With no conference to call home during its transition season away from the Three Rivers Conference and into the new conference it will be a founding member of, the Tippecanoe Valley boys basketball team was able to put together quite the schedule for the 2023-24 season. The Vikings took on teams from all over the half of the state this winter, from Fort Wayne South Side to Wheeler. Lebanon to South Bend Washington. More times than not, Valley was able to answer the call, battling through the grueling, unorthodox schedule to head into the playoffs with a 15-8 record.
Among those 15 wins, five came against teams that Tippy Valley will call its conference mates next season. The Vikings went a perfect 5-0 against Bremen, John Glenn, Jimtown, Knox and LaVille this winter, something head coach Joe Luce is hoping is a sign of things to come.
“Being able to play each of our future conference rivals and finishing that stretch with an undefeated record is something I’m proud of,” Luce said. “I’m excited about the new conference and think it’s going to be a group of very competitive teams year in and year out. The teams we added this year provided a different challenge to prepare for each night. We are hopeful these different styles of play we have faced have prepared us for tournament success.”
Now, after traveling far and wide to find games all season long, the Vikings will be able to stay home for the next week as they prepare to host IHSAA 3A Sectional 18 at Rita Price-Simpson Court in Akron. Like many of the other area teams, Tippecanoe Valley was given the bye by the blind draw and will play its first game on Friday night against Knox (6-15, 3-5 Hoosier North Athletic Conference). The two teams met on Feb. 9, a game that Valley won 63-41. The other semifinal game on Friday will pit Bremen (10-12, 2-9 Northern Indiana Conference) against the winner of Tuesday’s lone semifinal game between Culver Academies (9-14) and John Glenn (10-13, 3-8 NIC).
“This year, the bye is going to give us some time to heal injuries and get our players healthy. We are facing some adversity with some injuries and illnesses, playing in the bye game gives us extra time that is much needed to get everyone as close to 100% by the weekend as possible,” Luce said.
Coach Luce knows that regular season success means little when it comes to getting it done in the tournament. Just last season, the Vikings were 18-5 heading into the sectional and faced off against a Glenn team they had already beaten by 12 earlier in the season. In the opening game of the playoffs, Glenn got revenge and won by 13. Luce pointed out that Knox is capable of another upset if his team isn’t ready.
“I expect this to be a very competitive game against a team with nothing to lose. This is a very tough minded and physical team that can give us problems if we don’t come to play,” he said. “We will do everything we can to speed up the game and have as many possessions as possible. Our inside game is something we need to go to early and often.”
The Vikings are able to score in a variety of different ways, boasting three players that score over 13 points a night. Leading the way is sophomore Stephen Akase, who averages 13.8 PPG on 59% shooting while also grabbing 8.2 boards a game. Ian Cooksey was the team’s leading scorer for a majority of the season, finishing not far behind Akase at 13.5 PPG to go with a team high 1.2 steals per contest. Riley Shepherd is an insanely talented shooter who makes threes at a 37% clip and also averages just over 13 points a night. Davis Cowan serves as the team’s primary ball handler, averaging just under four assists a night. Senior Kyler Johnson is another big body who punishes opponents down low.
“Stephen played the best game of his young career last Friday night. We need him to continue trending upwards in his play. Davis is the key to our team. When he plays well this team is at its best. Riley has had an outstanding senior year and we need him to continue playing a complete game,” Luce said. “I expect him to step up and have a great weekend of basketball. We need to continue playing outstanding defense and rebounding. I expect our team to be ready to play.”