Vikings To Face Different Opponent This Time
February 26, 2018 at 5:01 p.m.
By Dale [email protected]
After all, the Vikings have played the Warriors in the regular season finale and then met them in their first postseason game in each of the past five seasons and six of the last seven.
That won’t be the case this year, however, as Valley drew a bye and will play in Friday’s 7:30 p.m. semifinal game against the winner of Tuesday’s NorthWood/Fairfield game.
“I’m happy with the bye for sure, I just figured we would play Wawasee on Tuesday evening again,” said Patrick, whose Vikings take a 5-17 record into postseason action at NorthWood High School.
“Having to win two games to win the sectional is always better than having to win three, especially in this sectional.”
Sectional play begins Tuesday at 6 p.m. when Wawasee (6-16) faces Lakeland (14-9), followed by Fairfield (19-4) and the host Panthers (15-5).
West Noble (11-11) will face the Wawasee/Lakeland winner in Friday’s first semifinal, followed by Valley and the NorthWood/Fairfield winner.
Fairfield takes a 10-game win streak into the state tournament and is 4-1 against the rest of the sectional field, as is NorthWood.
Lakeland beat Fairfield 69-61 in two overtimes on Dec. 5.
Fairfield beat NorthWood 45-42 on Dec. 9.
The Panthers have won the sectional in four of the past six seasons. The other Sectional 21 winners in that span were Valley in 2013 and Fairfield last year.
“NorthWood and Fairfield are probably the favorites, but I think it is more wide open than it has been recently. If a team gets hot, I think any of the six teams could win it.”
Valley has won just five games this season, but Patrick is encouraged by the way his team has played down the stretch. Three of the Vikings’ wins have come in the last six games.
This season has been one of transition for the Vikings, to say the least.
Patrick, a longtime assistant for his dad, Indiana Basketball Hall of Famer Bill Patrick, took over the program and implemented his own style and philosophy.
There is just one senior on the varsity roster – Dakota Parker.
“We have definitely improved a lot over the year,” said Patrick.
“We fought through a rough nine-game losing streak, but the kids never gave up and we got back to the basics and worked hard and have finally started shooting better toward the end of the year.
“Dakota Parker is our only senior and he works very hard and has been a leader for us this year. Having everyone else coming back is exciting if we can build on this late-season success and get the kids to work hard in the offseason. We’ve improved this year and learned from each other all year long, and we aren’t ready for this year to end.”
The Vikings got their first win of the season Dec. 5 at Oregon-Davis and won again Dec. 19 at Culver Community.
Valley lost its next nine outings, a skid that was halted on Feb. 3 with a 42-32 win over rival Rochester.
The Vikings also have wins over North Miami and Triton.
Valley has won back-to-back games just once this season, when it beat Rochester by 10 and followed it up with a 15-point win over North Miami six days later.
To win their first sectional title in five years, the Vikings will have to win games on back-to-back days.
“We have been playing well lately,” said Patrick. “We will obviously have to shoot well to win it, but we have been playing good defense and I think we will be a tough out for anyone. We really have no pressure on us at all and we will show up and definitely play hard.”
Sophomore Tanner Trippiedi leads Valley with 11 points and two assists per game, while junior Cam Parker averages eight points and four boards, junior Alex Morrison six points and six rebounds, and junior Parkur Dalrymple six points.
Latest News
E-Editions
After all, the Vikings have played the Warriors in the regular season finale and then met them in their first postseason game in each of the past five seasons and six of the last seven.
That won’t be the case this year, however, as Valley drew a bye and will play in Friday’s 7:30 p.m. semifinal game against the winner of Tuesday’s NorthWood/Fairfield game.
“I’m happy with the bye for sure, I just figured we would play Wawasee on Tuesday evening again,” said Patrick, whose Vikings take a 5-17 record into postseason action at NorthWood High School.
“Having to win two games to win the sectional is always better than having to win three, especially in this sectional.”
Sectional play begins Tuesday at 6 p.m. when Wawasee (6-16) faces Lakeland (14-9), followed by Fairfield (19-4) and the host Panthers (15-5).
West Noble (11-11) will face the Wawasee/Lakeland winner in Friday’s first semifinal, followed by Valley and the NorthWood/Fairfield winner.
Fairfield takes a 10-game win streak into the state tournament and is 4-1 against the rest of the sectional field, as is NorthWood.
Lakeland beat Fairfield 69-61 in two overtimes on Dec. 5.
Fairfield beat NorthWood 45-42 on Dec. 9.
The Panthers have won the sectional in four of the past six seasons. The other Sectional 21 winners in that span were Valley in 2013 and Fairfield last year.
“NorthWood and Fairfield are probably the favorites, but I think it is more wide open than it has been recently. If a team gets hot, I think any of the six teams could win it.”
Valley has won just five games this season, but Patrick is encouraged by the way his team has played down the stretch. Three of the Vikings’ wins have come in the last six games.
This season has been one of transition for the Vikings, to say the least.
Patrick, a longtime assistant for his dad, Indiana Basketball Hall of Famer Bill Patrick, took over the program and implemented his own style and philosophy.
There is just one senior on the varsity roster – Dakota Parker.
“We have definitely improved a lot over the year,” said Patrick.
“We fought through a rough nine-game losing streak, but the kids never gave up and we got back to the basics and worked hard and have finally started shooting better toward the end of the year.
“Dakota Parker is our only senior and he works very hard and has been a leader for us this year. Having everyone else coming back is exciting if we can build on this late-season success and get the kids to work hard in the offseason. We’ve improved this year and learned from each other all year long, and we aren’t ready for this year to end.”
The Vikings got their first win of the season Dec. 5 at Oregon-Davis and won again Dec. 19 at Culver Community.
Valley lost its next nine outings, a skid that was halted on Feb. 3 with a 42-32 win over rival Rochester.
The Vikings also have wins over North Miami and Triton.
Valley has won back-to-back games just once this season, when it beat Rochester by 10 and followed it up with a 15-point win over North Miami six days later.
To win their first sectional title in five years, the Vikings will have to win games on back-to-back days.
“We have been playing well lately,” said Patrick. “We will obviously have to shoot well to win it, but we have been playing good defense and I think we will be a tough out for anyone. We really have no pressure on us at all and we will show up and definitely play hard.”
Sophomore Tanner Trippiedi leads Valley with 11 points and two assists per game, while junior Cam Parker averages eight points and four boards, junior Alex Morrison six points and six rebounds, and junior Parkur Dalrymple six points.
Have a news tip? Email [email protected] or Call/Text 360-922-3092