Steve Nafziger | Echo
Odle Arena has been home for seniors Josh Riikonen and Ben Raichel for the past four years. Tuesday night was their last chance to defend their home court, and they did just that as the Trojans upset No. 15 Bethel 79-72.
The victory marked the second win over a ranked team this season and the first win over a top-15 team. Sophomore Kyle Stidom helped the seniors go out in front of the home crowd with a victory by leading the team with 24 points-16 in the second half-while shooting 92 percent from the free throw line (12-13).
The Trojans shot 49 percent from the floor and held the Pilots to 38 percent. Beyond the numbers, Taylor played with passion on both sides of the ball and beat Bethel on hustle plays all night long. TU outscored the Pilots 47-38 in the second half after they quickly erased a two-point halftime deficit.
Junior Jesse Coffey shot the ball well, adding 17 points of his own and connecting on 5-of-8 from three-point range. Riikonen contributed six points along with six rebounds, while Raichel scored eight points.
Being the only two seniors on the team, Raichel and Riikonen were honored before the game for their contributions to the Taylor basketball program.
What's special about their journey is not that they've been teammates for four years, but roommates for four years as well. From opposite ends of Indiana-Raichel from Austin and Riikonen from Elkhart-the two met in summer basketball camp before freshman year. Being friends and living together has been reflected in their chemistry on the court.
"We understand what the other one wants to do," Riikonen said. "We usually know what the other one is going to do before it happens."
Developing from freshman who didn't play much to being the leaders of the team four years later has been the biggest advancement for the two."Persistence is key to the transition to college basketball," Riikonen said. "You have to work your way into a different role and you have to earn your minutes."
Over the course of four years, Raichel and Riikonen have learned completely different styles of play through two different coaches. Playing under former head coach Paul Patterson allowed Raichel and Riikonen to learn as players while playing for current head coach Josh Andrews has given them the opportunity to be leaders in a new system.
"It was difficult playing one way for three years and then changing everything in one summer," Raichel said. "But [Andrews] made us the main guys to help implement his system the best we could."
Riikonen, who aspires to be a coach, says he has learned a lot from the two coaches he has played under.
"Learning from two different people, one who is a really experienced coach and one who is a younger coach, with two completely different styles can only help me when I go into coaching," Riikonen said.
The Trojans (11-17, 5-12) will finish off the regular season Saturday at Huntington as they take on the No. 12 Foresters (23-6, 12-5) with a 3 p.m. tip.
Photography by Josh Adams
