The latest edition of what is undoubtedly the biggest cross-county rivalry was doozy. With the Warsaw boys honoring ten seniors before the game on Tuesday night, Tippecanoe Valley did all it could to spoil the occasion, leading for most of the contest. In the end, the Tigers were able to stick around and finish off a comeback late in the fourth quarter to end the regular season with a 62-55 win.
“A game like this helps us solidify who we are. We have guys that can score. We can play defense, we can win games that are really tough to pull off,” head coach Matt Moore said after the game. “Really proud of how this group came through tonight.”
The 22nd win of the regular season is the most since the 1942 season.
It wasn’t the usual starting lineup for the Tigers, as Tristan Wilson, Reed Nelson and Drew Sullivan were added to the first five as a part of the Senior Night festivities. A pair of seniors who are mainstays in their respective lineups, Brandt Martin for Warsaw and Ian Cooksey for Valley, started the game by trading threes. A second triple for the Vikings, this one by Stephen Akase, gave the visitors their first lead of the night.
As the midway point of the first period came and went, Valley remained in front 9-5 after a three by Davis Cowan. After making it a one-possession game, a pair of steals by Mydin Burgher gave the Tigers the perfect opportunity to tie things up, but the stout defense of the Vikings held them at bay both times.
The hot start for the visitors continued as the opening quarter approached an end, as a midrange jumper by Akase made it a five-point game. Outside of Martin, who scored seven of the first nine points of the game for the home side, offense was a struggle. After eight minutes of play, Valley held onto a 14-9 lead.
After another bucket for the Vikings to begin the second, a big three pointer by Parker Justice provided Warsaw with some life. He’d add a free throw on the next possession to get things back to a one-score game. The Tigers got within one on a tough layup by Robbie Finlinson, but yet again, Valley was able to answer with a run to separate.
The lead continued to grow for the visitors as Blaine Sheetz got involved during the middle part of the quarter. The senior scored four straight points to add onto what was already a five-point lead to make it a nine-point game. Not liking what he was seeing, Moore quickly called timeout.
A pair of steals and scores for Sam Lara and Carson Gould were just what the doctor ordered for the Tigers, as four easy sports put the home side right back in striking distance late in the second. Sensing the momentum starting to shift, the Vikings took the air out of the ball in the final few minutes before halftime, using up over 90 seconds on one possession. The end result wasn’t what they were looking for though, as yet another steal by Lara turned into an easy two points.
The late surge by the Tiger guards was enough to make it a one-possession game once more, but Valley still held onto the lead at the break up 24-21.
The beginning of the third quarter was incredibly back and forth. Warsaw would make a shot to get within one before the Vikings would go down to the other one and answer with one of their own to remain on top. Despite the offense continuing to improve as the game went along, the Tigers were still not able to break through.
Another spurt by the visitors saw Valley extend its lead back up to seven with four minutes to go in the third. Sheetz was at the forefront again, as he became the first player in the game to reach double figures on back-to-back layups.

    Valley senior Blaine Sheetz gets past Drew Jones of Warsaw while going to the basket during the second quarter...Nieter

Akase joined him in double figures with an and-one a few minutes later. Despite trailing for basically the entirety of the game at this point, Warsaw continued to fight, consistently picking up baskets in huge spots to stick around. But the longer things went on, the more it seemed as if it was Valley’s night. The visitors were moving the ball incredibly well and taking advantage of the opportunities that were being created.
“Joe is a great coach. He’s had success everywhere he’s been and knows what it takes to win. You can see that in his team,” Moore said. “They came out and they brought the fight to us. We needed that.”
An intentional foul with a second left on the clock put Martin at the line for two shots, which he used to put his team back within four as the final eight minutes of action in the Tiger Den approached.
That didn’t last long, as just 30 seconds into the fourth, Valley was back up by eight. Momentum continued to shift on a dime as a Warsaw charge got it back down to five with just under six to play. A minute later, a midrange jumper for Gould made it a one-point game yet again, setting up a fantastic finish.
Play was seriously starting to pick up as time winded down, with both teams flying down the court to try to match each other in rapid succession. Similar to the beginning of the third, the Vikings had an answer each time Warsaw turned it into a one-point game.
“We had to dig deep and we were able to get stops that turned into transition buckets,” Moore said. I think the key for us in the second half was being aggressive attacking the basket.”
As well as Valley had played thus far, the home side just kept on coming. With a little over three minutes to go, a pair of free throws by Martin put the Tigers back on top for the first time since they led 3-0 very early in the first. After Valley quickly answered, a big time triple for Lara with two minutes to go saw the lead change hands once again.
That turned out to be the final lead change of the evening. An even bigger bucket by Martin with less than a minute to go made it a four-point game, Warsaw’s largest lead of the night. A Valley miss would result in Gould being sent to the line where he sank two freebies to put the game away for good.
Robbie Finlinson led all scorers with 17 points. Martin added 15 and Gould scored 13. For Valley, Akase led the way with 16 points, while Sheetz had 12.
Warsaw (22-4) will begin sectional play Tuesday against Concord at Northside Gym in Elkhart. Valley (17-5) wraps up the regular season Friday at South Bend Washington.
“I’m happy we’re playing on Tuesday. I think it's important to go play games. I think it plays in our favor,” Moore said. “Concord will be ready for us. They’re going to make it tough for us.”