Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
Wednesday's basketball game between Tippecanoe Valley and Warsaw may be the last between the county rivals.
Warsaw dropped Tippecanoe Valley after this year. The reason? Warsaw felt it is better off playing a 4A school - Penn - than playing 3A Tippecanoe Valley. Tippecanoe Valley had no desire to see the game taken off the schedule.
But 3A Tippecanoe Valley proved it can more than hold its own against 4A Warsaw.
The Vikings overcame foul trouble to one of their top scorers and a 19-1 deficit on the offensive boards to beat Warsaw 59-56.
For now the county rivalry ends, the Vikings leave knowing they got the best of the Tigers in the Tiger Den in the last matchup.
"I think it's too bad, because this was a good basketball game," Valley coach Bill Patrick said. "I honestly don't see how you can have a better basketball game. Last year we played Warsaw to a (71-68) double-overtime game, and two years ago, we were competitive. This is what Indiana high school basketball is all about, a small school playing a big school.
"There's no disgrace for them to get beat by us. We're a pretty good basketball team."
Warsaw coach Al Rhodes acknowledged the last two Valley/Warsaw games have been thrillers.
"Look at last year's game and now this year's game, they were very good games," he said.
And the Vikings were led by a talented player in senior forward Cody New. New hit 8 of 16 field goals and 4 of 4 free throws to lead all scorers with 24 points.
New plays the game with a swagger, and he proved he is a big-game player. Valley trailed 46-38 after three quarters, but the Vikings rallied to win by outscoring the Tigers 21-10 in the fourth quarter.
New scored nine points in the quarter and hit all four of his free throws in the final 29 seconds to give Valley the win.
"I thought Cody just shot the ball extremely well," Rhodes said. "Anytime he could catch it and shoot it, he seemed to make it. He played very well."
New hit both ends of one-and-one free throws to put Valley ahead 57-55 with 29 seconds left. With 11 seconds left, Warsaw senior Josh Buck, who led the Tigers with 21 points, had a chance to tie the game at the free throw line. But Buck missed the first, and after making the second, Valley led 57-56.
Valley inbounded the ball to New, who was fouled immediately by Buck, who fouled out on the play. New hit both free throws to seal Valley's 59-56 win.
Not only did New make all free throws, he made all four facing Warsaw's loud and rowdy student section under the basket.
"I like to have the ball in pressure situations," said New. "I like to be the one to win it or lose it.
"(Warsaw's jeers) kind of went in one ear and out the other."
Said Patrick: "The key was Cody wanted the basketball in the fourth quarter. He hit the three and he hit big free throws."
Warsaw has four new starters, and both coaches felt the varsity inexperience showed in a close game in the fourth quarter. Warsaw hit but 1 of 10 field goals and 8 of 13 free throws in the final quarter.
"Possibly their inexperience hurt them, not being in that situation before," Patrick said. "Just a couple of their players have been in that kind of situation, but for most of them, it was their first time."
Warsaw won nearly every stat sheet category usually considered key.
Warsaw outrebounded Valley 34-22 overall, including 19-1 on the offensive boards.
Warsaw had eight turnovers to Valley's 15. Both teams hit 20 field goals, and Valley made one more free throw, 15-14.
How did Warsaw lose? The fourth quarter symbolized why. Too many missed chances throughout the game.
Warsaw hit 20 field goals but was just 20 of 57 (35 percent) from the field against a Valley team that relied on a zone. Warsaw hit 14 free throws but missed 12 to finish 14 of 26 (54 percent). Buck led Warsaw with 21 points, but he shot miserably, hitting just 8 of 26 (31 percent) field goals and 4 of 8 free throws.
Valley was 20 of 36 (56 percent) from the field and 15 of 17 (88 percent) from the line, including 8 of 8 in the final quarter.
"I think we set a school record for missed layups," Rhodes said. "In the fourth quarter, we didn't finish plays around the basket, and we missed our free throws.
"The whole game we did a good job of getting the ball inside, and our offensive rebounding was good, but we set a record for missed layups. That just came from rushing."
