Tippecanoe Valley senior Braden Shepherd maintains body control while going airborne to the basket during the first quarter.
Tippecanoe Valley senior Braden Shepherd maintains body control while going airborne to the basket during the first quarter.
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SYRACUSE – The Warriors of Wawasee got a little boost as the team heads into the postseason after emerging from their regular season finale against Tippecanoe Valley with a 42-26 victory. Wawasee ends the regular season with an 8-14 record, while the Vikings finish at 13-9.

The first half of the game featured the Warriors going on runs that were answered by Valley, but the second half proved to wear the visitors down. With just 1:18 left in the fourth quarter, the Vikings had been held to six second half points.

“We tried to make it really difficult on their guys to get to the paint. I think our containment was as good as its been all season long,” Wawasee head coach Jon Everingham said.

The Warriors got off to a solid start in a first quarter that featured a lot of dribbling and few shots as both teams got a feel for each other. After trading buckets in the first, Wawasee opened up the lead in the second quarter with freshman twins Myles and Maddux Everingham sinking back-to-back three pointers to give the Warriors a cushion they would not look back from. Myles would finish with 12 points, Maddux with eight.

“To go from middle school basketball to a full house is something special,” Everingham said. “Myles had a really tough defender in Braden tonight, he was hounding him. They’ve been so consistent all year long.”

On the other side, it was a struggle for Valley on the offense all night long. The Vikings were held to just 26 points, their lowest total of the season. Senior Dawson Perkins did what he could offensively, leading Valley with 10 points and six rebounds. Tippy Valley’s two leading scorers, Tayde Kiser and Nolan Cumberland, were held to just six points combined. Senior Landon Waters was able to enter the game in the final moments and score his first three points of the season.

“We wanted to stay behind Perkins underneath and put our best two defenders on those two guys. Keaton Dukes did an incredible job tonight. The whole team was tenacious,” Everingham said.

Dukes, who was honored before the game for scoring his 1000th point last week, shined in his final regular season game at the Hardwood Teepee. He finished his night with eleven points, five rebounds and a block.

“He’s been a special player for us, a special kid,” Everingham said. “He represents everything that’s good about our basketball program, our community and our high school.

Tippecanoe Valley is back in action Tuesday, when the team takes on West Noble in the first round of their Class 3A sectional at Wawasee. The Warriors take on Lakeland in the second round Friday night.

“First and foremost, we’re happy to get some rest. We have a lot of miles on our top five or six guys. We’ll be back Monday and start getting dialed in,” Everingham said.