis 1, Spates 1). Danville 7 (Robinson 3, Dye 2, Reed 1, Menifield 1). Total fouls — Indianapolis Pike 17, Danville 20. Fouled out — Dye, Menifield.

Records — Indianapolis Pike 5-10 overall, Danville 6-13 overall.

JV score — Indianapolis Pike 78, Danville 51.