Warsaw Home Win Streak Snapped

Valpo played a little hide and seek against Warsaw Saturday at the Tiger Den.

Working out of their "peekaboo" offense, which is the equivalent of Warsaw's Iowa delay, the Vikings' Pat Griffin sprung loose, drove to the basket and nailed a 10-footer with five seconds left in the game to give Valpo a 49-47 win over the Tigers.

The loss snapped a 27-game winning streak at the Tiger Den for Warsaw.

The final play for Valpo was meant for the ball to be in Griffin's hands, but not necessarily for him to shoot the basketball. It was, in fact, Griffin's first and only basket of the game.

"I knew he (Griffin) could dribble past his guy (defender), and then it is five against four," Valparaiso coach Bob Punter said. "Once he drives in, everybody from Warsaw has to crash in and then that should open something up. I didn't expect him to shoot, I expected him to create a basket for someone else. The Warsaw kids didn't really come up to meet him."

After Griffin's basket, the Tigers had one final chance, but Valpo knocked away a pass intended for Chris Wiggins and then celebrated their second win over the Tigers in both games of the series, which started last year.

"We never could contain the dribble penetration from the guards," Warsaw coach Al Rhodes said. "It is fitting their last bucket came on a guard penetration and a short jump shot."

Warsaw led 47-42 with just over four minutes left to go in the game, but found the going tough after that. Valpo scored five straight points to tie the game at 47, while the Tigers had a missed free throw and a big turnover inside a minute left to go in the game.

"It comes down to taking care of the ball and executing," Rhodes said. "Down the stretch, we had several turnovers that hurt us. We just didn't bring it home. We hustled, and that makes up for a lot of sins, it caught up to us enough."

Valpo was really lucky to even be in a situation to win in the fourth quarter after enduring a frigid time shooting the ball in the second quarter. After looking almost unstoppable in the first quarter and leading 19-16, the high-powered Viking offense misfired. Valpo hit on only 1 of 17 field goal attempts in the frame, including missing 16 straight.

But Warsaw didn't fare much better, 5 of 12, and the Tigers led only 28-24 at the break.

"We had a lot of open looks that we have been making this year, but that has been at home," Punter said. "On the road, things are different. Warsaw did a good job of having a hand in our face most of the time."

Despite having two of its big guys, Joe Nixon and Brian Phillips, saddled with three fouls each in the third quarter, Valpo continued to play good defense. It was especially evident on Warsaw's post game, which had been very effective in its first three games.

Warsaw's four post players, Luke Reed, Chris Hill, Steve Siebenmorgen and Zach Nelson, combined to score only 15 points.

"They dropped off from the passer and gave us very little space to pass into," Rhodes said of the Valpo post defense. "They played behind, but were quick enough to get around. We weren't able to consistently get the ball there, and when we did, there was always a crowd."

Lost in the defeat was the job the Tiger defense did on the Valpo offense, which came into the game having scored 92 and 86 points in its first two games of the season. The Vikings hit on only 17 of 60 shots from the field, and Warsaw held Phillips 15 points under his average as he collected only five points.

"It is gratifying that we didn't play particularly well, but we were able to come up with a few more points than them," Punter said. "This is a difficult place to play. That is a nice thing for our kids.

"We are pretty lucky to get out of here with a win, but by the same token, our gritiness had to show through," he said. "It is very nice to win when you don't produce a lot of offensive power."

It was on offense that the Tigers sputtered, shooting a respectable 19 of 35 from the field, but hitting only 4 of 11 from the free throw line and turning the ball over 15 times. Valpo was able to get off almost twice as many shots in the game even though Warsaw held the rebound edge 35-29.

"I think this can be a good dose of medicine," Rhodes said. "I am very disappointed to lose, but I can't change that. What it can do is change the future so our guards will take more pride in their individual defense and will become better passers."

Senior Jason Alspaugh led the Tigers with 15 points, while Andy Plank added 10. Valpo was paced by Nixon's 18 points and Darren Kahl's 13.

Valpo raises its record to 3-0. Warsaw (3-1) hosts Wawasee Friday.