I remember Glen Sudhop from John Adams in the early 70's, 7'4" went to NC State but didn't do much, think they were ranked 3rd in state when they came to goshen and we beat them
Sudhop was 7'2" and Adams was ranked #1 when we shot a state record 81.8% and beat them 71-55 in 1974. Best high school game I have ever attended.
Probably few realize that a state high school boys basketball record held by Goshen for 39 years has been toppled.
The Tippecanoe Valley Vikings set the new mark last month when they hit 32-of-38 field goal attempts for 84.2 percent during a 71-49 victory over Northfield.
That bettered the old standard of 81.8 per cent by the Goshen Redskins in an historic 71-55 upset of No. 1-rated South Bend Adams on Friday the 13th in December of 1974.
Goshen, coached by Roger Tuggle, took mostly layups and free throws against Coach Dave Hadaway’s Adams Eagles who featured 7-2 Glen Sudhop, 6-7 Val Martin and 6-7 Mark Risinger.
The Redskins raced to a 17-5 lead by the end of the first quarter and were able to employ their strategy of drawing out Adams defenders to exploit the inside. Goshen was 8-for-8 from the field in the second quarter and 7-for-7 in the fourth, finishing the night 27-for-33.
Senior Jeff Hossler scored 28 points for GHS, senior Bob Lau 23, sophomore Kevin Cotherman eight, junior Tom Bowser six, seniors Ed Stacker, Jim Lindhorn and Gary Yoder two each.
Lau was 11-for-14 from the floor and Hossler 8-for-10. The Redskins were 17-for-23 at the free-throw line with Hossler going 12-for-16.
Martin tallied 21 and Risinger 15 for Adams while Sudhop was held to four. Andy Harris, the Eagles’ standout 6-2 junior guard, was held scoreless with Cotherman shadowing him much of the night.
The contest was never close as Goshen led 34-21 at halftime and 51-33 after three periods. About 3,000 spectators were in the Goshen gym, then 14 years old.
The only other time Goshen defeated a No. 1-ranked team occurred in January of 1963 when the Redskins stunned the Michigan City Red Devils, 67-64. Art Cosgrove was the coach with Ron Miller, Randy Saal, Fred Hostetler, Doug Smith and John Corporon the starting five.
Hossler also had seven assists in that 1974 game which didn’t require many rebounds with so few missed shots. Adams, which shot 50 per cent itself, held a 16-13 rebound edge.
Lau often found gaps in the Adams defense and his teammates hit him with sharp passes for layups. Goshen never attempted a shot from beyond five feet.
Hossler blossomed into a standout player that season and was Elkhart County scoring champion with 484 points for a 21.0 average. Lau tallied 326, Cotherman 188, Stacker 122, Lindhorn 120 and Bowser 105.
Hossler topped the 20-point mark 15 times that season with a high of 29 during a tough 62-56 sectional championship game loss to Northridge.
That came a night after the Redskins derailed No. 7-ranked Penn, 60-44, with Hossler netting 25 and Lau 12. Jim Hahn, future Concord coach, played for the Kingsmen that year.
Lau had high games of 23 against both Adams and Concord, Cotherman 18 against both South Bend Clay and Wawasee, Stacker 14 against Elkhart Central and Lindhorn 11 against Clay.
The Redskins finished with a 15-8 record, the program’s best since Cosgrove’s regional champions were 21-5 in 1968-69.
The current Tippecanoe Valley team is guided by the legendary Bill Patrick who was coaching his 1,000th varsity game the night the Vikings set the state record.
Patrick, now 75, graduated from Sidney High School in 1956 and Manchester College in 1960.
The win over Northfield made his career record 720-280 in 45 seasons - one at Sidney, four at South Whitley, 24 at Whitko and 16 at Valley.
Tippecanoe Valley will be defending champion in the upcoming local Class 3A sectional.
Amazingly, the coaching paths of Tuggle and Patrick crossed 42 years ago when an unbeaten West Noble team coached by Tuggle defeated Patrick’s Whitko club, 85-59.
West Noble won its first 15 games that season before dropping a 67-63 decision at Fairfield. This past Friday, another undefeated Charger team journeyed to Fairfield.
Kent Saggars, Phil Wysong, Dan Rarick, Dave Vanette and Eric Wolfe were starters for that 1972 West Noble club which finished with a 21-2 record, dropping a 57-55 East Noble sectional sizzler to the host Knights.
Fairfield, despite its upset of West Noble, was just 11-10 that winter with a lineup featuring Bob Alvarez, Donn Huber, Doug Thwaits, Gary Weybright and Fred Kurtz.
That was the first season Fairfield and Goshen met in boys basketball. The Redskins won 69-65 in what would be the last career victory for Cosgrove, a Hall of Famer.
How long will Valley’s 84.2 per cent record stand up. The guess here is quite awhile.
Contact former Goshen News sports editor Stu Swartz at
stu.swartz67@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter at @SwartzStu.