Tippecanoe Valley couldn't quite close the door on its upset bid, and the little crack that the Vikings left was all Warsaw needed to sneak back into the game in the Tigers' 63-62 thrilling overtime win over the Vikings Wednesday at the Tiger Den.

"We are just fortunate enough to win," Warsaw coach Al Rhodes said. "It was just a hard-played game, and it could have gone either way."

It was Rhodes' 300th career win as the coach of the Tigers.

It was Jason Alspaugh's jumper with 25 seconds left in overtime that provided the Tigers with a 63-62 lead, but it was a charging foul called on Valley ace Jeff Brown that sealed the game for Warsaw with :13 left.

The charge not only returned the ball to the Tigers, but it was also Brown's fifth personal, sending him to the bench. It became big a second later when Warsaw turned the ball back over to Valley, but the Vikings' play had been drawn up with Brown and an isolation play in mind.

Darren Parker missed from the baseline for Valley and the time ran out after the ensuing scramble for the rebound.

"Our kids were very focused on what they had to do and were very close to getting it done," Valley coach Gregg Sciarra said. "It is good to come in here and compete. I wish we could have the win, but there will be another day."

It marks the second straight game that a young and inexperienced Warsaw team has won in overtime to start the season.

"Our heart is just tremendous," Rhodes said. "We have had our backs up against the wall in both games, and we have been able to make the shot that we needed. We have to feel good about that."

Valley led Warsaw 53-44 midway through the final quarter, but the Vikings allowed the Tigers a slip back into the game by missing three straight front ends of one-and-one free throw situations. Warsaw eventually tied the game up as it went on a 9-0 run, including 2 three-pointers by Tyler Charlton, who was 1 of 9 shooting up to that point.

The Vikings reclaimed the advantage, 57-54 on a layup with just under a minute to play by Scott Cooksey. As time ran down, Charlton did it again and nailed the game-tying three-pointer with nine seconds left. Valley couldn't get a final shot at the basket and the game went into overtime.

"I think we will see Tyler become more comfortable and see better shooting from him," Rhodes said. " He wants to do well, but he gets into trying too hard. But I like that he is trying to step forward and not shying away from him. It takes a lot of courage if you are 1 for 9 and you hit a game-tying three."

It was 62-59 in favor of Valley when Chris Hill got a big layup to make it 62-61, and then Alspaugh pulled up from just inside the free throw line and nailed the eventual game winner.

On the ensuing possession, Brown took the ball strong down the lane to the hoop and hit the layup, but the officials waved the basket off and called Brown for a charge, a decision Brown and the Valley fans were not fond of.

"I can't fault our kids' efforts," Sciarra said. "They did everything I wanted them to do, except win the ball game.

"Give Warsaw credit for not giving up," he said. "They kept coming back. They had some kids in foul trouble, and they had to do some things differently. It is a tough one to lose, but we will be all right."

After a 17-17 tie at the end of the first quarter, the Tigers got into foul trouble with Luke Reed and Andy Plank both picking up their second fouls, meaning a seat on the Warsaw bench for the rest of the half.

Valley took advantage of the situation and opened up a 28-23 lead, but the Tigers went on a 6-0 run, including 5 by Tom Krizmanich, to take a 29-28 halftime lead.

The Vikings again tried to put the Tigers away in the third quarter, getting a 40-33 advantage on a layup by Brown. But like a bad penny, Warsaw just coming back and got to within 40-38 when Chris Hill gave the Tigers a spark off the bench with a big steal and three-point play on the ensuing layup.

Brown's three-pointer as the buzzer sounded gave Valley a 43-38 bulge heading into the final quarter.

Valley's Nick Stutzman had 8 of Valley's first 10 points of the fourth as the Vikings opened up that 53-44 lead.

The Vikings did the job on defense, causing 19 Warsaw turnovers and holding the Tigers to 24 of 55 (44 percent) shooting, including 3 of 13 in the third quarter.

"You have to give credit to Gregg (Sciarra) and the work he did in getting ready for the game," Rhodes said. "I thought they were very well prepared. They mixed their defenses. I was very impressed with his game plan.

"We are a very inexperienced team," he said. "They changed defenses, and there were a lot of times we didn't react to it well. We just haven't practiced enough against the variety. It is an excellent learning experience. Our execution on offense was just not very good. There are a lot of ways we can improve."

"We frustrated them in their offensive sets," Sciarra said. "We did what we wanted to do. We wanted to mess up their flow. I thought we accomplished that."

The game was a good edition to the series between the two teams, one that started up again just last year after a five-year hiatus.

"That was a sectional-type atmosphere game for the kids who haven't played much and have just one game under their belt," Sciarra said. "It was a tough position for some of them to be in."

Brown led the Vikings with 20 points, 12 rebounds, and 6 steals and added 3 assists. Stutzman added 17 points and Love 11.

Krizmanich was on top for the Tigers with 20 points, Charlton added 11 points and Hill got 10 off the bench.

Warsaw (2-0) hosts Columbia City Saturday, while Valley (1-1) hosts the same Columbia City team Friday. [[In-content Ad]]