AKRON -ÊBefore the beginning of the boys basketball season, Tippecanoe Valley coach Bill Patrick was waiting for a team leader to emerge on the court.

Saturday night in a 65-51 win over John Glenn, sophomore David Lash moved into that leadership role for the Vikings.

Lash led the Valley squad with 26 points and 15 rebounds in the 14-point win. Lash was 11-of-12 shooting from the field and 4 of 6 from the charity stripe on the night.

"Lash played very well," said Patrick. "He had a bundle of rebounds and he played hard."

Glenn struck early as Joe Curtis hit a three-pointer at the 6:53 mark.

The Falcons took a 5-2 lead at the 5:54 mark, but back-to-back baskets by Lash put the Vikings up 6-5.

Valley continued to add to its lead, and by the end of the first frame, the Valley squad held a 16-11 advantage.

Shane Denny hit a free throw to start the Viking scoring in the second-quarter, but a steal and a dunk by Lash set the crowd on fire. Lash was fouled on the play, made the ensuing free throw and put Valley up 20-11.

However, Glenn started to chip away at Valley's lead, and a three-pointer with 1.5 ticks left on the second-quarter clock made it a one-point game. The Vikings took a 30- 29 advantage at the half.

"We let up a bit there midway through the second quarter and let them get back in it," said Patrick.

Glenn struck first in the second half as Curtis hit a basket to put the Falcons up 31-30, but the lead was short-lived as Cory Vanlaningham hit a basket to restore the Viking lead.

Then Lash hit a basket and Stuart Jackson hit a free throw to put Valley up 35-31.

Valley outscored the Falcons 13-5 in the final 5:08 of the third frame to take a 48-36 advantage into the final quarter of play.

Much of the fourth frame was spent at the free throw line as the Viking and the Falcons combined for 25 free throw attempts. Nineteen of those were shot by the Vikings.

Valley outscored Glenn 17-15 in the fourth frame to pick up the 65-51 win.

Lash's 26 points led all scorers, while Drudge added 21 points.

Vanlaningham added seven for the Vikings. Jackson chipped in three points, while Parker, Eric Whetstone and Bryce Kelley added two each. Denny and Josh Murphy scored one point apiece.

"Shane had a good game," said Patrick. "Glenn had players on Cory (Vanlaningham) all night. He forced some shots, and he didn't have a lot of open looks.

"Jeff did a good job handling the ball, and I thought Josh Murphy played well. I don't think our bench was as ready to play as they could have been, though."

Glenn's scoring charge was led by Curtis with 16 points, while Egger added 14.

The win makes Valley's record 5-0 overall, while Glenn falls to 3-2 overall. The Vikings host Peru Tuesday before traveling to South Whitley to face Whitko Friday night.

TIPPECANOE VALLEY 65, JOHN GLENN 51

Glenn 11 18 7 15 - 51

Valley 16 14 18 17 - 65

Glenn FG FT R S Pts.

Reese 2-5 0-0 2 1 5

Pulluaim 2-8 0-2 3 0 4

Egger 4-8 6-6 3 1 14

Piotrowicz 2-5 0-1 4 0 4

Curtis 5-10 3-4 2 2 16

Horvath 0-1 1-4 0 0 1

Thompson 1-1 0-1 1 0 2

Walls 2-4 0-0 0 0 5

deFluiter 0-0 0-0 0 0 0

Totals 18-42 10-18 15 4 51

Valley FG FT R S Pts.

Parker 0-3 2-6 1 0 2

Vnlngham 3-6 1-2 2 0 7

Drudge 7-13 7-8 3 1 21

Lash 11-12 4-6 15 1 26

Jackson 1-5 1-2 6 1 3

Denny 0-0 1-2 1 0 1

Gibson 0-1 0-0 0 0 0

Murphy 0-2 1-2 3 0 1

Whetstone 1-1 0-0 1 0 2

Kelley 1-1 0-0 1 0 2

Reed 0-0 0-0 0 0 0

Totals 24-44 17-28 33 3 65

Three-point goals -ÊGlenn 5-12 (Reese 1-4, Pulluaim 0-2, Curtis 3-5, Walls 1-1), Valley 0-6 (Vanlaningham 0-3, Drudge 0-1, Gibson 0-1, Murphy 0-1). Fouls -ÊGlenn 23, Valley 19. Fouled out -ÊEgger, Denny.

JV - JOHN GLENN 31,

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