CULVER – A little bit of home cooking went a long way Wednesday night for the Culver Academies boys basketball team.

The host Eagles used the free throw line and a big final quarter to top Tippecanoe Valley 56-51 in a non-conference contest.

Culver Academies went 18-27 from the line in the win. The Vikings were just 3-4 from the charity stripe.

Valley led 18-11 after the opening period of play and took a 22-16 edge into the locker room at halftime. The Vikings led 44-36 going to the final period before being outscored 20-7 by the hosts.

Junior Gavin Bussard led the way for coach Bill Patrick’s Vikings with 20 points.

Alex Thacker netted 19 points and Neil Clampitt added 10 for Valley.

Senior Elijah Miller led Culver Academies in the win with 20 points.

Valley, now 2-2, plays at John Glenn Saturday night. Culver, which improves to 3-1 with its third straight win, hosts LaVille Friday night.