NAPPANEE — Tippecanoe Valley’s Big Three made like a Big Tree that Wawasee never could quite climb, and if that wasn’t enough, the Vikings’ hawking defense in the second half left the Warriors stumped.
With Ian Cooksey (15), Stephen Akase (13) and Blaine Sheetz (12) combining for all but four of their team’s points, and with Valley’s D holding Wawasee to a scant eight points after the break, the Vikings broke away from a 21-21 halftime deadlock for a 44-29 win in Friday’s Class 3A NorthWood Sectional boys basketball semifinals.
Valley (20-5) faces Columbia City (16-9) in Saturday’s 7:30 p.m. championship at The Pit. The Eagles downed Fairfield 55-33 in Friday’s second semi.
“The score sometimes dictates how you play and there can be a panic mode sometimes,” Vikings coach Joe Luce conceded concerning his club being tied at the half against the underdog Warriors, “but this team, I’m pretty confident in them, their ability to guard defensively. We played some full-court 2-2-1 and some trapping 2-3 to try to get them sped up, but that’s not us. We’re a lock-down guard team, so we were confident at halftime. We just talked about defensively we need to lock in, we need to rebound the basketball, and offensively, we talked about creating some points in transition and getting some offensive rebounds. I thought we did all those things.”
Valley blanked Wawasee 12-0 in second-chance points, including 8-0 in the second half.
The Warriors (6-17) shot just 2-of-12 from the field and committed eight turnovers across the final two quarters to Valley’s 9-of-18 with three turnovers.
“The second half, they just stepped up their defense,” Wawasee coach Lou Lefevre said of the Vikings. “We just didn’t get any good chances. They were making us fumble the ball, making us take difficult shots. I’m sure there was stuff we could’ve done better to get better chances, but they were just real tough. They’re so big, so long and so strong, and very physical. It was kind of a loosely called game. They let the bumping and grabbing go, and that kind of bothered us.”
Cooksey, bouncing back from a scoreless game in Tuesday’s 40-36 first-round squeaker over West Noble, led all players with his 15 points, was 3-of-6 on 3-pointers and added a pair of steals.
Akase’s 13 points featured 5-of-5 from the field and 3-of-4 at the line. Ever-active, he added six rebounds and a game-high four steals.
“Akase was really good on the ball,” Luce said. “He plays inside a lot, but he can guard all five positions, and then team-wise, we were a lot quicker to help in that second half. We did an excellent job guarding the ball.”
Sheetz’s 12 points, which included 5-of-7 from the field, were accompanied by five rebounds, a team-high three assists and two steals.
“We are limited with our offensive options,” Luce said, “but we’ve got to have some balance, so when they’re taking away Akase and chasing Cooksey, somebody has to step up, and that’s where Blaine has been our MVP all year. He gave us some very big plays tonight.”

    Seniors Kane Dukes of Wawasee and Ian Cooksey of Valley wrestle for the ball during Friday night's sectional game...Nieter

Valley’s DeOndre Hamilton led all players in rebounding with seven, keying the Vikings’ 22-15 advantage.
For Wawasee, senior Weston Hoffert and junior Nolan Holzwart scored 10 points apiece, senior Brayden Miller led all players with five assists and two blocked shots, and senior Kane Dukes grabbed five boards. Dukes and sophomore Kaden Andrew each made two steals.
“This is a locker room that is really sad to see the season end,” Lefevre said, “and you might say, ‘Well, of course, that’s for every team.’ No, it’s not for every team. Usually, the great teams who lose, they’re really sad to see the season end, and there’s a lot of sorrow. This team didn’t have a great record, and often with (records) like this, players can’t wait for the season to end, but this team never felt that way. They were as upset as any team I’ve coached in all the years I’ve been coaching. I’ve coached a lot of teams that had a chance to win a state championship and didn’t quite get there, and it’s heartbreaking, but this team was as sad as any.
“There was a really good bond by the players and we’re really sad the seniors didn’t go out with a sectional championship,” Lefevre continued. “We had three good, hard-nosed seniors that helped keep everybody together through the tough times, the zillions of injuries and sickness. We finally had our full lineup tonight, so at least we could say that.”
Saturday’s final, meanwhile, pits a Valley team that’s won 14 of its last 15 games against a Columbia City group that’s won six of its last seven, with each of those six away from home.
The Vikings are seeking their first sectional crown since 2019 and the Eagles their first since 2016.