Valley Vikings Slay DragonsAKRON – DeSean Heckman scored just three points in Tippecanoe Valley’s boys basketball game against Argos Tuesday night – all from the free throw line. His last two charity tosses with seven seconds left in overtime helped the Vikings slay the Dragons 53-50 in a game that featured 11 ties and 10 lead changes. Both teams are now 1-1 on the season. “Those were two big free throws,” said Valley coach Bill Patrick. “Once he made those, we were in good position. We just told them ‘don’t give up a three, let them get a layup or let them score, but don’t give up a three.’ “I don’t know whether he was confident when he went to the line or not. He just doesn’t shoot the ball a lot. He doesn’t look to score. Hopefully, this will help his confidence. Those were two really big free throws.” As a team, the Vikings were 15 of 19 at the free throw line, as they got Patrick the 756th win of his Hall of Fame career. Patrick, now 278-126 in his 19th season at Valley, is 756-306 in his 48th season overall. Patrick is five wins from tying Pat Rady for second on the state’s all-time wins list and 50 behind record holder Jack Butcher. Tuesday night’s coaching matchup of Patrick and Gordon Mosson featured nearly 1,150 wins and almost 80 seasons on the sidelines. “Gordon does a really good job coaching,” said Patrick. “His teams are always fundamentally sound, and he’s always intense and involved in the game. He gets everything out of his teams that you’re going to get. They’ve got two really good players, and the others know their role. Gordon’s one of the better coaches around, and he’s done a really nice job at Argos.” The two Argos players Patrick was referring two are seniors Vincent Stone and Drew Bollenbacher. The duo combined for 41 of the Dragons’ 50 points, as Stone scored a game-high 21 points and Bollenbacher finished with 20. Sophomores Luke Van Der Weele and Jonah Osborn scored five and three points, respectively, while freshman Owen Nifong chipped in with a free throw. For Valley, senior Alec Craig led the way with 19 points, to go along with four rebounds, three assists and three steals. Seniors Jarod Duzenbery and Keith Wright chipped in with 13 and 10 points, respectively. Sophomore Alex Morrison scored five points, while Heckman and freshman Tanner Trippiedi finished with three points each. Valley trailed 12-10 after one quarter of play, but led 25-23 at halftime and 39-34 at the end of the third quarter. The teams were knotted at 45-45 at the end of regulation. While Patrick talked about plenty of things his team needs to work on, winning Tuesday should help his team’s confidence moving forward. The Vikings, who opened the season with a 75-27 loss at Class 4A No. 5 Warsaw, host Knox Friday. “This is a big win for us,” said Patrick. “Just to get a win was big. Hopefully it helps our confidence.”
TIPPECANOE VALLEY 53, ARGOS 50 (OT) Argos 12 11 11 11 5 – 50 TV 10 15 14 6 8 – 53 Argos – Vincent Stone 4 12-12 21, Jonah Osborn 1 2-3 3, Luke Van Der Weele 2 0-1 5, Kyle Fishburn 0 0-0 0, Sam Manikowski 0 0-0 0, Drew Bollenbacher 9 2-6 20, Owen Nifong 0 1-2 1. Totals 16 16-23 50. Valley – DeSean Heckman 0 3-4 3, Alec Craig 7 4-4 19, Jarod Duzenbery 5 3-4 13, Wes Melanson 0 0-0 0, Keith Wright 2 4-4 10, Tanner Trippiedi 1 0-2 3, Alex Morrison 2 1-1 5. Totals 17 15-19 53. Three-pointers – Argos 2 (Stone, Van Der Weele), Valley 4 (Wright 2, Craig, Trippiedi); Turnovers – Argos 14, Valley 13; Fouls – Argos 17, Valley 19; Fouled out – Duzenbery; Records: Argos 1-1, Valley 1-1 JV – Valley 47, Argos 34 Valley – Parkur Dalrymple 17, Dakota Parker 9, Cameron Parker 7, Dwight Conley 6, Jalen Potter 4, Jaydin Conley 4
