Vikings Rally, Avenge Loss To NorthWoodSYRACUSE – What a fourth quarter.
The Tippecanoe Valley boys basketball team trailed for most of Friday’s Class 3A Sectional 21 semifinal against NorthWood, only to come back for a 45-41 victory at Wawasee High School.
“All those games we struggled at times at the end of the game we learned from, and we executed really well at the end tonight,” said Tippecanoe Valley coach Chad Patrick, whose team avenged a 51-45 loss to the Panthers on Feb. 13.
With the win, Valley advanced to play today at 7 p.m. against host Wawasee in the sectional championship.
The Vikings (14-9) trailed 33-29 early in the fourth quarter when Cameron Parker took the game into his own hands.
After knocking down a three-pointer, he drew a foul on Valley’s next possession and sank both free throws for the Vikings’ first lead of the game with 2:59 remaining.
NorthWood’s Trent Edwards responded with a bucket, but Parker immediately answered with a trey for a 37-35 lead.
“Cam’s been that way for us all year,” Patrick said.
The Panthers (10-13) made it a one-possession game twice after that, but each time Valley responded by hitting its free throws.
The Vikings made 8 of 10 down the stretch, including two by Parker to seal the victory with 6.4 seconds left.
“We shot free throws really well all year, and we kept it in the right hands,” Patrick said.
The Vikings began the game slowly, and ended the first quarter down 8-2.
“They were just so excited they couldn’t even talk, and I tried to get them to relax and I tried everything,” Patrick said. “I figured it would be a little up tight, but I didn’t think it would be that bad.”
Wes Melanson kept Valley in the game with three three-pointers in the second quarter. He finished 5 of 5 from beyond the three-point arc, 6 of 7 from the floor, and had 17 points.
“When I hit my first one, I kind of knew it was gonna be a good night for me, even though I struggled in warmups a little bit,” Melanson said. “My shot just felt so good, and I just wanted to keep it hot.”
Valley trailed 21-13 at halftime, and improved its shooting in the third quarter to head into the fourth down 28-24.
Patrick credited Valley’s tough practices – including gritty practice play from the Vikings’ reserves – with resiliency down the stretch.
“It’s incredible how hard they go at each other, and that shows in a game like tonight, at the end of the game, when you have that much contact and that much (physicality) and we play through it,” Patrick said.
Parker finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds, while NorthWood’s Vincent had a team-high 17 points.
NorthWood coach Aaron Wolfe gave credit to the Vikings.
“They made winning basketball plays when they needed to,” he said.
Now, Valley’s eyes are fixed on the sectional prize.
“It doesn’t mean anything if we don’t win tomorrow,” Parker said. “So, we gotta go out and get the championship.”
TIPPECANOE VALLEY 45,
NORTHWOOD 41
N 8 13 7 13 – 41
V 2 11 11 21 – 45
NorthWood – Brock Flickinger 3-9 2-2 9, Ben Vincent 6-7 0-0 17, Trent Edwards 3-13 2-2 8, Matt Dutkowski 0-1 0-0 0, Jason Borkholder 1-5 1-2 3, Nick Bean 1-8 2-2 4, Totals 14-45 5-6 41.