Valley jumped ahead 19-11 in the first quarter, thanks to seven points from New and six from Trey Eaton. They are Valley's top returning scorers, and Valley lost one of them, Eaton, for most of the second and third quarters. Without him, Valley had four starters 5-11 or shorter on the court against a Warsaw team that typically had three starters 6-3 or taller.
Eaton played only 30 seconds in the second quarter, a quarter that saw Buck come alive. Buck, counted on to be Warsaw's main scorer at least early in the season, missed his first seven shot attempts. He redeemed himself in the second quarter, scoring 10 as Warsaw ended the first half with a 29-27 lead.
Warsaw appeared on the verge of pulling away in the third quarter. Trent Martin and Buck hit three-pointers, and Greg Clay scored two inside as Warsaw went on an 8-0 run to extend the lead from 33-31 to 41-31 with 3:59 left in the quarter. Eaton picked up his fourth foul and missed the final four minutes of the third, but Valley regrouped without him and closed the gap to 43-38.
Warsaw held the eight-point lead entering the fourth, but then the missed shots caught up with the Tigers.
Valley pecked away, scoring on its end while Warsaw continually missed shots. Valley pulled within 52-48 when Casey Wise scored his only basket of the game to make it 52-50.
New followed with a three-pointer at the top of the key to give the Vikings their first lead, 53-52, since the second quarter. Two players, including Buck, were near New but not pressuring him, so he stepped back and hit the big shot.
"We came up with some really big plays," Patrick said. "The kid who hit the big basket was Casey Wise when he hit that 15-foot jump-shot."
Warsaw, which lost its first opener since the 1988-1989 season, played without a probable starter in 6-7 senior forward Paul Finnegan, who's suspended.
For now, the county rivalry between Tippecanoe Valley and Warsaw ends. New is a senior and won't play for Valley after this year, but he is sorry to see it end.
"I think it's a rivalry that will be missed," he said. "Coach Rhodes is a highly respected coach, and coach Patrick is a good coach. It's good to see them go head-to-head."
TIPPECANOE VALLEY 59
WARSAW 56
T. Valley FG FT A S R Pts.
New (F) 8-16 4-4 4 1 7 24
Domenico (G) 4-5 2-2 4 1 2 10
Martin (F) 3-7 4-4 2 0 2 10
Eaton (C) 3-4 2-2 0 0 5 8
Shafer (G) 1-3 0-0 2 3 1 2
Wise 1-1 1-3 0 0 3 3
Stutzman 0-0 2-2 0 1 2 2
Harmon 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Totals 20-36 15-17 12 6 22 59
Warsaw FG FT A S R Pts.
Buck (F) 8-26 4-8 0 4 8 21
Shaw (C) 4-10 6-9 0 0 8 14
C. Clay (G) 3-4 1-2 0 0 5 7
G. Clay (F) 2-7 1-3 0 0 4 5
Seiss (G) 0-1 2-3 4 2 2 2
Johnson 2-5 0-1 0 2 2 4
Martin 1-4 0-0 4 2 3 3
Foster 0-0 0-0 1 2 2 0
Knepper 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Totals 20-57 14-26 10 12 34 56
Three-point goals - Tippecanoe Valley 4-9 (New 4-8, Martin 0-1), Warsaw 2-10 (Buck 1-3, Martin 1-3, G. Clay 0-3, Shaw 0-1). Turnovers - Tippecanoe Valley 15, Warsaw 8. Total fouls -ÊTippecanoe Valley 22, Warsaw 18. Fouled out -ÊEaton, Wise, Buck.
JV: WARSAW 59, TIPPECANOE VALLEY 45
Warsaw (1-0) scoring - Erik Fussle 17, Ryan DeGeeter 17, William Knepper 16, Suraj Datta 3, Geoff Walmer 2, Jeremy Lursen 2, Steven Kuhn 2
T. Valley (0-1) scoring - Blaine Hartzler 10, David Beyers 9, Eric Carnes 8, Cory VanLaningham 6, Derek Sausaman 4, Chuck Sterk 4, Kory Fields 2, Josh Murphy 2
