After being shocked by a last-second shot in a loss to Tippecanoe Valley at the Tiger Den last season, the Warsaw boys basketball team had the opportunity to return the favor on Tuesday night, heading to Akron for another edition of the Warsaw-Valley rivalry. The Tigers went up big in the second quarter and never looked back, getting revenge for last year’s defeat with a 62-50 win.
Warsaw has won its last five games.
The two teams wasted no time showing those in attendance what type of game they’d be tuning in to see. Valley sharpshooter Riley Shepherd started off the scoring on the team’s first possession with a three pointer before the Tigers rattled off six straight points to take their first lead of the game.
Warsaw went to its lone senior, Luke Yeager, early and often, and the big man was able to convert on his opportunities more times than not, totaling six points on three makes in the game’s opening quarter. Brandt Martin would also get it going in the opening period, matching his teammate with six.
“I thought Luke did a great job of establishing himself early,” Warsaw head coach Matt Moore said after the game. “If you haven’t played us, you don’t really know how big he is and the presence he has until you see him. He did a great job starting off strong.”
The opening minutes would not be the only time in the opening eight minutes in which the lead would change hands. Shepherd clearly had the hot hand for the Vikings, and continued to showcase it with some incredibly difficult shot making. He’d lead all scorers with eight as Valley held onto a one-point lead after one.
The Tigers got a big boost to start off the second, as Robbie Finlinson and Martin sank two threes back-to-back to put Warsaw back on top. It would be short lived, as Shepherd would make two of his own right after to put the Vikings back in the driver's seat.

    Senior Riley Shepherd of Tippecanoe Valley buries three of his 20 points during Tuesday night's home game against Warsaw. Photo by Gary Nieter

This was just the beginning of a rapidly-paced quarter that saw the lead change three more times. A turning point occurred midway through the second, as Valley center Stephen Akase picked up his third foul of the half and had to be taken out of the game. This would give the Tigers a lot more space to work with down low, and they would take advantage.
Martin continued his torrid start by becoming the first Tiger to reach double figures as time winded down. Yeager joined him not long after as Warsaw began to pile it on in the second half of the second period. It didn’t take long until the team’s lead was at seven, the largest of the night so far.
“We shifted our defense to trap them a bit more, give them some pressure,” Moore said. “It took them out of rebounding position and really allowed us to get going offensively in the transition game.”
After more solid work from Martin and Luke Bricker’s first basket of the night, it had become a double-digit game. Outside of Shepherd continuing to keep his team close, Valley was unable to find much other offensive success, which allowed Warsaw to extend the lead to 12 going into the half.
The Vikings would not go away quietly, getting off to a fast start to begin the second half, getting to within seven on a three pointer by Davis Cowan. Akase returned to the lineup after missing most of the second quarter with foul trouble, making the most of his minutes with a pair of big buckets. However, he’d pick up his fourth and Shepherd would pick up his third, allowing Warsaw to take advantage of a tentative defense.
Trai Davis and Drew Sullivan each came up big with a pair of putback baskets. The lead would get back up to 12 once more before a pair of threes by Valley’s leading scorer, Ian Cooksey, brought it back down to single digits. In the final seconds of the third, Martin would go to the line and sink both freebies to make it a 10-point affair going into the fourth quarter.
It would extend to 14, a new game-high, minutes into the final period on a short floater by Carson Gould for the guard’s first points of the night. With just four minutes to go in the game, Akase would hit the second of two straight contested layups to make it a 10-point contest. Moments later, the quick run would come to an end on Bricker’s second three of the night. The Tigers were able to spend the remaining minutes passing the ball around the perimeter to run out the clock.
Martin led all scorers in the game with 22 points to go with four rebounds, followed by Shepherd and his 20 points. Yeager scored 14 while Akase added 13. Cooksey finished with nine while Finlinson and Davis each scored eight.
Tippecanoe Valley (14-8) will wrap up the regular season on Friday night against South Bend Washington. Warsaw wraps up the regular season with a 17-5 record and will await the winner of Concord/Goshen in the semifinal of IHSAA 4A Sectional 4 at Elkhart next Friday night.
“We don’t celebrate very often but we’re going to enjoy this for a day and get a nice little reset before watching the Concord/Goshen game and getting ready for the winner. At 6 o’clock on Friday, the Tigers will be ready to roll,” Moore said.